Northern State Medical University 2026: FMGE and NMC Rules

Northern State Medical University (NSMU) is a state medical university in Arkhangelsk, in Russia's European North, founded in 1932. It teaches international students in English and has about 1,500 of them. In the December 2025 FMGE, the screening exam doctors trained abroad sit to work in India, 24.63% of its graduates passed.

Updated on 30 September 2026.

Key Takeaways

• State run since 1932. Northern State Medical University is a federal state university under Russia's Ministry of Health. It is the only medical university in the Arkhangelsk region (Study in Russia profile of Northern State Medical University).

• About 1,500 international students. The university teaches international students in English and trains them at 27 clinical bases across the region.

• A large FMGE group. 805 Northern State Medical University graduates sat FMGE in 2024, and 208 passed, a pass rate of 25.84% (NBEMS FMGE 2024 results).

• Pass rate close to the national average. In December 2025, 24.63% of Northern State Medical University candidates passed. The national rate was 23.94%, and the rate for all Russian universities was 30.94% (NBEMS FMGE Performance Report 2025).

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

What is Northern State Medical University?

Northern State Medical University is a medical university in Arkhangelsk, the administrative centre of Russia's Arctic zone. Its full name is the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education "Northern State Medical University" of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. In plain words, it is a government university run by Russia's health ministry (Study in Russia profile of Northern State Medical University). Study in Russia is the national admissions portal for international students in Russia.

The university trains doctors, dentists, pharmacists and public health specialists. It also runs residency and postgraduate programmes. Its rector is Nadezhda Alexandrovna Bylova. For the wider picture of studying medicine in Russia, see our MBBS in Russia country guide.

Northern State Medical University at a glance

General Medicine at Northern State Medical University

General Medicine is the course Indian students join. It is the Russian six-year medical degree, and graduates qualify as a physician. Russia does not award a degree called MBBS. The General Medicine degree is the qualification a graduate presents to NMC, the National Medical Commission, India's medical regulator.

Northern State Medical University states that educational programmes in English are available for international students, with a support system in place for them. Clinical practice takes place in multidisciplinary clinics and medical organisations across the region (Study in Russia profile of Northern State Medical University). Patients in Arkhangelsk speak Russian, so students need working Russian for hospital years.

Hostels at Northern State Medical University

Northern State Medical University gives every foreign student a hostel place for the whole course. The university has 6 dormitories with room for more than 2,060 students (Study in Russia page on Northern State Medical University dormitories).

• Cost: around 3,200 roubles a month for foreign students. The price depends on the room type and the building.

• Documents to move in: the enrolment order, plus a request from the International Faculty of General Medicine or the faculty the student joins.

• Safety: the hostels have 24-hour security and video surveillance.

• During entrance exams: temporary hostel places are not available, so applicants arrange their own stay.

For tuition and living costs across Russian universities, see our MBBS in Russia fees 2026 guide.

Is a Northern State Medical University degree valid in India?

Any foreign medical degree is judged against the NMC Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate (FMGL) Regulations, 2021. These rules apply to every student who started a foreign course after November 2021 (NMC FMGL Regulations 2021). All NMC rules sit on the NMC rules and regulations page.

The whole course must also be finished within ten years of joining. NMC does not approve a country as a whole. Each university and each student's course is checked against these rules. Our guide on how to check NMC and WDOMS recognition shows how to check a university's listing yourself. WDOMS is the World Directory of Medical Schools. Our eligibility guide for MBBS abroad covers the NEET UG rules before you apply.

Northern State Medical University FMGE pass rate, 2023 to 2025

FMGE, the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination, is the test NBEMS (National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences) runs for doctors trained abroad. NBEMS publishes results by university every year (NBEMS FMGE page). The table shows Northern State Medical University's official results.

Across both 2025 sessions, 172 of 799 Northern State Medical University candidates passed. That is 21.53%, or about one in five. The groups are large, so these figures are steadier than for smaller universities. The trend has moved between 17% and 26% over three years.

How Northern State Medical University compares with Russia and India overall

In both 2025 sessions, Northern State Medical University graduates passed at close to the national rate, and below the average for Russian universities. In 2024, the Northern State Medical University pass rate of 25.84% was almost the same as the national 25.80% (NBEMS FMGE 2024 results). All 2025 figures come from the NBEMS FMGE Performance Report 2025. For a view across countries, see our FMGE pass rate by country web story and our explainer on what the FMGE exam is.

What to weigh before choosing Northern State Medical University

Four points matter most for an Indian family looking at Northern State Medical University.

1. FMGE results: about one in five Northern State Medical University graduates passed FMGE in 2025. Plan FMGE preparation from the clinical years onward.

2. Russian for patients: English-medium teaching is available, but patients in Arkhangelsk speak Russian. Working Russian matters for the hospital years.

3. NMC rules: the 12-month internship must be done at Northern State Medical University, and the graduate needs a Russian licence to practise. Both are part of the FMGL 2021 rules.

4. Wider risks in Russia: read our report on mass expulsions of medical students at a Russian university and our guide to the disadvantages of studying MBBS in Russia cover what families have faced.

To compare with another Russian option, read our guide to Siberian State Medical University.

Does futureMBBS offer admission to Northern State Medical University?

No. futureMBBS works with 23 partner universities in 9 countries: Czech Republic (5), Hungary (4), Poland (3), Slovakia (3), Croatia (2), Latvia (2), Romania (2), Cyprus (1) and Lithuania (1). Russia is not among them. The full list is on our partner universities page. This guide sets out the official facts on Northern State Medical University so a family can judge it clearly.

Conclusion

Northern State Medical University is a state medical university in Arkhangelsk, founded in 1932, with about 1,500 international students. In 2024, 805 of its graduates sat FMGE. Their pass rate tracks the national average: 24.63% in December 2025 against 23.94% nationally. The NMC rules on the same-university internship and a Russian licence apply to every graduate.

Sources

• Study in Russia (Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation): Northern State Medical University profile

• Study in Russia: Northern State Medical University dormitories

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

• NMC rules and regulations page

• NBEMS FMGE examination page

• NBEMS FMGE Performance Report 2025 (PDF)

• NBEMS FMGE 2024 country and institute wise results (PDF)

• NBEMS FMGE 2023 country and institute wise results (PDF)