Medical Schools

Medical Training Pathway in Malaysia

In Malaysia, most medical schools offer a five-year undergraduate medical degree designed to prepare students for clinical practice. Upon graduation, all new doctors are required to undergo a compulsory housemanship programme in government hospitals. This internship typically lasts two years and combines supervised clinical training with service responsibilities.

The duration of housemanship may be extended at the discretion of supervising consultants if additional time is needed to achieve satisfactory competency in specific disciplines. However, the total internship period cannot exceed six years.

After completing housemanship and obtaining full registration, doctors must serve a minimum of two continuous years in public service, as required under the Malaysian Medical Act. This service may be fulfilled in Ministry of Health hospitals, other government healthcare facilities, or approved public-sector agencies, as determined by the Director General of Health.

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Admissions and Programme Structure

Admission into Malaysian medical schools, particularly public universities, is highly competitive. Medical programmes generally span five to six years. Training begins with approximately two years of pre-clinical education, focusing on core medical sciences within an academic setting, followed by three years of clinical training conducted in teaching hospitals.

The curriculum is commonly organised into three phases.
Phase I covers the foundational medical sciences through integrated teaching during the early years of study.
Phase II and Phase III focus on clinical skills development and structured clinical clerkships across major medical disciplines, allowing students to progressively consolidate their practical competence.

Medical schools work closely with affiliated teaching hospitals to ensure continuity between academic learning and clinical exposure.

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Entry Requirements

Applicants are typically admitted based on recognised pre-university qualifications, including STPM, the Malaysian Matriculation Programme, GCE A-Levels, the International Baccalaureate, Foundation in Science programmes, Diploma in Health Sciences, or the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC).

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Here is a searchable and comprehensive list of medical schools in Malaysia, both public and private. If you have any feedback, please email us.

