Bachelor of Medicine and
Bachelor of Surgery

Programme Features

Society needs doctors who are forward-thinking, well-informed and above all, capable of delivering humane and ethical medical care with the dedication to serve the community. HKUMed nurtures these qualities in our future doctors, making sure they graduate as life-long learners well-prepared to excel in their future careers and in their journey of life. Many HKUMed graduates have become leaders in different domains of medicine, academia, public service and other arenas.

 

Come join our MBBS programme if you aspire to be one of them.

 

>>Read our programme prospectus to find out more<<

 

Under the existing MBBS, a study track titled “MBBS (Distinguished MedScholar)” is offered from the academic year 2023/24 onwards for students with outstanding academic achievements and admission interview results.

If you are admitted to MBBS (Distinguished MedScholar), you will pursue a Master of Research in Medicine (MRes[Med]) in the Enrichment Year in addition to completing the MBBS curriculum, thereby earning two degrees in six years. There is also the flexibility for you to pursue other Enrichment Year options according to your own preferences.

Please see here for MBBS (Distinguished MedScholar) FAQ and Entry Requirements.

 

 

Training with Partner Institutions

Queen Mary Hospital (QMH) is our major teaching hospital. It is also a tertiary referral centre for complex and advanced medical services for the entire Hong Kong territory. Most of the Faculty’s clinical departments are located at QMH, which offer dedicated teaching and learning activities and professional clinical training for our students.

 

Apart from QMH, learning also takes place in other public hospitals of the Hospital Authority and private hospitals such as the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital, Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong, and the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital across the border. The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital also provides an invaluable platform for our students to receive clinical training and attain a more in-depth understanding of the systems and practices across the border.

 

Enrichment Opportunities beyond Medical Training

Our programme goes well beyond vocational training. Your third year of study, which we call the Enrichment Year, offers a golden opportunity to explore areas of interest in either medical or non-medical fields and design your own learning programme in Hong Kong or abroad. Similarly, after the Fourth Summative Assessment, the 4-week MBBS Elective lets you explore a medical area of your choice.

Early Clinical Exposure and Structured Acquisition of Clinical Interpersonal Skills

As early as the first semester of Year 1, you will start learning the interpersonal and clinical skills necessary for effective and compassionate care for patients. Much of the learning will take place in the purpose-built MBBS Simulation Laboratory, assisted by a well-developed clinical skills e-platform.

Inter-professional Learning

Successful doctors know how to work effectively in an interprofessional team for the delivery of modern healthcare. HKUMed has taken the lead in delivering inter-professional educational experiences where medical, nursing and pharmacy students learn how to communicate, interact and work with one another. For students with demonstrated academic potential and interest in developing inter-professional competence, we offer the opportunity to enrol in intercalated programmes such as the Master of Public Health programme, with scholarships and other forms of financial support.

Comprehensive Hospital-based, Community-based and Primary Care Experience

Alongside learning that takes place within hospitals, you will gain first-hand experience in a wide variety of community-based settings involving family physicians, maternal and child health services, hospices and patient support groups. This exposure to different arenas of the public health system enables your development of a holistic perspective on patient management and a richer understanding of the integration between primary and secondary care.

Technological Innovations in the Curriculum

The MBBS curriculum embraces technological innovations in order to match the rapid developments in the field of medicine. During your MBBS training, you will have the opportunities to learn and apply the following latest technologies:

  • Precision Medicine – Covers literacy in big data science and its application in clinical medicine, practice and research
  • Telehealth – Involves the use of telecommunications technologies in medical practices, such as teleconsultation for outpatients and tele-pharmacy
  • Ultrasonography – Involves application of the point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) device, known to many as “tomorrow’s stethoscope”
Adaptability to Changing Times

HKUMed nurtures competent medical professionals who are prepared to flourish in the fast-changing healthcare environment of the 21st century. New modules or curriculum threads are introduced to address emergent needs from the evolving social and professional landscapes. Among the latest ones are Global Health, which incorporates key concepts and knowledge relevant to health provision in the Greater Bay Area to better equip students for career opportunities in the region, and Integrative Medicine, which blends traditional Chinese medicine into the medical curriculum, broadening your perspective and repertoire as a medical practitioner.

Practising Scientific Research

HKUMed is at the frontier of global medical research, driven by a strong commitment to improving human health through scientific discovery and advancement in medicine. Research requires and enables you to develop intellectual and analytical skills for a vast array of situations. As a medical student, you will have opportunities to participate in research training that leads to output in scientific journals and significant societal impact. Your research can be clinic-based or laboratory-based, and it can be either part of a project with Faculty staff members or self-initiated under the supervision of a teacher during the Enrichment Year / MBBS Elective.

