Is MBBS in China taught in English?

Yes — for one named programme, with conditions that differ by home country. China's Ministry of Education fixes, by name, the programme 本科临床医学专业（英语授课） (undergraduate clinical medicine, English-taught), which only the universities on its 2023–2024 list may offer to international students (paragraph 2 of the 2023 notice). For Indian students, the National Medical Commission (India) requires the foreign medical degree to be received with English as the medium of instruction (regulation 4(a)(iii); FAQ Q6). This page states what the official documents require of schools and degrees; it does not report how any classroom is actually taught.

What the Ministry of Education's documents fix

The English wording of the Ministry's Chinese notices and standard on this page is this site's translation. Our language and HSK page explains how Chinese fits into the programme.

The 2023 notice (教外厅函〔2023〕10号, dated 15 May 2023 and published on the Ministry's site on 30 May 2023) names the programme 本科临床医学专业（英语授课） (undergraduate clinical medicine, English-taught). Paragraph 1 says the Ministry entrusted 44 universities to enrol international students in that programme for the 2023–2024 academic year, with 3048 places in total. Paragraph 2 requires the listed universities to admit students strictly under the spirit of the 2007 standard (教外来〔2007〕39号); universities not on the list may not admit international students to the English-taught undergraduate clinical medicine programme, may not issue the English-version degree certificate for 本科临床医学专业（英语授课）(MBBS) or any English-version certificate containing "MBBS", and may only admit students to the Chinese-taught programme. Paragraph 2 also prohibits using a "bilingual teaching" model to admit international students by disguise.

This list is for the 2023–2024 academic year. The Ministry's policy index listed no later edition when this site read it on 11 October 2026; the reader should confirm the current year's status with the university and the Ministry.

The standing standard is the 2007 document 来华留学生医学本科教育（英语授课）质量控制标准暂行规定 (教外来〔2007〕39号). Article 2 applies to undergraduate clinical medicine taught in English for international students. Article 24 requires that every discipline have teachers able to teach the planned courses in English; foreign teachers may not exceed 20% of total teaching hours, and each foreign teacher may teach no more than one core course. Article 14 requires Chinese as a compulsory course throughout the teaching process.

What India's regulator requires

For Indian students, the National Medical Commission (India) sets the condition in the Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations, 2021. Regulation 4(a)(iii) requires a foreign medical graduate to have received a foreign medical degree with medium of instruction in English. FAQ Q6 states the medium of instruction during the course should be English [Reg. 4(a)(iii) of FMGL 2021].

Under regulation 5, those regulations do not apply to foreign medical graduates who acquired a foreign medical degree, or were already pursuing their education in a foreign institution, before the regulations came into force (18 November 2021, per Q2 and Q4 of the Commission's FAQ), who are governed by the earlier regulations.

Whether a particular course in China meets these conditions is decided by the Indian authorities case by case. This page states the condition and who decides; it does not say that any named Chinese university or course meets or fails it.

What these documents do not tell you

The Ministry's documents set requirements on schools; they do not describe daily teaching in any university, and this page does not report how any classroom is actually taught. Article 14 requires Chinese as a compulsory course throughout but names no proficiency level or test.

Related questions

May a Chinese university issue an English "MBBS" degree certificate?

Under Article 5 of the 2007 standard, a student who completes the programme and meets the degree requirements is issued a graduation certificate by the medical school and is granted a Bachelor of Medicine degree; the English copy may be MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery). Under paragraph 2 of the 2023 notice, a university not on the 2023–2024 list may not issue the English-version degree certificate for 本科临床医学专业（英语授课）(MBBS) or any English-version certificate containing "MBBS".

Sources

• Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Education on the 2023–2024 list of higher education institutions enrolling international students in English-taught undergraduate clinical medicine and their enrolment plan (教外厅函〔2023〕10号) — Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China (General Office)
• Interim Provisions on Quality Control Standards for Undergraduate Medical Education in English for International Students (教外来〔2007〕39号, annex 1) — Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China
• National Medical Commission (Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate) Regulations, 2021 — National Medical Commission, India
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): FMGs covered by National Medical Commission (Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate) Regulations, 2021 — National Medical Commission, India (Undergraduate Medical Education Board)
• Ministry of Education open-government index of policy documents on study abroad and study in China — Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China

Checked 11 October 2026.

This page is an unofficial summary, is not legal or professional-licensing advice, is not published by the bodies named, promises no admission, examination or registration outcome, and the official text and the regulator's own instructions prevail if they differ.