Study Transfer from China: All 44 MOE-Approved MBBS Universities — and the Path to Europe

Which Universities in China Are Permitted to Offer MBBS in English?

Unlike most countries, China maintains an official positive list: only universities approved by the Ministry of Education may train international students in an English-language medical programme — with a fixed place quota per institution. Below is the complete list from the 2023/24 announcement, sorted by region. All 44 are state institutions; private universities are not permitted to offer English-language MBBS.

Northern China (Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei)

• Capital Medical University, Beijing — 100 places
• Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin — 100 places
• Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang — 60 places

Northeast

• China Medical University, Shenyang — 100 places
• Dalian Medical University, Dalian — 100 places
• Jilin University, Changchun — 80 places
• Harbin Medical University, Harbin — 60 places
• Beihua University, Jilin — 40 places
• Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou — 20 places

Eastern China (Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Anhui, Fujian)

• Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou — 150 places, the largest quota in the country
• Zhejiang University, Hangzhou — 110 places
• Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing — 100 places
• Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang — 100 places
• Shandong University (Cheeloo), Jinan — 78 places
• Qingdao University, Qingdao — 60 places
• Southeast University, Nanjing — 60 places
• Soochow University, Suzhou — 60 places
• Yangzhou University, Yangzhou — 60 places
• Nantong University, Nantong — 60 places
• Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou — 60 places
• Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou — 60 places
• Anhui Medical University, Hefei — 60 places
• Fudan University, Shanghai — 40 places
• Tongji University, Shanghai — 40 places
• Xiamen University, Xiamen — 40 places
• Ningbo University, Ningbo — 40 places

Southern China (Guangdong, Guangxi)

• Southern Medical University, Guangzhou — 100 places
• Jinan University, Guangzhou — 100 places
• Guangxi Medical University, Nanning — 100 places
• Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou — 60 places
• Shantou University, Shantou — 20 places

Central China (Hubei, Henan)

• Huazhong University of Science and Technology (Tongji Medical College), Wuhan — 70 places
• Wuhan University, Wuhan — 50 places
• China Three Gorges University, Yichang — 20 places
• Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou — 20 places

Western China (Shaanxi, Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Xinjiang, Ningxia)

• Xinjiang Medical University, Ürümqi — 100 places
• Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an — 100 places
• Sichuan University (West China), Chengdu — 100 places
• Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing — 90 places
• Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan — 60 places
• Shihezi University, Shihezi — 60 places
• Kunming Medical University, Kunming — 60 places
• Southwest Medical University, Luzhou — 60 places
• North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong — 40 places

Frequently Named, But Not on the List

Several well-known universities appear on placement portals as “MBBS in China” even though they do not feature in the current announcement: Peking University Health Science Center (clinical medicine there is taught in Chinese), Tsinghua University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sun Yat-sen University, Central South University (Xiangya), Shanxi Medical University, Nanchang University, Guizhou Medical University, and Weifang Medical University. If any of these have been offered to you as an English-language MBBS, careful verification before signing is warranted.

What the MBBS in China Costs

Tuition fees per academic year by tier:

• Budget institutions (Shihezi, Ningxia, Yangzhou, Qingdao): 30,000 to 36,000 Renminbi, approximately 4,200 to 5,000 US dollars.
• Mid-range (Jiangsu, Nanjing Medical, Zhengzhou, Jinzhou, Ningbo, Chongqing, Jilin): 33,000 to 42,000 Renminbi, approximately 4,600 to 5,900 US dollars.
• Top tier (Zhejiang, Xi'an Jiaotong, Fudan, Sichuan, Tianjin Medical): 42,000 to 53,000 Renminbi, approximately 5,900 to 7,400 US dollars.

On top of this comes accommodation at approximately 5,000 to 12,000 Renminbi per year. Living costs vary considerably by city: in Jinan approximately 14,000 to 23,000 Renminbi per year, in Shenyang 16,000 to 25,000, in Wuhan and Chengdu 17,000 to 28,000, in Beijing 28,000 to 40,000, and in Shanghai 34,000 to 48,000.

