REQUIREMENTS & PROCEDURES FOR

ADMISSION TO PHILIPPINE MEDICAL

SCHOOLS
The requirements and procedures for admission to Philippine medical schools
discussed below are applicable to both Filipino and foreign nationals aspiring
to pursue medical education in any of the schools. Updates on the
requirements are based on the Updated Policies, Standards and
Guidelines for Medical Education, CHED Memorandum Order (CMO)
No. 10, s. 2006.
Prerequisite 1: Bachelors Degree. Students seeking admission to the
medical education program must be a holder of any baccalaureate degree.
Prerequisite 2: National Medical Admission Test (NMAT). Applicants to
medical schools in the Philippines are required to take the NMAT. The test is
developed and administered by the Center for Educational Measurement, Inc.
(CEM) as authorized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) per
Memorandum of Agreement (1985) between the former Board of Medical
Education, now Technical Committee for Medical Education, and CEM. The
testing dates, local and abroad, are decided and announced by the CHED and
CEM.
An NMAT applicant must be a graduate or a graduating student of any college
degree course at the time of testing. Foreign students and graduates of
foreign schools may be required to present on the day of the test, a copy of
their Transcript of Records together with their NMAT Identification Form.
The NMAT scores obtained by a medical school applicant at any given
examination year are deemed sufficient and valid as basis for evaluating
applicants for admission to a college of medicine. The applicant is
encouraged to do well in the test and obtain his/her best scores in the NMAT
to increase his/her chances of being accepted in the best medical schools in
the Philippines.
Prerequisite 3: Certificate of Eligibility for Admission to a Medical
Course (CEMed). The CEMed application form may be obtained from the
regional offices of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Foreign
students may apply at CHED Office of Student Services (OSS) located at the
National Engineering Center Building, University of the Philippines, Diliman,
Quezon City. The requirements in securing the CEMed are as follows:
1.
2.

Fully accomplished CEMed application form

Transcript of Records

3.
4.
5.
6.

Copy of Diploma or Certificate of Graduation authenticated by the Registrar of the

school where he/she graduated (for graduates of government school)
NMAT results (original or duplicate copy of Examinee Report Form) issued by CEM
Birth Certificate
Certificate of good moral character

Prerequisite 4: Applicants Acceptance in Medical School. The CEMed

does not automatically assure the applicant of a slot in any of the medical
schools in the country. A student who has been issued a CEMed is given full
acceptance only upon meeting the other requirements of the admitting
school, such as passing the interviews. It may be advisable, therefore, to seek
preliminary acceptance from the medical school chosen by the applicant
before obtaining the CEMed.