Directory of Medical Schools - Find Any Medical School in the World

Medical schools are tertiary educational institutions, or part of such an institution, that teach medicine. They confer medical degrees, and are regulated by countries. To find a particular medical school, follow the links below to search the available directories.

1. AVICENNA Directory for medicine

This is a publicly accessible database of medical schools, medical colleges, and medical universities.

The AVICENNA Directory has since 2008 replaced the World Directory of Medical Schools published by WHO since 1953.

The organisations and institutions responsible for the AVICENNA Directories have no authority to grant any form of recognition or accreditation to educational institutions and their programmes. Such procedures and decisions remain the exclusive prerogative of the national government concerned. Entries for individual institutions will, in time, contain information on the national recognition and accreditation process applied to them.

The aim of the AVICENNA Directory is to provide up-to-date and reliable information on institutions that educate health professionals, starting with medicine, to all who are interested - policy-makers at national and international level; authorities responsible for licences to practice; teachers and schools; and students seeking to identify a suitable quality programme.

To visit the AVICENNA medical schools database, please click and follow the appropriate link below.

2. FAIMER International Medical Education Directory

The International Medical Education Directory (IMED) is a public database of worldwide medical schools.

The IMED is published as a joint collaboration of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) and the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER). The IMED along with the AVICENNA Directory for medicine are the primary medical school databases used by medical regulators.

Medical schools listed in the IMED have been recognized by their local governments as institutions authorized to confer a medical degree upon their graduates. Government recognition of medical schools is generally granted by a local Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, or medical board. This recognition does not imply accreditation, which is a measure of the quality of education.

FAIMER publishes a separate database of accrediting organizations called the Directory of Organizations that Recognize/Accredit Medical Schools (DORA).

Attending a school listed in the IMED is a requirement for eligibility for the USMLE.

Note that FAIMER is not an accrediting agency. Listing of a medical school in IMED does not denote recognition, accreditation, or endorsement by FAIMER. A medical school is added to IMED after FAIMER receives confirmation from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, or other appropriate agency that the Ministry or agency has recognized that school.

To visit the IMED - FAIMER medical schools database, please click and follow the appropriate link below.

1. New World Directory of Medical Schools

The World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) and the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER) have agreed in principle that the Avicenna Directory and the International Medical Education Directory (IMED) should merge. This process is under development, pending approval by the governing bodies of WFME and FAIMER.

The new directory will be:

"The World Directory of Medical Schools"

- and the full title will be:

"The World Directory of Medical Schools, incorporating the Avicenna Directory
of Medical Schools and the International Medical Education Directory"

WFME and FAIMER will continue to collaborate with WHO and the University of Copenhagen in this development.

To visit the New World Directory of Medical Schools database, please click and follow the appropriate link below.

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Article first written March, 2012. Updated 28th October, 2013.