Top Medical Schools in 2015

Discover the top medical schools based on the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2020.

If you’re a prospective medical student, you might be wondering where, out of the thousands of medical schools on the planet, you should study. If you’re aiming for one of the world’s highest-reputed medical universities, check out the latest QS University Rankings by Subject, extended this year to feature 400 of the world’s top medical schools.

The ranking is compiled based on global surveys of academics and employers, alongside data on research citations (find out more here). See below for an overview of the world’s leading medical departments, based on the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2015.

Top 10 Medical Schools in the World based on the QS World University Rankings 2015
Rank	Name of Institution	Location
1	Harvard University	United States
2	University of Oxford	United Kingdom
3	University of Cambridge	United Kingdom
4	Johns Hopkins University	United States
5	Stanford University	United States
6	University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)	United States
7	University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)	United States
8	Yale University	United States
9=	Karolinska Institute	Sweden
9=	UCL (University College London)	United Kingdom
See the full medical school ranking >

 

Top medical schools in the US & Canada

Home to 16 of the world’s top 400 medical departments, Canada is well-represented in the ranking. Four Canadian universities are featured within the top 50: the University of Toronto (13= for medicine; 20^th in the QS World University Rankings® 2014/15), McGill University (22= for medicine; 21^st in the world rankings), the University of British Colombia (26^th for medicine; 43^rd in the world rankings) and McMaster University (33= for medicine; 113^th in the world rankings).

As you might imagine, the US lays claim to a particularly large number of the world’s leading medical schools, with 78 institutions featured among the top 400. Aside from six spots in the top 10, including Harvard University in first position, the US has a further 15 schools in the top 50.  All ranked among the top 20 are: the University of Pennsylvania (13^th in the world rankings), Duke University (25^th in the world rankings), Columbia University (14^th in the world rankings), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, 1^st in the world rankings) and the University of Washington (65^th in the world rankings).

For more information on studying in North America, see our regional guide.

Top medical schools in Europe

Claiming a total of 34 entries in the top 400, the UK is the front-running European country in this field. Oxford, Cambridge and UCL are all in the top 10, and are joined in the top 50 by Imperial College London (11= for medicine; 2^nd in the world rankings), King’s College London (KCL, 24^th for medicine; 16^th in the world rankings), the University of Edinburgh (31^st for medicine; 17^th in the world rankings), and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (32^nd for medicine; unranked in the world rankings).

Offering almost as many top medical schools is Germany, with 31. Five German universities rank within the top 100, led by Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg (39= for medicine; 49^th in the world rankings). Next is Italy with 24 entries, including two among the top 100: Università degli Studi di Milano (University of Milan, 238^th in the world rankings) and Università di Bologna (UNIBO, 182^nd in the world rankings).

Both France and Spain also offer a good selection of top medical universities, with 10 and 12 entries in the medical school ranking respectively. The highest-ranked of these is Spain’s Universitat de Barcelona (UB, 166^th in the world rankings), which features within the top 50.

The Netherlands has eight entrants in the ranking, including three top-50 appearances. These are Erasmus University Rotterdam (90^th in the world rankings), the University of Amsterdam (50^th in the world rankings) and Leiden University (75^th in the world rankings)

Belgium and Sweden each have seven schools featured. KU Leuven (51-100 for medicine; 82^nd in the world rankings) is Belgium’s top offering, while the Karolinska Institute (9=) is Sweden’s. Sweden’s Lund University (60^th in the world rankings) and Uppsala University (81^st in the world rankings) are also ranked among the top 100 for medicine.

Switzerland, Denmark, Finland and Ireland each claim five leading medical schools. The highest-ranked schools in each of these counties are: Switzerland’s University of Zurich (45^th for medicine; 57^th in the world rankings), Denmark’s University of Copenhagen (37= for medicine; 45^th in the world rankings), Finland’s University of Helsinki (51-100 for medicine; 67^th in the world rankings), and Ireland’s Trinity College Dublin (TCD, 51-100 for medicine; 71^st in the world rankings).

Another four entries each are claimed by Portugal, Greece, Hungary and Norway. Among these nations, the highest positions go to Norway’s University of Oslo (101^st in the world rankings) and Hungary’s Semmelweis University – both within the world’s top 150 medical universities.

