Best Countries to Study Medicine & Health Sciences Abroad
The countries with the deepest options for studying medicine and health sciences abroad are United States, United Kingdom, Canada — scored by BrightKey on the strength of each country's universities across six dimensions. But "most options" is not the same as "best fit for you": cost, visa, and outcomes matter just as much (see the honest note below).
Medical schools, biomedical research tracks, public health programs, and nursing programs across BrightKey's coverage — with attention to which paths actually accept international students.
Leading universities: University of California, University of Michigan, University of Southern California
Universities for medicine and health sciences in United States →
Leading universities: University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London
Universities for medicine and health sciences in United Kingdom →
Leading universities: McGill University, University of Toronto, University of British Columbia
Leading universities: University of Queensland, University of Technology Sydney, Deakin University
Universities for medicine and health sciences in Australia →
Leading universities: Keio University, Institute of Science Tokyo, Nagoya University
Leading universities: Erasmus University Rotterdam, University of Amsterdam, Utrecht University
Universities for medicine and health sciences in Netherlands →
Leading universities: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Heidelberg University, Humboldt University of Berlin
Leading universities: Korea University, Seoul National University, Yonsei University
Universities for medicine and health sciences in South Korea →
Leading universities: University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong
Universities for medicine and health sciences in Hong Kong →
Leading universities: Fudan University, Zhejiang University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Leading universities: Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, University of Galway
Leading universities: Universidade de São Paulo, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
Leading universities: University of Bologna, University of Padua, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Leading universities: KU Leuven, Ghent University, Université catholique de Louvain
Leading universities: National Taiwan University, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, National Cheng Kung University
Leading universities: Universitat de Barcelona, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Leading universities: University of Cape Town, University of the Witwatersrand, Stellenbosch University
Universities for medicine and health sciences in South Africa →
Leading universities: Tel Aviv University, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Leading universities: University of Zurich, University of Geneva
Universities for medicine and health sciences in Switzerland →
Leading universities: University of Otago, University of Auckland
Universities for medicine and health sciences in New Zealand →
Leading universities: Indian Institute of Science, Birla Institute of Technology and Science
Leading universities: University of Copenhagen, Aarhus University
Leading universities: Karolinska Institutet, Uppsala University
Leading universities: Universidad de los Andes, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Universidad de Antioquia
Leading universities: Norwegian University of Science and Technology, University of Oslo
Leading universities: National University of Singapore
Universities for medicine and health sciences in Singapore →
Leading universities: Tecnológico de Monterrey, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Leading universities: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Universidad de Chile
Leading universities: Chulalongkorn University, Mahidol University
Leading universities: Universiti Malaya, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Leading universities: Lund University
Universities for medicine and health sciences in Europe (Other) →
Leading universities: Sorbonne University
Leading universities: University of Helsinki
Leading universities: University of Ibadan, University of Lagos
Leading universities: Khalifa University of Science and Technology
Universities for medicine and health sciences in United Arab Emirates →
Leading universities: Charles University
Leading universities: Koç University
Leading universities: Universidad de Buenos Aires
Universities for medicine and health sciences in Argentina →
Leading universities: Qatar University
Leading universities: Universitas Indonesia
Universities for medicine and health sciences in Indonesia →
Leading universities: Ateneo de Manila University
Universities for medicine and health sciences in Philippines →
Leading universities: University of Ghana
Leading universities: Cairo University
Leading universities: University of Dhaka
Universities for medicine and health sciences in Bangladesh →
Leading universities: University of Colombo
Universities for medicine and health sciences in Sri Lanka →
Leading universities: Mohammed V University
Leading universities: University of Nairobi
Leading universities: Makerere University
Leading universities: American University of Beirut
How we ranked these
Each country is scored on the depth of its universities offering medicine and health sciences programs, rated across BrightKey's six dimensions (network strength, curriculum relevance, employability, teaching quality, institutional health, student experience; S=3, A=2, B=1). A higher score means the country offers more strong institutions for this field — not a single famous school.
An honest note
This list measures how many strong universities a country offers for medicine and health sciences — which naturally favours countries with larger datasets (like the US). The "best" country for YOU also depends on cost, visa, language, and graduate outcomes — a country with fewer universities but lower fees and a friendlier post-study visa may be the better fit. Treat this as a starting point for exploration, not the final answer.
Reviewed by Priscilla Han. Editorial standards.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best country to study medicine and health sciences abroad?
By depth of strong universities, United States, United Kingdom, Canada lead. But the "best" country depends on your budget, visa, and goals — see the honest note above.
How is this ranking calculated?
Each country is scored on the depth of its universities offering medicine and health sciences programs, rated across BrightKey's six dimensions (network strength, curriculum relevance, employability, teaching quality, institutional health, student experience; S=3, A=2, B=1). A higher score means the country offers more strong institutions for this field — not a single famous school.
Related answers
This ranking is BrightKey's independent assessment using verifiable public data only. BrightKey takes no payment from schools or universities. Our method →