Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery

The first two years of the MBBS programme are delivered through case-based learning and early clinical experience. Teaching is integrated, with relevant topics covered in relation to each case. For example, for a case on heart disease, the relevant anatomy, physiology, pharmacology and social science related to heart disease will be taught together in an integrated fashion. In these cases you will learn the underlying biology of diseases and apply this knowledge to a clinical context.

The teaching consists of a combination of lectures, seminars, clinical skills, simulation sessions, anatomy and clinical reasoning session, which will prepare you for the subsequent years.

The student-selected component (SSC) which runs in Year 4 develops your skills in information retrieval, analysis and critical appraisal. This gives you the opportunity to study topics of your own choosing. It may be possible for a number of SSC topics to be undertaken in the UK or your home country, other than Malaysia. 

Highly motivated and able students enrolled on the five-year MBBS programme have the opportunity to step aside from their medical degree for one year to study for an additional degree.

This opportunity may be particularly attractive if you wish to explore an area in greater depth and gain experience in research. The options include (but are not limited to):

• Joining the third year of any of our BSc degrees in Biomedical and Biomolecular Sciences (normally after successful completion of Year 2 of MBBS); or
• Undertaking a Master of Research or MPhil qualification (normally after the successful completion of either Year 3 or Year 4 of MBBS).

Following the successful completion of the intercalated year of study, you will be awarded either a BSc Honours degree or a Master’s degree, as appropriate, and return to the Malaysia campus to conclude the remainder of your MBBS programme.

During Year 2 there is an opportunity to spend a semester at our main campus in the UK. During Year 5, you undertake an eight-week elective placement. This gives you the opportunity to study medicine, either at home or abroad, and gain hands-on experience of a different healthcare system.

A variety of methods are used to enhance your learning, including seminars, lectures, simulations and clinical skills, and you will also receive feedback throughout the course.

At Newcastle, we use an integrated approach. This means that you develop core knowledge, taught in systems, with early clinical exposure. You will start to gain clinical skills from the beginning of Year 1.

You receive case-led teaching in your first two years, which means using clinical cases to help you make the links between your new knowledge and clinical practice.

You will undertake early clinical experience through contact with patients and visits to general practice and hospitals. This gives you a clinical context in which to develop your core knowledge.

We assess your progress in a variety of ways through clinical exams, written examinations and assignments, a portfolio of competencies and professional behaviour.

The exams that you take in Malaysia are identical to those taken by Newcastle University medical students in the UK. You will receive continuous feedback on your performance throughout the course.

You will be eligible for full registration with either the MMC or GMC, or both, depending on the housemanship pathway that you choose.

Malaysian Medical Council

In order to gain full registration with the MMC, you must undertake an internship pre-registration for two years in a house officer post provided by the Malaysian government in a government hospital. After completing the housemanship period, you will be eligible for full registration with the MMC. Malaysian citizens will be required by the Ministry of Health to undertake a further two years of compulsory service.

Both Malaysian Medical Council and General Medical Council 

If you would like to gain full registration with the GMC whilst working in Malaysia as a house officer, you are required to complete one year of housemanship at one of the 8 GMC-approved hospitals in Malaysia. At the end of the first year, a panel will decide based on the evidence that you produce whether you can be awarded a certificate of experience that would allow you to apply for full registration with the GMC.

General Medical Council

NUMed graduates are eligible to apply for the UK Foundation Programme (UKFP) provided by NHS Postgraduate Deaneries. You will complete 2 years of training and after one year of training and successful ARCP panel, you will be eligible for full registration with the GMC. However,  this option may change before you graduate and cannot be guaranteed.

Housemanship

International graduates are not eligible to obtain a pre-registration internship in Malaysia, and you should therefore ensure that your own country will offer you a house officer post after qualifying at NUMed.

In addition, International graduates are eligible to apply for internship/housemanship in the UK or known as UK Foundation Programme (UKFP) provided by NHS Postgraduate Deaneries. You will complete 2 years of training and after one year of training and successful ARCP panel, you will be eligible for full registration with the GMC. However,  this option may change before you graduate and cannot be guaranteed.

Any offer of a place in the program is made in the understanding that NUMed Malaysia does not guarantee any period of internship in the UK, Malaysia or other parts of the world.

Both NUMed and Newcastle University, UK, are listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools. NUMed’s FAIMER School ID is: F0003188 and Newcastle University’s UK campus School ID is: F000346.

There is currently specific recognition of NUMed by the Medical Council of Thailand, Pakistan Medical Commission, Maldives Medical and Dental Council and Mauritius Higher Education Commission. 

