Ben-Gurion University Medical School, Israel

Location: Israel
Tuition: $37,000/year
Time required for MD: 4 years
Student Loans: Stafford Loans and others
Year founded: 1996

Medical School for International Health (MSIH) at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU)

The Medical School for International Health (MSIH) at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) is, to the best of our knowledge, the first and only medical school in the world to incorporate global health components into all four years of the core MD curriculum. As a small and prestigious medical school, MSIH offers an MD program that prepares students for a career reaching well beyond the hospital or private clinic, with the training to practice medicine while meeting the challenges of global health and making a real impact.

MSIH is part of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), founded in 1969; MSIH itself, the English-language international MD program, was established in 1996. Since BGU’s founding, it has helped transform this important region in southern Israel. Located on the edge of the Negev desert with easy access to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Beer-Sheva has become a major center for research and innovation in the “Startup Nation,” with public-private partnerships creating new opportunities for BGU and its students. In the last five years alone, IBM, Lockheed Martin, PayPal, Deutsche Telekom, and others have opened research centers on campus.

The university is known for its students’ commitment to community engagement and service. Over 6,000 BGU students are actively involved in community outreach programs supporting underprivileged communities in the region, alongside modern facilities, dynamic campus life, and one of the most diverse student bodies in Israel.

BGU community:

20,000 students
6,600 students pursuing advanced degrees
6,000 students involved in outreach to underprivileged communities
850 senior academic staff members
800 international students
125,000+ alumni

What can BGU offer me?

A location in the Negev desert, with access to diverse populations and involvement in the development of Israel’s southern periphery
A comfortable, modern, and safe campus to focus on your studies
An MD degree from an institution ranked No. 39 in the QS World University Rankings Top 50 Under 50
A place at Israel’s fastest-growing institution of higher education
Access to top researchers and practitioners in global health, examining topics from the impact of geopolitics on pollution to personal wellbeing and access to health services
Proximity to the Advanced Technologies Park, developed with the Municipality of Beer-Sheva and KUD International LLC to promote research, development, and commercialization of emerging technology

Is the MSIH MD Program Right for Me?

A prestigious program with a strong focus on global health, the MD degree from MSIH is a pathway to residency in the United States or abroad. Taught in English and based in Israel for the first three years of study, the North American-style curriculum covers everything expected of a top MD program, then pushes students further to look beyond their own experience, culture, and country.

Do you want to have a real and lasting impact as a medical practitioner and help make the world a better place?
Do you want to get into a top residency program in the US or Canada?
Are you interested in practicing medicine with underserved populations in the US or around the world?
Are you excited by international travel and experiencing other cultures?

MD Program

MSIH offers a small, challenging four-year program that prepares students to practice medicine in the United States and around the world, across cultural, geographic, and technological boundaries.

Program highlights:

A unique curriculum that integrates global health into all four years, preparing students for a meaningful career
An English-language program designed to place graduates successfully into residencies in the US, Canada, or elsewhere
Medical rotations and clerkships at Israeli medical centers serving patients from a wide range of nationalities, ethnicities, and religious and socioeconomic backgrounds
Eight-week global health clerkships at sites around the world during the fourth year, with past placements including Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, Peru, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Canada, Israel, and the US
Fourth-year electives and clerkships at highly selective medical centers in the US and Canada, including Columbia University

Why MSIH? As a graduate of MSIH, you’ll be a highly skilled physician with expertise in global health, from the first and only medical school in the world to incorporate global health components into all four years of the core curriculum. The program trains students to understand health issues so they can treat the patient while also addressing the underlying cause.

What does MSIH offer me?

High residency match rates that parallel top medical schools in the United States (90% for the class of 2017)
Small class sizes and personal attention from experienced faculty
Comprehensive residency-planning support
A close, supportive community of peers
A diverse cross-cultural experience in Israel, plus eight-week global health clerkships around the world
Fourth-year electives and clerkships at highly selective medical centers in the US and Canada, including Columbia University

Affiliations

Since its inception, MSIH has been affiliated with Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, along with other medical schools throughout North America and Israel.

This diversity of affiliations benefits students directly: three years of study in Israel, fourth-year electives at prestigious medical centers in the United States or Canada, and an eight-week global health clerkship at one of several approved resource-limited sites around the world. This broad international experience helps prepare graduates for a meaningful medical career, with match rates parallel to top US medical schools (90% in 2017) and a clear path to US residency.

North American affiliations:

Columbia University Medical Center
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Northern Ontario School of Medicine
Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine at Hofstra University

Teaching hospitals in Israel:

Soroka University Medical Center (Beer-Sheva)
Barzilai University Medical Center (Ashkelon)
Assuta Medical Center (Tel Aviv)
Southern District Clalit Health Services Community Clinics (around the Negev)
Beer-Sheva Mental Health Center (Beer-Sheva)

Residency Placements

As graduates of the world’s first and only medical school to incorporate global health into all four years of its core curriculum, MSIH alumni are well prepared to compete for residency placements in the United States and around the world, with a path to residency parallel to that of top US medical schools. For the class of 2017, the match rate was 90%, with many students matching to their first or second choice of residency.

Of the 2017 graduates, 28% matched in pediatrics, 17% in internal medicine, and 11% in anesthesiology, with additional matches in psychiatry, obstetrics and gynecology, surgery, radiology, and emergency medicine.

2017 match highlights:

Psychiatry residency at University of California Irvine Medical Center
Surgery (preliminary) residency at Maimonides Medical Center
Emergency Medicine residency at the University of North Carolina Hospitals
Anesthesiology residency at Henry Ford Health Sciences Center

Tuition and Fees

Tuition for the MSIH MD Program is $37,000 per year, paid in installments at the start of each semester. Books and equipment, health insurance, and travel-related costs add an average of $6,000 per year.

Students applying for student loans in the United States or Canada may be eligible for assistance up to their total cost of attendance, including tuition and fees as well as allowances for housing, food, books, supplies, transportation, dependent care, and miscellaneous personal expenses.

First-year students pay a $300 deposit upon enrollment, deducted from their first tuition payment. All tuition payments must be made in US dollars by check, wire transfer, or student loan.

Want to Know More?

Curious how a global health focused MD from Beer-Sheva stacks up against other international programs? Visit our forum to hear from current and former MSIH students about the Negev campus, the Columbia University affiliation, and what it’s really like matching into US residencies from Israel.