Davao Medical School Foundation: MD, FMGE, NMC Rules

Davao Medical School Foundation (DMSF) is a private, non-profit medical school in Davao City, Philippines, set up in 1976 as the first medical school in Mindanao. It teaches a four-year Doctor of Medicine (MD) after a bachelor's degree. In the latest FMGE, December 2025, 116 of its 1,055 candidates passed, or 11.00%.

Updated on 30 September 2026.

Key Takeaways

• The first medical school in Mindanao. A group of Davao institutions set up DMSF in July 1976. Its first medical students started on 1 June 1977 (DMSF about page, DMSF history page).

• The degree is an MD, not an MBBS. Students join the MD after a college degree and an NMAT score of at least the 40th percentile (DMSF College of Medicine admission procedure).

• DMSF sends more candidates to FMGE than any other Philippine school in this guide. 1,369 DMSF graduates sat the June 2025 FMGE, close to three in ten of all 4,655 Philippine-trained candidates (NBEMS FMGE Performance Report 2025).

• Its FMGE pass rate has been close to one in five, then fell. It was 18.29% in 2023, 19.58% in 2024, 20.67% in June 2025 and 11.00% in December 2025 (NBEMS reports for 2023, 2024 and 2025).

• One licence question is still open for Indians. A foreign graduate can sit the Philippine licence exam only with reciprocity. The Embassy of India says guidance from India is awaited (Embassy of India, Manila advisory of 17 June 2026).

• Not a futureMBBS partner. futureMBBS works with 23 partner universities in 9 European countries. The Philippines is not one of them (futureMBBS partner universities).

What is Davao Medical School Foundation?

Davao Medical School Foundation, Inc. is registered in the Philippines as a non-stock, non-profit organisation and is approved by CHED, the Commission on Higher Education. A consortium runs it: Ateneo de Davao University, Brokenshire Memorial Hospital, the Development of Peoples' Foundation, San Pedro Hospital and San Pedro College (DMSF about page).

Besides the College of Medicine, DMSF runs colleges of dentistry, nursing, midwifery and biology, plus an Institute of Primary Health Care. The campus is a 2.5 hectare site in Bajada, close to the centre of Davao City. For the full school profile, see our Davao Medical School Foundation university page, and for the country picture, our MBBS in the Philippines country guide.

Davao Medical School Foundation at a glance

Sources: DMSF about page, DMSF College of Medicine page and DMSFI Hospital page.

History of Davao Medical School Foundation

DMSF was built to answer a shortage of doctors. Its history page records only 61 rural health physicians in the region in 1975, one for every 5,194 people. The dates below come from the DMSF history page.

Davao Medical School Foundation MD course structure

The Philippine route has two stages. First comes a pre-medical bachelor's degree. Then comes the MD. CHED told the Embassy of India on 8 May 2025 that the MD runs 54 months, not counting the pre-medical degree. It includes a 12-month internship in the same institution or its attached hospital (Embassy of India, Manila advisory).

DMSF teaches both stages on one campus. Its BS Biology programme, opened in 2010, is described by the school as a course "en route for Medicine" (DMSF history page). Clinical rotations in the third and fourth MD years take place in DMSF's affiliated hospitals (DMSF about page).

How Davao Medical School Foundation teaches

• Anatomy with real and digital tools. The anatomy section uses cadaver dissection, plastinated specimens and an Anatomage digital dissection table (DMSF College of Medicine page).

• Small-group methods. Teaching mixes lectures, team-based learning, problem-based learning and small group discussion.

• OSCE exams and standardised patients. The Objective Structured Clinical Examination tests senior students on timed clinical tasks against set criteria.

• Simulation centre. Students practise on standardised patients, task trainers, virtual reality and patient simulators before treating real patients.

• Community medicine. Students work in local barangays, the smallest unit of local government, on community diagnosis and health plans.

• Library. Around 600 seats, about 16,094 printed copies and more than 600 journal titles in print and online.