Important caveat: these figures are only binding when confirmed directly by the university itself. Placement portals quote significantly different numbers for the same institution — for Tianjin Medical University, for example, two sources side by side show 35,000 and 48,000 Renminbi respectively.

Why Students Transfer from China to Europe

Internal Transfers Within China Are Not Possible

This is the key difference from every other destination in this series: MBBS programmes in China do not accept transfer students. Anyone who is not happy with their university, city, or course of study cannot transfer internally — the choice stands for six years. The only realistic path leads abroad.

Chinese Becomes Indispensable from the Clinical Phase

Pre-clinical and clinical theory are taught entirely in English. At the bedside, however, patients and records are in Chinese — from the third or fourth year of study, language becomes the real entry ticket. Those who realise they cannot reach that level of proficiency lose learning time precisely where it matters most.

Accreditation Is a Case-by-Case Matter

China's accreditation agency WCAME has been recognised by the World Federation for Medical Education since June 2020, at that time for approximately 105 accredited faculties. Whether your university is among them is stated in its entry in the World Directory of Medical Schools — and must be checked individually. We carry out this check for you during the initial consultation, together with the ANABIN status.

Recognition Is Regulated

China is a third country. This has not been a disadvantage since the reform of March 2026: from 1 November 2026, the oral knowledge examination under Section 3 of the German Medical Licensing Act (Bundesärzteordnung) applies as the standard route to a nationwide Approbation. Details are in the article Approbation and Recognition.

How Does the Study Transfer Work?

We handle the transfer for you. Our partner universities include Foča (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Niš (Serbia) and Malta — and beyond them the largest selection of official partner universities we know of, for human medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing and veterinary medicine.

We deliberately publish no requirement lists and no dates here, because they differ from university to university and from year to year, and a list that is out of date helps nobody. Send us your profile instead — what you have completed in China so far, your study records, and the countries you can picture yourself in. We then tell you at which university in which country we can place you, at which point of entry, and where the start is genuinely plannable.

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Where Can You Transfer from China?

University of East Sarajevo, Medical Faculty Foča (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

State faculty with its own university hospital, medicine and dentistry in English, listed in ANABIN, EU-compliantly accredited until 2033. 3,500 euros per academic year, intake in November, practical year optionally completed entirely at a German teaching hospital. Credit assessments here are typically very generous — transfer students generally enter at an advanced year of study. To the Foča study guide.

MediCampus Europeo, Malta

EU location with English as the official language — linguistically the most straightforward option for anyone coming from an English-language programme who wants to leave the language question at the bedside behind for good. Campus in Il-Furjana near Valletta, Maltese MFHEA licence, clinical phase from the third year of study. 14,500 euros per year with a lump-sum payment, intake in October. To the Valletta location article.

University of Niš, Faculty of Medicine (Serbia)

Large state university with its own university hospital, medicine in English, six years, 360 ECTS, degree MD. 1,500 euros per quarter, i.e. 6,000 euros per academic year. To the Niš location article.

The complete list of all NC-free options in Europe is available in the study transfer article for Bulgaria.

The Level of Credit Granted Depends on the Individual Case

All routes described here are designed to get you the highest possible credit level through us — without or with minimal loss of time, and in practice the point of entry often falls in the last two years of the programme. What is possible in your case becomes clear once we have looked at your profile, and that is exactly what the free consultation is for.

What the Transfer Means Financially

China's fees of 4,200 to 7,400 US dollars per academic year place it in the affordable to mid-range bracket. Foča costs 3,500 euros — less than most Chinese institutions; Niš costs 6,000 euros. The difference in living costs also matters: in Foča and Niš they are realistically 450 to 500 euros per month, and the journey home takes hours rather than a full travel day. Our placement fee is success-based: if no study place is found, you incur no costs.

Why It Pays to Get in Touch Early

Places at our partner universities are limited, and a move from China needs more lead time than a change within Europe. The earlier we look at your situation, the calmer the planning — and the wider the choice of universities and countries still open to you.

Looking at your profile takes a few days and costs nothing. You tell us where you stand; we tell you where we can place you, and how high we can get you in. Book a free study consultation — by phone or video call, together with your parents if you wish.