Austria has two representatives in the ranking, while the Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia and Croatia each have one. Russia also makes an appearance with Lomonosov Moscow State University (114^th in the overall world rankings).

To read more about studying in Europe, see our regional guide.

Top medical schools in Asia

Of the 75 universities in Asia featured in the medical school rankings, 25 belong to Japan and 16 are based in South Korea.

Japan’s leading entrant is the University of Tokyo (20^th for medicine; 31^st in the world rankings), followed by Kyoto University (46= for medicine; 36^th in the world rankings) and Osaka University (51-100 for medicine; 55^th in the world rankings). In South Korea, Seoul National University (SNU, 48^th for medicine; 31^st in the world rankings) and Yonsei University (51-100 for medicine; 106^th in the world rankings) take the top spots.

Among China’s 11 entrants, the highest place goes to Peking University (57^th in the world rankings), which appears in the top 100 for medicine. Taiwan has eight schools featured, including National Taiwan University (NTU, 41^st for medicine; 76^th in the world rankings) and Taipei Medical University (101-150 for medicine; 379^th in the world rankings).

Mahidol University (257^th in the world rankings) heads up Thailand’s five ranked medical schools. And among Malaysia’s four entrants, Universiti Malaya (UM, 151^st in the world rankings) is the leader.

Although Hong Kong makes only two appearances in the medical school ranking, both are within the top 100: the University of Hong Kong (HKU, 28^th for medicine; 28^th in the world rankings) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK, 51-100 for medicine; 46^th in the world rankings).

Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore all claim one entrant. Of these, the National University of Singapore (NUS) is by far the leader, ranked 21^st for medicine and 22^nd in the world rankings.

For an overall ranking of universities in Asia, see the latest QS University Rankings: Asia.

Top medical schools in Latin America

With nine schools featured, Brazil is the best-performing country in Latin America in this medical school ranking. The Universidade de São Paulo (USP, 132^nd in the world rankings) is the nation’s highest-ranked medical school, among the world’s top 150.

Colombia has three medical schools ranked within the world’s top 400, while Chile has two within the world’s top 250. These are Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC, 167^th in the world rankings) and the Universidad de Chile (220^th in the world rankings).

Mexico also has two schools featured – Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM, 151-200 for medicine; 175^th in the world rankings) and Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN, 301-400 for medicine; 551-600 in the world rankings). And Argentina has one, the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA, 151-200 for medicine; 198^th in the world rankings).

To view the latest overall Latin American university rankings, see the QS University Rankings: Latin America.

Top medical schools in Australia & New Zealand

Of the 19 universities in Australia featured in the medical school ranking, eight are among the world’s top 100. These include the University of Sydney (17^th for medicine; 37^th in the world rankings), the University of Melbourne (18^th for medicine; 33^rd in the world rankings), Monash University (36^th for medicine; 70^th in the world rankings), the University of New South Wales (43= for medicine; 48^th in the world rankings) and the University of Queensland (UQ, 49^th for medicine; 43^rd in the world rankings).

In neighboring New Zealand, two top medical schools feature in our rankings – the University of Auckland (51-100 for medicine; 92^nd in the world rankings), and the University of Otago (101-150 for medicine; 159^th in the world rankings).

Learn more about studying in Australia and Zealand here.

Top medical schools in Africa & the Middle East

South Africa claims five top medical schools within the world’s top 400, including the University of Cape Town (101-150 for medicine; 141^st in the world rankings) and the University of Witwatersrand (151-200 for medicine; 318^th in the world rankings).

A further two entries are found in Egypt – Ain Shams University (701+ in the world rankings) and Cairo University (551-600 in the world rankings).

Heading north-east, Israel has four entries in the medical school ranking, including the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (138^th in the world rankings), Technion - Israel Institute of Technology (190^th in the world rankings) and Tel Aviv University (195^th in the world rankings), all ranked in the top 200. Lebanon’s sole entrant is the American University of Beirut (AUB, 251-300 for medicine; 249^th in the world rankings).

Turkey claims three of the world’s top medical universities, of which the highest-ranked is Istanbul University (601-650 in the world rankings). Saudi Arabia and Iran each have one entrant; King Saud University (KSU, 301-400 for medicine; 249^th in the world rankings) and Tehran University of Medical Sciences (201-250 for medicine; not featured in the world rankings).

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