Davao Medical School Foundation hospitals for clinical training

DMSF owns one hospital and lists eight more places for clinical training, all in Davao City (DMSF affiliated hospitals page).

DMSFI Hospital is a four-storey tertiary care building with 60 private rooms, 24 ward beds and two suites (DMSFI Hospital page).

Davao Medical School Foundation admission requirements

An Indian student cannot join the DMSF MD straight after Class 12. The College of Medicine asks for a college degree first. Before any of this, an Indian student must qualify NEET UG. Our guide on eligibility for MBBS abroad sets out the Indian rules.

Documents for the Davao Medical School Foundation MD

• Filled-in application form, downloaded from the DMSF website (DMSF College of Medicine admission procedure).

• College diploma or certificate of graduation from the bachelor's degree.

• College transcript of records, listing every subject and grade.

• NMAT result of at least the 40th percentile. The NMAT is the National Medical Admission Test, the entrance test for Philippine medical schools.

• Two IDs: the previous school ID and a government ID, preferably a passport.

• Two signed passport-size photos.

• A short essay of up to 100 words on why you want to be a doctor.

Steps for Indian and other international applicants

DMSF sets out these steps for foreign students (DMSF admissions page).

1. Send the first documents to the Office of the Dean. These are the application form and Personal History Statement, the NMAT result, two reference letters from former professors and the non-refundable application fee.

2. Receive the result of the first check. A qualified applicant gets a Notice of Acceptance and a Certificate of Eligibility for Admission (CEA) form. The CEA is issued by CHED.

3. Send authenticated documents. These are the transcript and diploma, a notarised Affidavit of Support with bank statements, passport pages, police clearance and birth certificate. The Philippine embassy or consulate in India authenticates them, and they reach DMSF at least 30 days before the academic year.

4. DMSF forwards the file. The school endorses the papers to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila with the Notice of Acceptance and the CHED-approved CEA.

5. Apply for the 9(f) student visa. The applicant attends an interview at the Philippine embassy or consulate with the visa form, a medical certificate, chest X-ray and HIV test report, police clearance and an unexpired passport.

6. Enrol in Davao. The student hands in the visa, a passport copy and the Alien Certificate of Registration (ACR) card from the Bureau of Immigration in Davao City.

After arrival, DMSF's Foreign Students Unit handles visa extensions, the ACR I-card and the yearly report to the Bureau of Immigration, due within the first 60 days of every year. DMSF advises students not to book flights home before the ACR I-card is released, since they cannot leave the Philippines without it (DMSF Foreign Students Unit page).

Davao Medical School Foundation fees and scholarships

DMSF lists these first-year College of Medicine admission charges on its admissions page (DMSF admissions page). Rupee values use about Rs. 1.53 to the peso, 30 September 2026.

DMSF has announced that it intends to adjust tuition and other fees for the 2026 to 2027 academic year (DMSF notice on fees for AY 2026 to 2027).

Davao Medical School Foundation scholarships

DMSF lists these medicine scholarships (DMSF scholarships page).

The need-based scholarships ask for Philippine tax papers, residency certificates or rural service after graduation. In practice, the merit scholarships are the ones an Indian applicant can realistically aim for.

Davao Medical School Foundation FMGE results

FMGE, the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination, is the exam a foreign-trained Indian doctor must pass before an internship in India. NBEMS, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences, runs it and publishes results by country and by school (NBEMS FMGE page).

The 2025 report also gives totals for the Philippines and for all countries, so the DMSF result can be read against both.

Sources: NBEMS FMGE 2023 institute-wise report, FMGE 2024 institute-wise report and FMGE Performance Report 2025.

Two things stand out. First, DMSF is a very large source of Philippine-trained candidates. In June 2025 its 1,369 candidates were close to three in ten of the whole Philippine total. Second, its result dropped sharply in December 2025. Only about one in nine DMSF candidates passed, against about one in four across all countries.

For every country side by side, see our web story on FMGE pass rates by country. Our guide to the FMGE exam explains the paper and the pass mark.

