To become a doctor in South Africa, you must complete a 6-year program (5 years at UFS) or a 7-year program if you do not fail any years.
What are the many routes to medical school in South Africa?
The most direct route is directly from matric if you have excellent grades and community service, however this is the most difficult path for most individuals. The second option is to apply to study for a course related to medicine in health sciences, biology, or science and perform well so that you can apply to transfer into medicine in your second year of varsity. The third option is to apply to wits medical school to enter into the third year of medical school through their Graduate Entry Medical Programme if you have completed a degree in university that included subjects in Biology, Physics, and/or Chemistry. Click here to learn more about that option and how to apply.
- The fourth option is to apply for a government scholarship to study medicine in Cuba.
South African Medical Schools and their Fees
1 University of Cape Town – 69560 ZAR
University of Witwatersrand – ZAR 62890
3 University of Pretoria – 55000 ZAR
4 University of KwaZulu-Natal – 44220 ZAR
5 Stellenbosch University – ZAR 55096
6 University of the FreeState – 44390 ZAR
Walter Sisulu University – ZAR 7
8 Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (formerly MEDUNSA) – ZAR 31450
9 Limpopo University – ZAR 48038
What disciplines should you study in high school to become a doctor?
Maths (not maths Literacy), physical science, and life sciences are the topics that are normally required when applying to medical school in South Africa, however I know a few individuals who were accepted and did well despite not having done life sciences in high school.
What are the prerequisites for admission to medical school?
Each university is unique and has its own set of standards. However, medicine is one of the most competitive disciplines in South Africa, with top students from all provinces and other African nations competing for spots in South African medical schools (because we have some of the best medical schools in the world). It is easier to get into medical school if you are black or colored than if you are Indian or white, because South Africa uses the infamous “Quota System” to redress previous imbalances and ensure that medical schools and doctors graduating are reflective of the South African community. According to a new24 article, Nelson R. Mandela Medical School has 250 spots for first-year medical students, with 69% of those admitted being black, 19% Indian, 9% colored, 2% white, and 1% other. Of course, other colleges have different percentages. The average marks of students accepted for each ethnic category are not the same, thus if you are black and there are 173 spaces for black students, you would have to be one of the top 173 black applicants to that university. The lowest weighted academic average for black students admitted to Nelson R. Mandela Medical School was 83.16 percent, compared to 75.5% for colored students, 90.86% for Indian students, and 87.66% for white students.
