MBBS in China 2026: The 45 University List That Matters

MBBS in China is restricted to a published list. The Chinese Ministry of Education authorises a fixed set of universities to teach undergraduate clinical medicine in English to international students, and the current published list carries 45 institutions with a combined authorised intake of 3,420 students. Universities not on that list may not enrol international students for the English-medium programme at all.

That list is the first thing to check, and it rules out some names that are marketed to Indian families. Jilin Medical University, for instance, does not appear on it.

Key Takeaways

• The Ministry of Education list of universities authorised to teach clinical medicine in English carries 45 institutions and a total authorised enrolment of 3,420.

• Jilin University and China Medical University head that list with a quota of 100 students each. Jilin Medical University is not on it; Beihua University, also in Jilin, is, with a quota of 40.

• Chinese is a compulsory subject for all six years by national regulation, not an optional extra.

• The one year internship sits inside the six year programme, not after it, which is the same structural question Georgia raises.

• China-trained candidates passed FMGE at 14.26 per cent in December 2025, the lowest of the major source countries.

Which Chinese universities can teach MBBS in English?

Only those on the Ministry of Education list. The rule comes from a 2007 circular, Jiaowailai number 39, which states that institutions not on the list shall not enrol international students for the undergraduate clinical medical programmes in English in China. Institutions off the list may enrol international students for medical programmes taught in Chinese, on the same criteria as Chinese students.

The most recent English-language edition published by the Ministry is the list for 2018/2019, published on 22 May 2018. It carries 45 institutions with a total authorised enrolment of 3,420 students, each institution with its own numerical quota.

Twenty universities hold the maximum quota of 100 students: Jilin University, China Medical University, Dalian Medical University, Capital Medical University, Tianjin Medical University, Shandong University, Fudan University, Xinjiang Medical University, Nanjing Medical University, Jiangsu University, Wenzhou Medical University, Zhejiang University, Wuhan University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Southern Medical University, Jinan University, Guangxi Medical University, Sichuan University and Chongqing Medical University.

Two names worth separating, because they are routinely confused. Jilin University sits at number one on the list with a quota of 100. Jilin Medical University is a different institution and does not appear on the list at all. Beihua University, also in Jilin province, appears at number 22 with a quota of 40.

Before paying anything, check the exact legal name of the university against that list, not a similar name.

Is MBBS in China taught entirely in English?

No, and the regulation is explicit about it. Chinese is compulsory throughout.

The same 2007 circular that creates the authorised list also sets the quality control standards for the programme. Article 14 states that, in order to facilitate their learning and life in China and contact with patients in their medical practice, the Chinese language shall be a compulsory course during the whole undergraduate medical programme in English for international students in China.

Article 13 adds that the curriculum must include Chinese culture and natural science courses, including an overview of China's culture, Chinese language and Chinese medical terminology, and that students must pass the examinations in these courses.

This matters because the NMC requires the medium of instruction to be English. A compulsory Chinese language subject inside an English-medium programme is not the same thing as clinical teaching delivered in Chinese, but a student who will be taking histories from Chinese-speaking patients should understand what the ward years will actually feel like, and should ask each university directly how clinical teaching and the internship are delivered.

How long is the course, and where does the internship sit?

Six years, with the internship inside them.

Article 5 of the circular sets the length of schooling for the undergraduate medical programme in English at six years, and states that the English copy of the degree will state MBBS, Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.

Article 13 then sets out the clinical structure. Clerkship is completed in the teaching hospitals of the host institution. The internship runs for one year, at least 48 weeks, and institutions may arrange it in their own teaching hospitals or in teaching hospitals affiliated with medical institutions approved by the health ministry abroad. After the internship, students take the graduation examination arranged by the host institution.

So the internship year is part of the six, not added to it. Against the Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations, 2021, which require fifty-four months of course followed by twelve months of internship at the same foreign institution, that is the same open question Georgia raises, with an added complication: the circular expressly permits the internship to be arranged at hospitals abroad affiliated with approved medical institutions, which would sit badly against the same-institution rule.

Ask each university, in writing, where its internship is served and whether it is at the university's own teaching hospital.

What does the FMGE data show for China?

China sends more FMGE candidates than any other country and has the lowest pass rate of the major source countries.

From the NBEMS FMGE performance report for 2025. In the same December 2025 session the Russian Federation returned 30.94 per cent, Georgia 32.36 per cent and Ukraine 21.48 per cent.

At institution level, China Medical University recorded 417 appeared and 63 passed in the 2024 annual report, a rate of 15.11 per cent, up from 406 and 32 in 2023, a rate of 7.88 per cent. The direction is improving and the level is still low.

What did the NMC say about admissions in China?

The Commission issued a notice on 8 February 2022 on university admissions in China, after the Ministry of External Affairs flagged that Chinese universities had begun issuing admission notices for MBBS programmes.

The notice recorded that China had imposed strict travel restrictions and suspended visas since November 2020, that a large number of international students including Indian students had not been able to return, and that Chinese authorities had conveyed that courses would be conducted online. It then stated the rule that still governs: as per the extant rules, the National Medical Commission does not recognise or approve medical courses done only by online mode.

That regime has since been generalised. The NMC notice of 19 June 2024 extended the online study compensation rules to similarly placed students from any country, and the clarification of 18 March 2026 now governs the whole arrangement. A graduate who studied online and did not compensate physically at the parent institute faces one or two years of clinical clerkship in India before internship.

Who accredits Chinese medical schools?

The Working Committee for the Accreditation of Medical Education, under the Ministry of Education, holds recognition status with the World Federation for Medical Education until June 2030.

WFME recognises accrediting agencies rather than individual medical schools, so this is a country level signal. It does put China ahead of Ukraine, which has no WFME recognised agency and none applying, and behind the Philippines, whose agency is recognised to April 2033.

What to settle before choosing a Chinese university

1. Check the university's exact legal name against the Ministry of Education list of institutions authorised to teach clinical medicine in English, and check the quota it holds.

2. Ask for the current international student admission brochure, which is where each university publishes its own tuition, accommodation and insurance charges.

3. Ask how clinical teaching and ward rounds are delivered in the later years, and in what language.

4. Ask where the internship is served and whether it is at the university's own teaching hospital.

5. Check the university's own FMGE record in the NBEMS performance report rather than the country figure.

What to read next

• How to check NMC and WDOMS recognition is the full verification method.

• Is MBBS abroad worth it compares FMGE outcomes across destinations.

• New NMC rules for MBBS 2026 covers the online study compensation rules in full.

• Private MBBS in India vs MBBS abroad compares total cost across routes.

• NExT or FMGE in 2026 covers the exam every graduate sits.

Sources

• Ministry of Education, People's Republic of China, list of institutions and scale of enrolment for undergraduate clinical medicine programmes taught in English for international students, 2018/2019, published 22 May 2018

• Ministry of Education, People's Republic of China, interim provisions for quality control standards on undergraduate medical education in English for international students, Jiaowailai number 39, 10 July 2007

• National Medical Commission, notice on university admissions in China, 8 February 2022

• National Medical Commission, public notice on physical onsite compensation for online studies, 18 March 2026

• National Medical Commission (Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate) Regulations, 2021

• National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences, FMGE performance reports 2023 to 2025

• World Federation for Medical Education, list of accrediting agencies with recognition status