Davao Medical School Foundation Philippine licence exam result

DMSF reports that its College of Medicine ranked first in the March 2026 Physician Licensure Examination (PLE), with a pass rate of 87.80% (DMSF news, 10 April 2026). The PLE is the Philippine licence exam for doctors. It is a different exam from FMGE, so the two pass rates cannot be compared. For an Indian family, the FMGE record in the table above is the figure that decides the return to India.

Does the Davao Medical School Foundation MD meet NMC rules?

NMC, the National Medical Commission, is India's medical regulator. Its Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations, 2021 decide who can work as a doctor in India after studying abroad (NMC FMGL Regulations 2021 (PDF)). The table sets each rule next to what CHED told the Embassy of India on 8 May 2025 (Embassy of India, Manila advisory).

The Philippine licence rule for Davao Medical School Foundation graduates

This is the point families most need to understand. Philippine law requires every medical graduate to pass the PLE before practising. A foreign graduate can sit the PLE only if their home country lets Filipino doctors practise on the same terms as its own citizens. The Embassy of India, Manila says guidance from the Indian authorities on this reciprocity is awaited (Embassy of India, Manila advisory of 17 June 2026).

On 11 March 2026 the Philippine House of Representatives adopted Resolution No. 73. It says the MD from CHED-recognised schools is fully compliant with NMC rules. It also says full practice is open to all MD graduates who pass the PLE, subject to immigration law for foreigners. The Embassy advises families to make sure every NMC condition is met before taking admission.

For how these rules apply to your start date, read our guide on which NMC rules apply to you. The current NMC documents are listed on the NMC rules and regulations page.

Davao Medical School Foundation compared with the other Davao school

Davao City has a second medical school, Brokenshire College School of Medicine, which opened in 2016. Our guide to Brokenshire College School of Medicine covers it. For the whole country, including the NMAT, visa steps and the eight largest schools by FMGE candidates, see our MBBS in the Philippines guide.

Does futureMBBS place students at Davao Medical School Foundation?

No. futureMBBS works with 23 partner universities in 9 European countries: the Czech Republic (5), Hungary (4), Poland (3), Slovakia (3), Croatia (2), Latvia (2), Romania (2), Cyprus (1) and Lithuania (1). The Philippines is not among them (futureMBBS partner universities).

This guide sets out the official facts on DMSF so a family can judge it fairly. If you are weighing the Philippine route against a six-year European degree, our comparison of MBBS in the Philippines and a European medical school walks through both.

Conclusion: is Davao Medical School Foundation right for you?

Davao Medical School Foundation is a 50-year-old, non-profit school with its own 100-bed hospital and a large foreign student body. Its MD follows a college degree, so the full route is longer than Class 12 entry suggests. Its FMGE record sat close to one in five until December 2025, when it fell to 11.00%. The Philippine licence reciprocity for Indians is still not settled. Weigh those two facts before anything else.

Sources

• Davao Medical School Foundation, about page (profile, consortium, student numbers)

• Davao Medical School Foundation, history page (1975 to 2018 timeline)

• Davao Medical School Foundation, College of Medicine page (admission procedure, teaching)

• Davao Medical School Foundation, admissions page (steps, documents, fees)

• Davao Medical School Foundation, affiliated hospitals

• Davao Medical School Foundation, DMSFI Hospital

• Davao Medical School Foundation, Foreign Students Unit (visa and ACR I-card)

• Davao Medical School Foundation, scholarships

• Davao Medical School Foundation, notice on fees for AY 2026 to 2027

• Davao Medical School Foundation, March 2026 PLE result, 10 April 2026

• Embassy of India, Manila: Advisory on Medical Education in the Philippines, 17 June 2026

• NBEMS, FMGE Performance Report 2025 (June and December 2025 exams)

• NBEMS, country and institute-wise performance in FMGE 2024

• NBEMS, country and institute-wise performance in FMGE 2023

• NBEMS, FMGE exam page

• NMC, Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations, 2021 (PDF)

• NMC, rules and regulations page