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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

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  • Rankings for Students
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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Best universities in the UK for medicine degrees

Top five universities for clinical studies and health sciences

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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