Study Medicine in Asunción – Universidad María Auxiliadora

Study Medicine in Asunción, Paraguay

Universidad María Auxiliadora (UMAX) is a private university in Asunción, established by Law No. 3501 of 2008, with a clear focus on health and education. Its campus is in the Loma Pytã district of the capital. Besides medicine it offers nursing, business administration and postgraduate programmes in educational and hospital management, and it has trained more than 2,000 health professionals.

The six-year medicine programme follows a health-illness-care model that links theory with clinical simulation, community projects and real patient contact. Students train at more than 24 hospitals and health services of the Ministry of Public Health and the social security institute, including Hospital IPS, Hospital General San Lorenzo and Hospital Materno Infantil Santísima Trinidad.

Accreditations of Universidad María Auxiliadora in Paraguay

Is Universidad María Auxiliadora a state-accredited university? Yes. UMAX was created by Paraguayan law, its medicine programme was approved by CONES, the National Council of Higher Education, and its medical degree is officially recognised by the Paraguayan state. The medicine programme also holds ARCU-SUR accreditation, the regional accreditation system for degree programmes in the Mercosur countries, which supports the mobility and revalidation of degrees within Mercosur, especially in Brazil. Universidad María Auxiliadora awards its medical degree on this basis.

• Medicine: Six-year, Spanish-taught programme in 12 semesters and four cycles (basic, preclinical, clinical, rotating internship), leading to the Paraguayan medical degree.
• Nursing: Spanish-taught nursing degree (Licenciatura en Enfermería) at the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The programme comprises 12 semesters and 7,789 teaching hours in four cycles: the basic cycle, the preclinical cycle, the clinical cycle and the rotating internship in the final year. Teaching combines lectures with simulation, community projects and supervised practice at partner hospitals. Assessment is continuous and competency-based.

You need a completed secondary school certificate with the required legalisation. Before starting the degree, every applicant completes the mandatory introductory course in medicine (Introducción a la Medicina), which also checks basic Spanish and logical reasoning. There is no numerus clausus.

Marcel or another experienced consultant on our team checks your documents and prepares you for the introductory course. Book a free consultation.

In the first year UMAX charges a registration fee of 1,950,000 guaraníes (approx. 285 €) and eleven monthly instalments of 1,950,000 guaraníes (approx. 285 € each), about 3,400 € for the year. Examination fees come on top. As fees are set in guaraníes, the euro amount moves with the exchange rate.

Living costs in Asunción are higher than in the border towns, mainly because of rent. Shared flats near the campus keep the budget down.

Graduates receive a Paraguayan medical degree. The ARCU-SUR accreditation confirms that the programme meets the regional quality standard of the Mercosur countries. Brazilian graduates who want to practise in Brazil sit the Revalida, the national exam for the revalidation of foreign medical degrees.

Recognition in other countries varies. Confirm the requirements for your target country with our advisors before you enrol.

Asunción is Paraguay's capital and largest urban area, located on the Paraguay river. As the political and economic centre of the country it offers the widest choice of hospitals, shopping, culture and nightlife in Paraguay, and Silvio Pettirossi International Airport connects the city with São Paulo and other hubs in the region.