While the Newcastle MBBS is recognised by most other countries, applicants from outside Malaysia are advised to check with their own individual national authorities if they wish to practise in their own country.

Once you have successfully completed your pre-registration training, a period of supervised basic specialty training follows. Whichever career path you choose, all doctors must continue learning throughout their career, and our degree programme has been designed with this long-term aim in mind.

In Malaysia, once you have completed your housemanship and compulsory government service, you would be able to practise as a Medical Officer or progress to postgraduate study and qualification.

As an alumnus of NUMed Malaysia and a Newcastle graduate, you are entitled to become a member of our Graduate Society and Newcastle’s Alumni Association.

NUMed Malaysia will keep you updated throughout the course on:

• how to plan for your future career in medicine
• important deadlines in the house officer application process
• any changes that may occur in the registration or immigration regulations that may affect you

Newcastle's Foundation in Biological and Biomedical Sciences with a minimum CGPA of 3.5.

AAB at A-Level. Further consideration may be given for additional academic achievements. We do not accept General Studies or Critical Thinking as A-Level entry qualifications.

A minimum of 35 points with Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics at Higher Level (HL) and attained a minimum score of 5 and above in each subject. IB overall points include the additional points available for the Theory of Knowledge/Extended Essay.

Normally AAB based on the best three subjects including the required science subjects. Further consideration may be given for additional academic achievements.

A score of 2 based on the average of the following subjects: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Advanced Mathematics I and Advanced Mathematics II, with none of these subjects achieving less than A2.

(A1 = 1; A2 = 2; B3 = 3; B4 = 4; B5 = 5; B6 = 6; C7 = 7; C8 = 8)

CGPA of 3.75, including the required science subjects

and

provided the programme is not less than 1 year and completed in the same institution

Australian Matriculation or Monash University Foundation Year (MUFY) with average of 85% including the required science subjects.

Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) score of 90 including the required science subjects.

86%, based on the average of six best Grade 12 subjects, including the required science subjects.

Normally AAB at Sri Lanka A-Level in the required Science subjects, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Further consideration may be given for additional academic achievements.

85%, based on the average of the five best academic subjects, including the required science subjects with minimum 80% in Biology and Chemistry.

In addition, applicants must obtain Eligibility Certificate from National Medical Commission India and pass the NEET* exam before enrolment to our MBBS programme.

*NEET - National Eligibility cum Entrance Test 

**NEET is required for Indian Citizen who wish to work in India. 

***Those who do not intend to work as a medical practitioner in India must provide a signed letter of undertaking witnessed by a Lawyer or Commissioner of Oath. This letter of undertaking must clearly state that they will not seek registration with the National Medical Commission of India.  

American AP with 3 subjects, i.e. Biology, Chemistry and Physics/Mathematics, scoring 5,5,4 or Grade A,A,B. These subjects must be taken at Grade 12 level and above.

Graduate applications from candidates with a scientific background will be considered. Applicants must have achieved, or expect to achieve, at least an upper second class honours degree (or equivalent).

Applicants offering qualifications other than those listed should email us (admissions@ncl.edu.my) to check if their qualifications are acceptable or not.

You should be at least 18 years old at the time of enrolment. 

You are required to comply with both the minimum health requirements determined by the Malaysian Medical Council and those of the NUMed Malaysia Immunisation and Infection Risk Policy.

All medical students are recommended to undertake a course of immunisation, covering Heaf/BCG, Meningitis (Quadrivalent), Hepatitis B, Polio, Measles, MMR/Rubella, Varicella (Chicken Pox), Diphtheria, Tetanus, and others (if any) before commencing the course. If the students are not immune to any of these, it is recommended that they should begin a course of immunisation as soon as possible. The ownership falls on the student to ensure that they are immunised prior to starting with NUMed.

If we are required to send any students for immunisation, the cost will be charged to them.

Once we have considered your application and you are pre-selected, you will receive a letter of invitation to attend an interview.

Interviews will take place from January onwards each year for the following September entry.

The interview, conducted by two trained selectors, will last approximately 30 minutes.

The interview format is designed to confirm whether you have the aptitude, motivation and personal qualities to succeed as a medical student in NUMed Malaysia, and as a potential doctor of the future.

At interview you will be assessed and graded under the following main categories:

• motivation
• reflection on care and role of the doctor
• empathetic and ethical reasoning
• critical thinking
• communication skills

Selectors will expect you to show some insight into your personal attributes, the learning that has resulted from your previous experiences, and an understanding of the relevance of these factors to a career in medicine.

Within one week of your interview, you will receive a letter of outcome. This will inform you if you have been successful in obtaining a place to study medicine at NUMed Malaysia.