MBBS & Medicine Abroad

MBBS in the Philippines for International Students

Medicine in the Philippines is graduate-entry. CHED defines the Doctor of Medicine as the programme that comes after a completed bachelor's degree — so unlike most MBBS destinations, there is no route straight from high school into a Philippine MD.Global Admissions tracks 5 verified programmes in Philippines, with sourced tuition from USD 6,000–8,600 a year.

Quick facts

Degree: Doctor of Medicine (MD)source
Duration: 4 years, after you already hold a bachelor's degreesource
Verified programmes: 5
Tuition range: USD 6,000–8,600
Intake months: August, September
Entrance requirement: Requires a completed bachelor's degree plus an NMAT result — e.g. UP Manila requires a CHED Certificate of Eligibility, an allied-health degree, and an NMAT score.source
Language reality: English instruction is officially available, with Filipino needed for patient communication from year two.source

Tuition, sourced

Show fees in:

5 of 5 verified Philippines programmes with published tuition, cheapest first
University & programme	City	Tuition (sourced)
University of the Philippines Diliman Integrated Liberal Arts and Medicine (INTARMED)	Quezon City	50,650 PHP per year
AMA School of Medicine MBBS	—	6,000 USD per year
Cagayan State University MBBS	Tuguegarao City	7,500 USD per year
UV Gullas College of Medicine MBBS	—	700,000 INR per year
Davao Medical School Foundation MBBS	Davao City	8,600 USD per year

Fees as recorded from university-published data; verify on the university page before budgeting.

Who can apply

CHED specifies a four-year, full-time MD after a baccalaureate degree, with the fourth year built around a 12-month rotating clinical clerkship. For international applicants, UP Manila states that foreign students intending a medical course must obtain a CHED Certificate of Eligibility and submit an allied-health degree or diploma plus an NMAT result; UST's Faculty of Medicine and Surgery likewise requires an undergraduate degree and considers NMAT results, and its international guidance separately addresses English-proficiency evidence for non-English-speaking applicants. Both are provider-specific, so confirm current documents with the university.

Two of the largest sending markets layer their own pre-departure requirements on top of whatever a Philippine university asks for: Pakistani students must score at least 50% on PM&DC's Medical and Dental College Admission Test and hold a PM&DC Student Registration Certificate before accepting a place at any foreign medical institution, and Indian citizens must have qualified NEET-UG, which the Indian government treats as their Eligibility Certificate once they otherwise meet the standard admission criteria for a primary medical qualification abroad — a rule that applies to the Philippines' graduate-entry MD just as it does to a direct-entry MBBS elsewhere.

Scholarships, honestly

Global Admissions' scholarship data doesn't currently list a named medicine scholarship for Philippines. That doesn't rule one out at a specific university — it means budget on the assumption of full, self-funded tuition unless you find and verify one yourself.

Full self-funded tuition — the realistic default. Budget for the sticker price.

Global Admissions' scholarship data doesn't currently list a named medicine scholarship for the Philippines — budget for full, self-funded tuition and check each university's own fee page for a merit discount.

Search Philippines scholarships

Coming home licensed

What a Philippines medical degree takes to turn into a practising licence back home — three of Global Admissions' largest origin markets, each with its own regulator and exam chain.

Coming home to India▾

1
Does a Philippines medical degree qualify?
NMC's Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations FAQ describes a minimum 54-month course, a 12-month internship in the same foreign medical institution, and English as the medium of instruction among the requirements for a foreign medical qualification. This is an Indian regulator requirement, not confirmation that a Philippine university or its MD curriculum satisfies it.
source
2
Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE), also called the Screening Test
The Government of India identifies FMGE as the screening test for registration to practise in India after obtaining a primary medical qualification overseas. NMC's Screening Test Regulations require a screening test for an Indian citizen seeking provisional or permanent registration after a foreign primary medical qualification.
source
3
National Exit Test (NExT), or another test mandated by NMC for the applicable cohort
For graduates governed by the Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations, 2021, NMC lists clearance of NExT or another test mandated by NMC as a condition for permanent registration. This condition should not be read as proof that every foreign-graduate cohort must take both FMGE and NExT.
source
4
No separate named examination
NMC's registration guidance says that a foreign medical graduate who clears FMGE and fulfils the stated criteria may receive provisional registration from a State Medical Council for a 12-month internship or the balance period, as applicable.
source
5
No separate named examination
For graduates governed by FMGL Regulations 2021, permanent registration requires a supervised internship in India for at least 12 months. NMC's Screening Test Regulations also describe permanent registration after the required one-year internship for eligible candidates.
source
6
No separate named examination beyond the applicable licensing-test requirement
Permanent registration is the registration that permits independent practice of modern scientific medicine in India. A foreign medical graduate may not practise in India without permanent registration under FMGL Regulations 2021.
source

