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Best universities for medicine 2024

Find the best universities for medicine using Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings 2024 data

    October 26 2023
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    Top 10 universities in the world for medicine 2024

    Scroll down for the full list of best universities in the world for medicine and health sciences.

    Clinical sciences rank 2024 Clinical sciences rank 2023 UniversityCountry/region
    1 1 University of OxfordUnited Kingdom
    2 3 Harvard UniversityUnited States
    3 2 University of CambridgeUnited Kingdom
    4 4 Imperial College LondonUnited Kingdom
    5 6 Stanford UniversityUnited States
    6 11 Johns Hopkins UniversityUnited States
    7 8 UCLUnited Kingdom
    8 9 Yale UniversityUnited States
    9 7 University of TorontoCanada
    10 15 University of PennsylvaniaUnited States

    The study of medicine varies greatly around the world. In the US, medicine is studied in graduate school after the completion of an undergraduate degree that is not directly related to medicine.

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    Elsewhere, such as in the UK, students can enrol for undergraduate clinical degrees.

    Wherever you study, almost all clinical degrees span a good number of years – more than non-clinical courses.

    So it’s best to ensure that you make a wise choice when you commit yourself to a lengthy course of study.

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    Times Higher Education has published a ranking of the top 1,059 universities for clinical, pre-clinical and health studies, featuring colleges in more than 50 countries worldwide.

    The ranking uses the same methodology as the THE World University Rankings, but with more weight on citations and slightly less on teaching and research metrics. The full methodology can be found here.

    Scroll down for a full list of degrees included in the clinical subject ranking of top universities, and a guide on what you can do with them.

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    5. Stanford University

    The graduate school at Stanford University provides master’s and PhD programmes to students who wish to further their medical training.

    Six Nobel prizewinners, 31 members of the National Academy of Sciences and 42 members of the Institute of Medicine are among the current faculty at the school.

    Researchers at Stanford Medicine are undertaking research across a number of different areas, including cancer, immunology, genetics and neuroscience.

    The school also provides healthcare for adults and children, with a dedicated centre for children.

    4. Imperial College London

    The medical programme at Imperial College London offers a range of teaching approaches, from traditional theoretical classes to innovative and hands-on experience.

    From the very first term, students have direct contact with patients, unlike at other universities in the UK.

    The six-year undergraduate qualification in medicine also includes a bachelor of science, in addition to the MBBS.

    Imperial’s courses are heavily scientific, with an emphasis not only on clinical practice but also on research techniques.

    Entry requirements are high; most accepted students will have top grades in chemistry, biology and a third subject, and will achieve a high score in the BMAT exam. The application process also includes an interview.

    Imperial is one of the most international institutions in the UK, but only a few overseas students are accepted on the medical programme each year.

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    3. University of Cambridge

    Students can enrol in an undergraduate medicine degree at the University of Cambridge.

    Graduates also have several options to study medicine, either on an accelerated graduate programme or a condensed version of the pre-clinical and clinical courses.

    Half the graduates of Cambridge’s medical degrees become general practitioners, and almost all will work in the NHS in the UK.

    Entrance to the medicine degree requires excellent secondary qualifications and high scores on the BMAT test.

    Cambridge students, particularly medical students, have a busy schedule, juggling studies, college social events and a variety of recreational activities.

    2. Harvard University

    Founded in 1782, the medical school at Harvard University is the third-oldest medical school in the US.

    Faculty of the school also teach in other science departments at Harvard, as well as working in clinical departments at some of the hospitals affiliated to the university.

    There are four main teaching hospitals across the Boston area.

    Harvard has introduced problem-based learning to the curriculum. There is also a specialised programme, accepting only 30 applicants each year, that focuses on biomedical research.

    Medical students at Harvard belong to one of five societies named after alumni. Students work in small groups within each society, compete in sports competitions and attend social events.

    1. University of Oxford

    Medicine at the University of Oxford is a traditional course, split into pre-clinical and clinical stages.

    About 150 students are admitted to the course each year, and another 30 to a graduate course that condenses medical studies into just four years.

    In the first few years, students are taught theoretically with little patient contact. In the course’s later years, they move to the clinical phase, spending much more time at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

    The university has two main libraries for medicine and clinical studies, one providing resources for the pre-clinical elements of the course and another focusing on healthcare.

    In addition to its distinctive course, Oxford offers students the experience of college life, where social events and small tutorials take place.

