According to statistics, China has become one of the most popular destinations for medical study in recent years. Last year, more than 10,000 students came to China to study medicine, most of them selecting an English-medium MBBS program. You may have the doubts on why they unhesitatingly to choose China as their medical career starting way, it is believed that the following are the beneficial reasons:
- Eligible for any medical licensing examination
Each year, China’s Ministry of Education (MOE) will issue a list of Chinese universities with the qualification to recruit international students for its MBBS program. These listed approved universities are also under the World Health Organization (WHO)'s "Directory of World Medical Schools", which means students who graduated from these medical schools are eligible to attend national medical screening tests such as MCI, PMDC, USMLE, PLAB, HPCSA, SCHS, etc.
On completing the requirements of the teaching program and passing the graduation examinations successfully, international medical undergraduates will be granted a graduation certificate and conferred a medical degree by the university. The English copy of the degree will state MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery). This degree certificate is recognized worldwide, but students can still take your graduate diploma and required documents to the embassy of your home country for accreditation if needed.
- Easy getting admission to a top medical university
Compared with some universities or colleges in the US, UK, Europe, India and Pakistan, it is not so hard to get admission by a top rank China's university to study MBBS. Furthermore, the entrance requirements for bachelor's medicine study in China are also much lower than any other countries. By choosing China, you can avoid the burden of fierce competition or heavy application pressure. However, relatively low admission requirements do not mean that you should worry about the education quality. Approved Chinese medical schools all offer high quality on MBBS program, faculty and facilities are really worth the tuition.
- Unique and Creative Teaching System
As medical science is developing every day, teaching methodology and system in Chinese medical schools are also keeping its pace with the fast development. After several years’ learning and research, certain amount of these Chinese medical schools has come up with a brand-new teaching system which is quite unique and creative. For example, Jilin University has developed a new teaching system named as “Organ system-centered”; Jiangsu University has its unique and featured “iClick system” and “E-School Bag”.
- Plenty of quality hospitals for internship
All of China's universities which are approved to enroll international students for English medium MBBS must meet minimum standards set by the Ministry of Education. The affiliated hospital where students undertake internships must b e with the tier of Grade III, Level A, which have the most advanced international-standard medical instruments and also lots of patient beds. As well all know, China has the largest population in the world. Therefore, the medical market of China is developing at a rapid speed and becoming one of the world's largest medical markets.
- Living costs and tuition are considerably lower in China
Studying towards an MBBS in China is 70% cheaper than undertaking a similar program in the US or UK. The US MD program course (equivalent to MBBS) cost around USD 160,000-200,000. This excludes four years of Pre-med study. While a student can complete an MBBS course from any of the China's medical university list for 6 years for only USD 30,000 – 50,000. Compared to the rest of the world the fees charged for MBBS courses in China are expansively reasonable. The charges of tutoring in the universities in China are subsidized by the Ministry of Public Health of the Chinese Government. All in all, it is very economical for international students to study in China.
Below is a simple table of cost comparison of studying MBBS in China, USA, UK, India and Pakistan.
| Tuition | Accommodation | Living Cost | Miscellaneous fees | In Total | |
| China | 28,000 | 9,600 | 10,000 | 4,000 | 48,000 |
| USA | 130,000 | 38,000 | 25,000 | 32,000 | 225,000 |
| UK | 100,000 | 65,000 | 25,000 | 5,200 | 195,200 |
| India | 78,000 | 5,000 | 8,000 | 3,000 | 94,000 |
| Pakistan | 55,000 | 6,000 | 8,400 | 3,500 | 62,900 |
NB: 1. Fees are estimated by RMB per academic year.
2. Above fees are according to the average fees standard.
3. The comparison is only for students' reference.