Coming home to Pakistan▾

1
Does a Philippines medical degree qualify?
PM&DC states that graduates of foreign institutions not recognised by PM&DC will not receive provisional registration; its notice identifies recognition by the relevant foreign regulator and ECFMG institutional accreditation as criteria for National Registration Examination eligibility. PM&DC's later foreign-admission notice also requires Pakistani students to complete online registration before foreign admission to be eligible for provisional registration and the National Registration Examination. Neither notice confirms recognition of a Philippine institution.
source
2
MDCAT where applicable; no additional named examination for the certificate
Before accepting study at a foreign undergraduate medical or dental institution, the PM&DC policy requires the student to obtain a PM&DC Student Registration Certificate and verify that the institution is on PM&DC's list.
source
3
No separate named examination
A Pakistani foreign medical or dental graduate with an undergraduate qualification from a foreign university or institution recognised by PM&DC may be granted provisional registration to undertake a house job after the granting institution verifies the qualification.
source
4
National Registration Examination (NRE)
Passing NRE is mandatory for full registration for Pakistani foreign graduates. The official NRE medical syllabus states that eligible candidates must pass both its theory and Clinical Skills Examination components separately.
source
5
No separate named examination
PM&DC requires a minimum one-year, assessed, hands-on clinical internship, foundation year, or house job in an approved hospital or institution for conversion of provisional registration to full registration.
source
6
No separate named examination beyond NRE
For Pakistani foreign graduates, full registration depends on satisfying the NRE requirement and the mandatory training requirement associated with provisional registration.
source

Coming home to Nigeria▾

1
Does a Philippines medical degree qualify?
MDCN states that foreign-trained Nigerian medical and dental graduates seeking registration, including graduates intending to sit the assessment examination, may apply for primary-source verification through DataFlow. This is a verification-process notice, not a finding that a Philippine qualification is registrable in Nigeria.
source
2
Primary-source verification (PSV)
MDCN says foreign-trained Nigerian medical and dental graduates seeking registration in Nigeria, including people sitting the MDCN assessment examination, may apply for primary-source verification of their credentials through DataFlow.
source
3
MDCN Assessment Examination (application route; individual applicability must be confirmed)
MDCN lists Assessment Examination as an online application service and provides its application route. The cited notice does not say that every foreign-trained graduate must sit or pass it, so the individual requirement must be confirmed with MDCN.
source
4
No separate named examination at this step
MDCN states that newly graduated medical and dental practitioners must complete 12 uninterrupted months of housemanship at an MDCN-accredited training centre to be eligible for full registration.
source
5
No separate named examination at this step
MDCN identifies completion of the accredited 12-month housemanship requirement as the condition for eligibility for full registration.
source
6
Annual practising licence
MDCN says registered practitioners must pay the prescribed annual practising fee and that practising without paying it is an offence under section 14 of the MDCN Act.
source

What to weigh

The graduate-entry structure is the single biggest thing to weigh against other MBBS-style destinations: a completed bachelor's degree has to happen before the four-year MD even starts, so total time to a medical degree runs well past the four years the programme itself takes. The MD's own fourth year is already a 12-month rotating clinical clerkship under CHED's standards, and that's separate again from the further one-year postgraduate internship the Professional Regulation Commission requires before its own licensure exam.