Focus on Medical Ethics and Humanities

Ethical principles and humanitarian values are absolutely essential for doctors to meet the needs and demands of 21st century healthcare. You will learn how these principles and values underpin healthcare practice, as well as your professional and legal obligations, through the medical ethics and medical humanities programmes. They are developed and coordinated by our Medical Ethics and Humanities Unit (MEHU) with the aim of cultivating professional doctors capable of engaging with their patients from a position of awareness of their own humanity.

High Quality In-house Digital Resources to Support e-Learning

Our excellent digital resources, supplemented with interactive online forums, will enable you to learn at your own pace and in your own style. We have a team of multimedia learning experts dedicated to the development of high-quality, interactive e-learning resources. Proctored written examinations are also gradually turning paperless, conducted on the e-Assessment platform specially developed for the purpose.

Cutting edge Technologies in Teaching and Learning

Our programme is a pioneer in the use of advanced technologies, such as augmented reality (AR)/ virtual reality (VR), gamification, simulation and generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in teaching and learning to help students learn basic and advanced medical knowledge effectively.

As an early adopter of VR technology, HKUMed is one of the world’s best equipped medical schools for learning of anatomy with the recently inaugurated Techmezz for VR at our Yu Chun Keung Medical Library. Tools such as Anatomage, a fully segmented real human 3D dissection platform, allow for exploration and learning of human anatomy in innovative ways.

Student in Medical and Health Sciences Education

Teaching is an important role expected from all MBBS graduates in the healthcare profession. As such, the MBBS 140 Curriculum also features the Student in Medical and Health Sciences Education (SIMHSE) initiative, fostering a culture where teaching is an important and integral component of professional responsibility and competence. Peer tutoring activities can help cultivate medical students’ basic teaching skills to prepare them for their future roles as trainers, supervisors, or educators.

A Nurturing Community

Every incoming HKUMed undergraduate student is paired with a teacher as their Academic Adviser at each stage of their professional or academic development. Additionally, HKUMed engages senior students, who are trained in mental health first aid, to serve as peer mentors and supporters for our students. Through our teachers and students, HKUMed aims to foster a community that supports active learning and whole-person development.

Teaching and Learning Charter

To cultivate a positive and harmonious culture and environment, HKUMed has established the Teaching and Learning Charter, which articulates the essential values and responsibilities that members of HKUMed are expected to honour. By this Charter, teachers and students commit to an agreed list of values, attitudes and behaviours. Students of HKUMed affirm that they will take good care of themselves and the others, being kind, supportive, diligent and responsible; likewise, teachers of HKUMed affirm that they will be professional, respectful and supportive to the others, serving as good role models for students.

Ample Support for Student Wellness

The HKUMed Student Wellness Team, consisting of mental health professionals trained in clinical psychology, counselling psychology, social work and counselling, provides a wide range of support services for HKUMed’s undergraduate students to ensure they stay well throughout their years of medical training.

Using an approach that integrates therapeutic and preventive practices, the Student Wellness Team delivers services targeted at students’ psychological growth through strictly confidential counselling on an individual level, and prevention of psychological distress through outreach and engagement with students on a mass level.

An Illuminating Six Year Quest

 

The MBBS curriculum runs for six years, consisting of three core components: the Pre-clinical Curriculum, the Enrichment Year and the Clinical Curriculum.

 

The most updated curriculum, titled “MBBS 140 Curriculum”, adopts the “140+ CORE” as the backbone. All the teaching, learning and assessment activities in both the pre-clinical and clinical years are designed around the 140+ CORE, with “CORE” standing for “Common situations pertaining to Ordinary clinical settings, in which students are expected to acquire the Relevant knowledge, skills and behavior that are Essential for competent and ethical professional practices”. The 140+ CORE makes the medical curriculum more focused, integrated, practical and manageable.

 

 

 

Year 1-2
Pre-clinical Curriculum
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  • Introduction to the Art and Science of Medicine
  • System-based Blocks
Year 3
Enrichment Year
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  • Personalised learning tailored to individual interests
Year 4-6
Clinical Curriculum
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  • Clinical Foundation Block
  • Clinical Clerkships
  • MBBS Elective

The curriculum is being constantly renewed in light of emerging knowledge and societal needs to ensure your training is fit-for-purpose and forward-looking. It is not without good reasons that many of the leaders in our field are HKUMed graduates!