Medical School	URL	Type	Locale	State	Description
Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya	https://medicine.um.edu.my	Public	Pantai Dalam	Kuala Lumpur	Est. 1905 (oldest in Malaysia ). Over 500 academic staff (largest faculty at UM) . Annual intake ~150–160 now, targeting 200 graduates per year .
Faculty of Medicine, National University of Malaysia (UKM)	https://www.ukm.my/medicine	Public	Cheras	Kuala Lumpur	Est. 1972 . Around 400 academic staff . First intake of 44 students in 1973 ; now one of the largest medical schools (hundreds of new students annually).
School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)	https://medic.usm.my	Public	Kubang Kerian	Kelantan	Est. 1979 . Main campus at USM Health Campus, Kelantan. Strong research focus; first intake in 1981. A large faculty with an intake of roughly ~150 students per year (pre- and clinical).
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)	https://www.fmhs.unimas.my	Public	Kuching	Sarawak	Est. 1995. Only medical school in East Malaysia (Sarawak). Provides 5-year MD program with teaching at Sarawak General Hospital. Moderate-sized faculty; trains local Sarawakian doctors (intake ~100/year).
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)	https://medic.upm.edu.my	Public	Serdang	Selangor	Est. 1996. Formerly known as Universiti Pertanian Malaysia. Offers MD program with emphasis on research and agriculture medicine. Equipped with UPM Teaching Hospital. Admits around 100+ students annually.
RCSI & UCD Malaysia Campus (RUMC), Penang	https://www.rcsiucd.edu.my	Private	George Town	Pulau Pinang	Est. 1996. Ireland’s RCSI & UCD branch campus. Students spend 2.5 years in Ireland, then clinical years in Penang . Produces ~130 new doctors each year .
Kulliyyah of Medicine, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)	https://kulliyyah.iium.edu.my/medicine	Public	Kuantan	Pahang	Est. 1997. Integrates Islamic values in medical curriculum. Moderate faculty size; over 2,000 medical graduates to date . IIUM’s teaching hospital (IIUM Medical Centre) serves as clinical training site.
Manipal University College Malaysia (MUCM)	https://manipal.edu.my	Private	Melaka (Bukit Baru)	Melaka	Est. 1997. Former Melaka-Manipal Medical College (twinning with Manipal, India). One of the largest private med schools with 1,000 students enrolled (local & international) (200 intakes/year).
International Medical University (IMU), Kuala Lumpur	https://www.imu.edu.my	Private	Bukit Jalil	Kuala Lumpur	Est. 1992. Malaysia’s first private medical university. Over 7,000 medical alumni since inception . Has the largest faculty and student intake among private med schools (~200+ per intake).
Universiti Kuala Lumpur Royal College of Medicine Perak (UniKL RCMP)	https://rcmp.unikl.edu.my	Private	Ipoh	Perak	Est. 1999. Now UniKL’s medical faculty (since 2006). Produced over 10,000 medical graduates in 25 years . Supported by 400+ academic staff . Plans to expand student intake further.
Faculty of Medicine, AIMST University	https://aimst.edu.my	Private	Bedong	Kedah	Est. 2002. Private medical faculty in Kedah. Currently on its 30th intake, with 2,500+ alumni to date . Internationally experienced faculty; annual MBBS intake roughly ~100 students.
Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM)	https://medicine.uitm.edu.my	Public	Sungai Buloh	Selangor	Est. 2003. Malaysia’s largest public university; med faculty emphasizes research and advanced clinical training. Operates UiTM Teaching Hospital in Puncak Alam. Admits ~150 students per cohort (MBBS with research).
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS)	https://ums.edu.my	Public	Kota Kinabalu	Sabah	Est. 2003. Only medical faculty in Sabah. Offers 5-year MD program with training at UMS Hospital. Focus on rural and community health. Small-medium intake (~80–100/year), addressing East Malaysia’s healthcare needs.
Faculty of Medicine, University of Cyberjaya	https://cyberjaya.edu.my	Private	Cyberjaya	Selangor	Est. 2005. Formerly known as CUCMS. A 5-year MBBS program with modern facilities. Smaller class size (dozens per intake). Focuses on producing well-rounded clinicians; 5-star rated in MOHE SETARA.
Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, UCSI University	https://www.ucsiuniversity.edu.my	Private	Port Dickson	Negeri Sembilan	Est. 2005. Private university with MD program based at its Springhill (PD) campus . Curriculum modeled after US/UK standards. Moderate intake (~50–100/year); clinical training in its panel hospitals.
Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia	https://www.monash.edu.my/medicine	Private	Bandar Sunway	Selangor	Est. 2005. Branch of Monash (Australia). Offers a 5-year MBBS/MD fully in Malaysia. Graduates ~120 new doctors annually . Strong international curriculum; highly ranked globally .
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM)	https://fpsk.usim.edu.my	Public	Pandan Indah	Kuala Lumpur	Est. 2006. Islamic science university’s med faculty. First intake 29 students in 2005 ; now 317 students enrolled . Integrates Islamic studies (Quran, Hadith) into medical curriculum .