English is officially the medium of instruction at UST's Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, but the same source says Filipino is needed for communicating with patients from the second year onward, so the English-only window is narrower than the label alone suggests. Recognition back home is a separate question again: India's National Medical Commission requires at least 54 months of study and a 12-month internship completed at the same foreign institution before its foreign-graduate licensing rules even apply; Pakistan's PM&DC checks that the granting institution is one it recognises before any registration follows; and Nigeria's Medical and Dental Council routes foreign-trained graduates through DataFlow primary-source verification — a process step, not a recognition finding. The "Coming home licensed" section below walks through each chain step by step.

Upcoming deadlines

Integrated Liberal Arts and Medicine (INTARMED)
University of the Philippines Diliman
Mar 1, 2027
MBBS
Cagayan State University
May 1, 2027
MBBS
UV Gullas College of Medicine
Jun 1, 2027
MBBS
Davao Medical School Foundation
Jul 1, 2027
MBBS
AMA School of Medicine
Aug 1, 2027

Frequently asked questions

What is the medium of instruction?

English instruction is officially available — the University of Santo Tomas's Faculty of Medicine and Surgery states that English is its medium of instruction — but the same source says Filipino is needed for communicating with patients from the second year through the fourth year, and that non-English-speaking applicants must separately show English proficiency. That's a named-university statement, not a countrywide guarantee, so confirm the specific university's own admissions materials.

What is the eligibility criteria for admission?

The Philippine MD is graduate-entry, so a completed bachelor's degree comes first under CHED's standards. UP Manila states that foreign students intending a medical course must obtain a CHED Certificate of Eligibility and submit an allied-health degree or diploma plus an NMAT result; UST's Faculty of Medicine and Surgery likewise requires an undergraduate degree and considers NMAT results, alongside English-proficiency evidence for non-English-speaking applicants. Both are provider-specific, so confirm current requirements with the university directly.

Can I practice medicine in India after my graduation?

Only after separately clearing India's licensing chain for foreign medical graduates — a Philippine MD doesn't do it automatically. The National Medical Commission's Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations, 2021 require at least 54 months of study and a 12-month internship completed at the same foreign institution, English as the medium of instruction, eligibility for a licence in the country of training, a further 12-month supervised internship back in India, and clearing the National Exit Test or another NMC-mandated test for that cohort.

What is FMGE?

The Foreign Medical Graduate Examination — also called the Screening Test — is the exam India's National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences runs for citizens who completed a primary medical qualification abroad, the Philippines included. The National Medical Commission's Screening Test Regulations require it before a foreign-trained graduate can get provisional or permanent registration to practise in India.

Can I practise in Pakistan with a degree from abroad?

Only through PM&DC's own process, and only if the granting institution is one it recognises: PM&DC's notice for foreign graduates names recognition by the relevant foreign regulator and ECFMG institutional accreditation as the criteria for National Registration Examination eligibility, and a separate PM&DC notice requires Pakistani students to complete online pre-departure registration before foreign admission to stay eligible. From there the standard chain applies — provisional registration for a house job once the qualification is verified, passing the National Registration Examination's theory and Clinical Skills Examination components, and completing a minimum one-year assessed clinical internship or house job at a PM&DC-approved hospital before full registration follows.

What is the total cost of MBBS abroad without a scholarship?

For the Philippines specifically, Global Admissions' verified programmes are fully priced: all 5 publish a tuition figure, with the dominant cluster in USD 6,000–8,600 a year (one programme is priced in INR and one in PHP, outside that band). That figure only covers the MD itself — because the Philippine route is graduate-entry, budget separately for the prior bachelor's degree it requires, which this catalogue doesn't track.

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How to verify this page

Confirm the university appears on your home country's medical regulator list (e.g. NMC, PMDC, MDCN) before applying.
Cross-check the tuition figure on the university's own official fee page — not a third-party agent site.
Confirm the teaching language matches what you can actually study in (English-medium vs local-language track).
Check the exact degree title awarded (MBBS vs MD vs Bachelor of Medicine) and whether it's recognised back home.
Ask about the internship and clinical-rotation structure — some programmes require it happen abroad, not at home.
Understand your home country's return-home licensing rule (e.g. NEET, MDCAT, a screening exam) before you commit.