Admissions Information & FAQ

JUPAS Candidates
Non-JUPAS Candidates
FAQ for MBBS (Distinguished MedScholar)
Non-JUPAS MBBS Supporting Documents (2025/26 entry)
Enquiries
Social
HKUMed Admissions
HKUMed

Grooming Future Leaders: Alternative Pathways for the Ultra-talented

HKUMed believes in equity in education and provides necessary support to help individual students develop their learning potential to the fullest. To enable individuals with exceptional talent to progress as far and achieve as much as possible in their medical training, we have opened up the following alternative study pathways.

 

The MBBS/PhD is a full-time combined programme extending over not less than nine years and leading to the award of both MBBS and PhD degrees upon graduation. Students may enrol in HKUMed’s joint PhD programmes with King’s College London and the University of Toronto.

 

Financial Incentives

 

Starting from 2018-19, the HKSAR government has waived PhD composition fees for all local full-time students enrolled in the UGC funded Research Postgraduate programmes.

 

Croucher Foundation Scholarships are available for a maximum of three outstanding MBBS/PhD students each year to cover the monthly postgraduate studentships, research bench fees and allowances for overseas conference attendance and/or exchange.

 

MBBS (Distinguished MedScholar)

Under the existing MBBS, a study track titled “MBBS (Distinguished MedScholar)” is offered from the academic year 2023/24 onwards for students with outstanding academic achievements and admission interview results.

If you are admitted to MBBS (Distinguished MedScholar), you will pursue a Master of Research in Medicine (MRes[Med]) in the Enrichment Year in addition to completing the MBBS curriculum, thereby earning two degrees in six years. There is also the flexibility for you to pursue other Enrichment Year options according to your own preferences.

In addition, you will enjoy the following exclusive benefits:

  • Guaranteed elite mentorship from experts of your own choice from within the Faculty or the University
  • Guaranteed hall residence throughout your undergraduate studies at HKU
  • Upon completion of MBBS and MRes[Med] and the one-year internship, guaranteed financial support from HKUMed to pursue a PhD at a renowned university and potentially join HKUMed as a clinical academic upon completion of PhD

Transfer from MRes[Med] - Enter PhD before MBBS Year 4

If you undertake the intercalated Master of Research in Medicine (MRes[Med]) during your Enrichment Year, you can apply to transfer your candidature to the MBBS/PhD programme no later than the 8th month of the MRes[Med]. The time you spent on MRes[Med] would be counted towards the probationary period for your PhD studies.

After submitting your thesis in the last year of PhD studies, you would then re-enter the MBBS programme in Year 4 and complete the remaining years up to Year 6, thus earning both the MBBS and PhD degrees in nine years.


Enter PhD in between MBBS studies – Enter PhD before MBBS Year 6

Another pathway is to complete five years of MBBS, followed by three or four years of PhD studies, then the final year of MBBS. This route is open to students who have achieved good results in the MBBS I-IV Summative Assessments, and who, prior to admission to MBBS, have obtained:

  • A Bachelor’s degree with 1st class honours; or
  • A Bachelor’s degree with honours, plus a taught Master’s degree; or
  • A research Master’s degree (MPhil)

After submitting your PhD thesis, you would re-enter the MBBS programme and complete Year 6. The entire study period for the two degrees would be nine or ten years.


Enquiries

For details about PhD, please refer to the Graduate School website for further details: www.med.hku.hk/rpg.

Current MBBS students who are interested in this programme may contact the Faculty Office at medfac@hku.hk for further details.


Professional Recognition & Career Prospects

 

Your MBBS is a registrable primary qualification that enables you to apply for registration with the Medical Council of Hong Kong to practise medicine in the region. To obtain full registration, graduates are required to successfully complete a 3-week Enhanced Pre-internship Block followed by a 1-year internship in an accredited hospital. The internship will take you through selected rotations in different specialties and will require you to practise clinically under the supervision of experienced doctors. Completion of this basic training will open the door to a multitude of career options in the medical profession.

 

If you want to become a specialist, you are then required to undergo more years of postgraduate training and further examinations. Postgraduate and specialist training is administered through the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine and its constituent colleges.

 

HKUMed graduates are a heterogeneous group of doctors, many of whom are now in leading positions in a variety of fields, not just medicine. Some serve the community as frontline doctors in the public and private sectors, while others have pursued academic careers in Hong Kong or overseas, contributing to the development of the next generations of doctors and advancing treatments. Some have become health administrators involved in policy making and healthcare planning for our community, and others have made their mark in non-medical careers, such as law, business, or pharmaceutical development.

 

Whatever path you wish to take, HKUMed is here to make your dreams come true.