Doctors are a valuable resource in the State of Israel, which is expecting to experience a shortage of doctors in the upcoming years due to factors such as population increase and the retirement of immigrant doctors.

Medicine is a prestigious field in Israel and getting accepted to medical school is a journey of its own. Below is a brief overview of medical school in Israel and the criteria for acceptance. For more information, please email [email protected].

Tracks of Study

There are two ways to study medicine in Israel:

The first option is a full six-year track. These programs are offered at Hebrew University, The Technion, Tel Aviv University and Ben Gurion University. In addition to excellent high school grades and a bagrut equivalent, you will need a very high score on the Psychometric exam (not less than 735). SAT and ACT scores are not accepted. Olim applicants must obtain a score of at least a 125 (near Hebrew fluency) on the YAEL Hebrew proficiency exam.

The second option is to study pre-med (or a BSc which includes the prerequisites delineated here) which is offered at most universities, followed by a four-year Medical School program offered at Tel Aviv University, Bar-Ilan University and Ariel University.

While Israel currently has 3 international schools of Medicine at Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, The Technion American Medical School and The Medical School for International Health at Ben Gurion University, these programs will be permanently closed for enrollment as of the fall of 2023. Please refer to this article for more information.

Ben Gurion University is keeping its English-language Medical School open for Olim only. More information is here. The acceptance criteria are here.

Entrance Exam and Interview

Different programs have different acceptance criteria and some may require you to come in for a placement test. All medical school programs will require you to attend a face-to-face individual interview and participate in a group interview.

Updated: August 2023