International Medical School, Management & Science University (MSU)	https://www.msu.edu.my	Private	Shah Alam	Selangor	Est. 2006. Private medical school offering MBBS. Emphasizes industry-ready training and global exposure. Graduated hundreds of doctors. Has partnerships for clinical placements abroad. Intake size moderate (~50–80).
Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA)	https://fp.unisza.edu.my	Public	Kuala Terengganu	Terengganu	Est. 2009. Began with 30 students in 2009 . State-of-the-art Medical Campus in Terengganu. Focuses on community medicine for East Coast. Growing intake (initial 30, now ~100/year) and own teaching hospital.
Faculty of Medicine and Defence Health, National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM)	https://www.upnm.edu.my	Public	Sungai Besi	Kuala Lumpur	Est. 2009. Unique program combining medical education with military training . First cohort 52 students in 2009 . Produces military medical officers. Small, selective annual intake (~50).
Faculty of Medicine, MAHSA University	https://mahsa.edu.my	Private	Bandar Saujana Putra	Selangor	Est. 2009. Grown from a college to full-fledged university. Offers MBBS with integrated clinical exposure. New modern campus and its own teaching hospital. Admits a moderate number of students (~100 per year).
Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia (NUMed)	https://www.ncl.ac.uk/numed	Private	Iskandar Puteri	Johor	Est. 2009. Branch campus of Newcastle (UK). One intake per year (September) with a smaller cohort – “everyone knows everyone” . UK-equivalent 5-year MBBS; highly regarded British curriculum.
Faculty of Medicine, SEGi University	https://www.segi.edu.my	Private	Kota Damansara	Selangor	Est. 2010. Private med school offering MBBS. Focus on clinical skills and early patient contact. Affiliated with government hospitals in Klang Valley for training. Relatively small class size (≤100 per batch).
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR)	https://fis.utar.edu.my/…Medicine-and-Health-Sciences.php	Private	Sungai Long	Selangor	Est. 2010. UTAR’s medical faculty (FMHS) offers a 5-year MBBS. Known for affordable tuition and good outcomes. Intake roughly 50–100 students/year. Graduates are housemen in major Malaysian hospitals.
School of Medicine, Taylor’s University	https://university.taylors.edu.my/…/school-of-medicine.html	Private	Subang Jaya	Selangor	Est. 2010. One of the newer private MBBS programs. Modern “campus-in-hospital” concept for clinical years. Produced its first graduating class mid-2010s. Intakes were paused briefly but have resumed (~50 per year).
Faculty of Medicine, Asia Metropolitan University (AMU)	https://www.amu.edu.my	Private	Johor Bahru	Johor	Est. 2010. Offers a 5-year MBBS accredited by MQA/MMC . Faculty includes 100+ medical lecturers . Smaller annual intake (around 30–60). Focuses on accessible medical education and international students.
Perdana University, School of Medicine	https://www.perdanauniversity.edu.my	Private	Serdang (MAEPS)	Selangor (W.P.)	Est. 2011. Initially partnered with Johns Hopkins (graduate-entry MD) and RCSI (5-year MBBS). Now offers its own MBBS program. Small, research-oriented cohorts (~40/year). Notable for Malaysia’s first 4-year MD program .
Faculty of Medicine, Lincoln University College	https://lincoln.edu.my	Private	Petaling Jaya	Selangor	Est. 2011. Private college offering MBBS and allied health degrees. Focuses on producing competent general practitioners. Utilizes government hospitals in Klang Valley for clinical training. Moderate intake (~50/year).
Faculty of Medicine, Widad University College	https://www.widad.edu.my	Private	Kuantan	Pahang	Est. 2012. Formerly University College Shahputra/Yayasan Pahang. Offers MBBS program aligned with public sector needs. Smaller class size (about 30–50 per intake). Supported by Pahang state; training at Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan.
Faculty of Medicine, Quest International University Perak (QIUP)	https://qiup.edu.my	Private	Ipoh	Perak	Est. 2012. Joint venture with state government. MBBS with emphasis on hands-on learning in community clinics. Keeps a low student-to-lecturer ratio. Admits ~40–60 students per year; close mentorship approach.
Kulliyyah of Medicine & Health Sciences, UniSHAMS	https://www.unishams.edu.my	Private	Kuala Ketil	Kedah	Est. 2012. Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Intl. Islamic Univ. (state-owned Kedah). Evolved from INSANIAH University College . Integrates Islamic medical ethics. Small intake (~30/year); graduates serve in Kedah’s healthcare system.
School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University	https://www.sunway.edu.my	Private	Bandar Sunway	Selangor	Est. 2024. Newest accredited medical school in Malaysia . Offers a 5-year MD in collaboration with Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine. State-of-the-art facilities and strong research focus. First cohort commenced 2024 (limited seats ~50).