University Medical Centre Göttingen (UMG)

University Medical Centre Göttingen (Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, UMG) traces its origins to one of the founding faculties of the Georg-August-Universität of 1737 and is organised as an integrated model: faculty and hospital form a single entity under a shared executive board. With 1,563 beds it is the only maximum-care provider in southern Lower Saxony. This has a practical effect on training: complex and rare cases arising in the region come here, not to a neighbouring hospital. Alongside the faculty, several non-university research institutions shape the campus, making access to doctoral and research projects easier.

This location suits you if you are looking for a classically structured, research-close programme in a manageable university city whose life revolves strongly around the campus. Because the Abitur grade carries comparatively high weight in the university’s own selection process, Göttingen is arithmetically more favourable for applicants with very strong grades than for those looking to compensate primarily through a strong TMS result.

Study places are allocated nationally through hochschulstart.de: 30 per cent via the best-grade quota (Abiturbestenquote), 10 per cent via the Additional Aptitude Quota (Zusätzliche Eignungsquote), in which the Abitur grade plays no role, and 60 per cent via the university’s own selection process. In this selection process Göttingen weights the Abitur grade comparatively strongly; subject-specific aptitude tests and prior experience from vocational training also count. The precise weightings are set by the university in its admissions regulations and adjusted from cycle to cycle.

No tuition fees are charged. The only payment required is the semester contribution of the Georg-August-Universität, which is set each semester.

Standard Curriculum with Modular Clinical Phase

University Medical Centre Göttingen trains students over ten semesters plus the Praktisches Jahr. The first four semesters are discipline-oriented, covering anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and medical psychology and sociology, and conclude with the First Part of the Medical Licensing Examination. The six clinical semesters are organised not by individual subject but in thematic, cross-disciplinary modules, so that a disease picture is addressed from several angles simultaneously.

Practical training takes place in the student training centre for medical practice and simulation and in the teaching hospital of the UMG, where examination techniques and emergency procedures are practised under medical supervision. Problem-oriented seminars, lecture podcasts, and digital simulations of complex cases complement the curriculum. Part of the clinical teaching now takes place at the second study site Medizincampus Wolfsburg, where certain semesters are completed wholly or in part.

University Medicine, Max Planck Neighbours, and Degree

The UMG is a public-law foundation in which faculty and hospital form one unit; teaching, research, and patient care are under one roof. Research priorities include molecular cell biology, neuroscience, cardiovascular medicine, and oncology. Particularly notable is the proximity to the Göttingen Campus: together with Max Planck Institutes, the German Centres for Cardiovascular and for Neurodegenerative Diseases, and the excellence cluster for multiscale imaging of the heart and brain, a dense research environment is within walking distance. A doctoral college accompanies research-close doctoral projects.

The Praktisches Jahr is completed at the UMG or at one of around two dozen affiliated teaching hospitals between Bremen, Hildesheim, Kassel, Paderborn, and the Harz Mountains. The Approbation follows after the Third Part of the Medical Licensing Examination.

Clinic and Basic Research Side by Side

University Medical Centre Göttingen is on Robert-Koch-Straße in the north-east of the city, directly adjacent to the north campus with its natural science institutes and Max Planck Institutes. This neighbourhood is the real character of the location: from the ward to the laboratory is a few minutes on foot, and doctoral projects in basic research are organisationally straightforward.

Göttingen is a classic university city with a half-timbered old town, the Gänseliesel fountain, and a very long scientific tradition. The city is compact enough that a bicycle and the bus network suffice. The housing market is relaxed compared with Freiburg or Frankfurt; the Studentenwerk holds many dormitory places, and rents are in the moderate range for a university city.

Student life is correspondingly lively: a student cinema, bars and pubs, student union activities, and many sports groups. Transport-wise, Göttingen sits on the north-south ICE main line; Kassel and Hannover are reachable in under an hour, Frankfurt and Berlin in around two hours. The Harz Mountains and the Weser Uplands are right on the doorstep for weekends.

Is Göttingen a model curriculum?

Formally no — the separation between preclinical and clinical phases with the Physikum after four semesters is maintained. The clinical phase, however, is organised not by individual subject but in thematic, cross-disciplinary modules. In practice this feels considerably more integrated than a classical standard curriculum.

What does the proximity to the Max Planck Institutes offer?

Above all, access to high-level basic research within walking distance. The UMG cooperates closely with the Max Planck Institutes on the Göttingen Campus, the German Centres for Cardiovascular and for Neurodegenerative Diseases, and the excellence cluster for imaging of the heart and brain. These are very good conditions for an experimental doctorate or a later Clinician-Scientist career path.

What is the Medizincampus Wolfsburg?

A second study site of the UMG, established in cooperation with the city of Wolfsburg and offering teaching since the winter semester of 2021/22. Part of the clinical training now takes place there, with some students completing entire semesters at that site. This has expanded the UMG’s training capacity.

Where can I do the Praktisches Jahr?

At the UMG itself or at one of around two dozen affiliated teaching hospitals. The network spans a wide geography, from Bremen and Bremerhaven through Hildesheim, Wolfenbüttel, and Paderborn to Kassel, northern Hesse, and the Harz. You can therefore choose between maximum-care centres and smaller hospitals.

What is the housing situation in Göttingen?

Comparatively good. The Studentenwerk provides a large number of dormitory places, and the open rental market is less strained than in southern German university cities. It does get tight at the start of the semester, so searching early is advisable. Overall, Göttingen is among the more affordable study locations.