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    Best universities for medicine 2024

    Click each institution to view its World University Rankings 2024 profile

    Clinical sciences rank 2024 Clinical sciences rank 2023 UniversityCountry/region
    1 1 University of OxfordUnited Kingdom
    2 3 Harvard UniversityUnited States
    3 2 University of CambridgeUnited Kingdom
    4 4 Imperial College LondonUnited Kingdom
    5 6 Stanford UniversityUnited States
    6 11 Johns Hopkins UniversityUnited States
    7 8 UCLUnited Kingdom
    8 9 Yale UniversityUnited States
    9 7 University of TorontoCanada
    10 15 University of PennsylvaniaUnited States
    11 =19 University of California, BerkeleyUnited States
    12 12 Columbia UniversityUnited States
    13 10 King’s College LondonUnited Kingdom
    14 5 Tsinghua UniversityChina
    15 16 University of California, Los AngelesUnited States
    =16 =19 Karolinska InstituteSweden
    =16 14 National University of SingaporeSingapore
    18 =17 University of WashingtonUnited States
    19 13 University of Hong KongHong Kong
    20 =17 University of MelbourneAustralia
    21 22 University of Michigan-Ann ArborUnited States
    22 23 Duke UniversityUnited States
    23 21 University of EdinburghUnited Kingdom
    24 24 Peking UniversityChina
    25 28 The University of ChicagoUnited States
    26 =32 McGill UniversityCanada
    =27 29 University of California, San DiegoUnited States
    =27 26 Charité - Universitätsmedizin BerlinGermany
    29 =32 Monash UniversityAustralia
    30 31 The University of TokyoJapan
    31 =35 New York UniversityUnited States
    =32 42 University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUnited States
    =32 27 Washington University in St LouisUnited States
    34 37 University of British ColumbiaCanada
    35 =38 Universität HeidelbergGermany
    36 25 McMaster UniversityCanada
    37 44 Chinese University of Hong KongHong Kong
    =38 45 Fudan UniversityChina
    =38 =35 University of SydneyAustralia
    40 30 Northwestern UniversityUnited States
    41 48 Boston UniversityUnited States
    42 43 KU LeuvenBelgium
    43 =32 Yonsei University (Seoul campus)South Korea
    =44 =38 Emory UniversityUnited States
    =44 41 Seoul National UniversitySouth Korea
    46 52 University of AmsterdamNetherlands
    47 47 Erasmus University RotterdamNetherlands
    48 =38 Kyoto UniversityJapan
    49 50 University of ManchesterUnited Kingdom
    50 46 LMU MunichGermany
    51 51 ETH ZurichSwitzerland
    52 53 Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityChina
    53 49 University of GlasgowUnited Kingdom
    54 56 The University of QueenslandAustralia
    55 64 Maastricht UniversityNetherlands
    56 58 Sichuan UniversityChina
    57 =54 University of Southern CaliforniaUnited States
    58 57 Vanderbilt UniversityUnited States
    59 =54 University of BristolUnited Kingdom
    60 74 University of ZurichSwitzerland
    61 =77 University of GroningenNetherlands
    =62 =60 Brown UniversityUnited States
    =62 70 Leiden UniversityNetherlands
    64 71 University of CopenhagenDenmark
    65 =60 Technical University of MunichGermany
    66 62 University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh campusUnited States
    67 85 University of MinnesotaUnited States
    68 69 Queen Mary University of LondonUnited Kingdom
    69 82 Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)South Korea
    70 73 University of BernSwitzerland
    71 59 University of AdelaideAustralia
    72 =75 National Taiwan University (NTU)Taiwan
    73 =75 University of AlbertaCanada
    =74 66 University of BirminghamUnited Kingdom
    =74 65 UNSW SydneyAustralia
    76 86 University of BarcelonaSpain
    77 79 University of NottinghamUnited Kingdom
    78 72 Sorbonne UniversityFrance
    79 126–150 University of California, DavisUnited States
    80 101–125 Osaka UniversityJapan
    81 =77 University of Cape TownSouth Africa
    82 =90 Zhejiang UniversityChina
    83 =67 Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyChina
    =84 99 Lund UniversitySweden
    =84 63 Wuhan UniversityChina
    86 101–125 Aarhus UniversityDenmark
    87 81 Tufts UniversityUnited States
    =88 84 University of São PauloBrazil
    =88 93 Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamNetherlands
    90 101–125 University of MontrealCanada
    91 101–125 University of BaselSwitzerland
    92 101–125 University of FloridaUnited States
    93 80 Newcastle UniversityUnited Kingdom
    94 =94 Ohio State University (Main campus)United States
    95 101–125 Medical University of ViennaAustria
    96 98 University of TübingenGermany
    97 =100 Ghent UniversityBelgium
    =98 92 Case Western Reserve UniversityUnited States
    =98 =90 University of FreiburgGermany
    =100 89 Nanyang Technological University, SingaporeSingapore
    =100 =94 University of OttawaCanada
    101–125 101–125 University of AntwerpBelgium
    101–125 101–125 University of AucklandNew Zealand
    101–125 =100 Australian National UniversityAustralia
    101–125 101–125 University of BolognaItaly
    101–125 126–150 University of CalgaryCanada
    101–125 97 Dartmouth CollegeUnited States
    101–125 126–150 University of GothenburgSweden
    101–125 126–150 University of HelsinkiFinland
    101–125 151–175 University of Illinois ChicagoUnited States
    101–125 126–150 University of IowaUnited States
    101–125 101–125 University of LeicesterUnited Kingdom
    101–125 101–125 University of LiverpoolUnited Kingdom
    101–125 126–150 Nanjing UniversityChina
    101–125 83 Université Paris CitéFrance
    101–125 126–150 Université Paris-SaclayFrance
    101–125 126–150 Radboud University NijmegenNetherlands
    101–125 126–150 University of RochesterUnited States
    101–125 101–125 University of SheffieldUnited Kingdom
    101–125 88 University of SouthamptonUnited Kingdom
    101–125 101–125 Sun Yat-sen UniversityChina
    101–125 126–150 Uppsala UniversitySweden
    101–125 101–125 The University of Western AustraliaAustralia
    101–125 176–200 University of Wisconsin-MadisonUnited States
    101–125 87 University of YorkUnited Kingdom
    126–150 151–175 Université Catholique de LouvainBelgium
    126–150 151–175 University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical CampusUnited States
    126–150 201–250 University of Erlangen-NurembergGermany
    126–150 151–175 University of ExeterUnited Kingdom
    126–150 176–200 University of GenevaSwitzerland
    126–150 176–200 Georgetown UniversityUnited States
    126–150 201–250 George Washington UniversityUnited States
    126–150 251–300 University of GöttingenGermany
    126–150 101–125 University of HamburgGermany
    126–150 151–175 Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityHong Kong
    126–150 151–175 University of LausanneSwitzerland
    126–150 126–150 University of LeedsUnited Kingdom
    126–150 201–250 Université Libre de BruxellesBelgium
    126–150 301–400 University of MassachusettsUnited States
    126–150 176–200 University of MiamiUnited States
    126–150 176–200 University of MilanItaly
    126–150 101–125 Oregon Health and Science UniversityUnited States
    126–150 126–150 University of OsloNorway
    126–150 126–150 Queen’s UniversityCanada
    126–150 126–150 Queen’s University BelfastUnited Kingdom
    126–150 151–175 University of Texas at DallasUnited States
    126–150 151–175 Tohoku UniversityJapan
    126–150 151–175 Trinity College DublinIreland
    126–150 126–150 Ulm UniversityGermany
    126–150 201–250 University of UtahUnited States
    126–150 101–125 University of WarwickUnited Kingdom
    126–150 151–175 Western UniversityCanada
    151–175 176–200 University of BonnGermany
    151–175 201–250 University of California, IrvineUnited States
    151–175 176–200 Cardiff UniversityUnited Kingdom
    151–175 201–250 University of CologneGermany
    151–175 176–200 Humanitas UniversityItaly
    151–175 =94 King Abdulaziz UniversitySaudi Arabia
    151–175 151–175 Korea UniversitySouth Korea
    151–175 176–200 La Trobe UniversityAustralia
    151–175 201–250 Université LavalCanada
    151–175 176–200 Macquarie UniversityAustralia
    151–175 151–175 University of Milan-BicoccaItaly
    151–175 251–300 University of MünsterGermany
    151–175 201–250 University of PaduaItaly
    151–175 201–250 RWTH Aachen UniversityGermany
    151–175 101–125 St George’s, University of LondonUnited Kingdom
    151–175 201–250 University of Southern DenmarkDenmark
    151–175 126–150 Stellenbosch UniversitySouth Africa
    151–175 151–175 University of Technology SydneyAustralia
    151–175 251–300 University of Texas at AustinUnited States
    151–175 176–200 Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU)Japan
    151–175 201–250 TU DresdenGermany
    151–175 151–175 University of Virginia (Main campus)United States
    151–175 126–150 Vita-Salute San Raffaele UniversityItaly
    151–175 101–125 Wageningen University & ResearchNetherlands
    151–175 126–150 University of the WitwatersrandSouth Africa
    151–175 126–150 University of WürzburgGermany
    176–200 126–150 University of AberdeenUnited Kingdom
    176–200 151–175 Autonomous University of BarcelonaSpain
    176–200 251–300 University of BathUnited Kingdom
    176–200 176–200 University of BergenNorway
    176–200 NR Catholic University of the Sacred HeartItaly
    176–200 201–250 University of DundeeUnited Kingdom
    176–200 201–250 Indiana UniversityUnited States
    176–200 201–250 University of KielGermany
    176–200 101–125 Lancaster UniversityUnited Kingdom
    176–200 251–300 University of MacauMacao
    176–200 201–250 Medical University of GrazAustria
    176–200 251–300 Medical University of InnsbruckAustria
    176–200 201–250 Michigan State UniversityUnited States
    176–200 176–200 University of NewcastleAustralia
    176–200 126–150 Northeastern University, USUnited States
    176–200 151–175 University of OtagoNew Zealand
    176–200 301–400 Penn State (Main campus)United States
    176–200 201–250 Pompeu Fabra UniversitySpain
    176–200 176–200 Queensland University of TechnologyAustralia
    176–200 201–250 RCSI University of Medicine and Health SciencesIreland
    176–200 201–250 University of South FloridaUnited States
    176–200 251–300 Technical University of DenmarkDenmark
    176–200 201–250 Tel Aviv UniversityIsrael
    176–200 176–200 University College CorkIreland
    176–200 201–250 University College DublinIreland

     

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