Subjects Required to Study Medicine and Surgery in Nigeria

To study Medicine and Surgery in Nigeria you need O Level credits at C6 or above in five subjects: English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Your JAMB UTME subjects are Use of English, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and you need a JAMB score of 250 or higher at federal universities and most private medical schools. Medicine is a six-year MBBS programme that ends with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) licensing exam, a one-year housemanship at an accredited teaching hospital, and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) year.

Last updated: May 2026 Medicine is the most competitive undergraduate course in Nigeria. Working cut-offs at top federal universities (UNILAG, UI, OAU, ABU, UNN, UNIBEN) have been 280 and above for the last three cycles. This guide covers the full requirement set from O Level through Direct Entry, the schools that offer the programme, the year-by-year MBBS curriculum, what the licensing exams look like, real cost ranges at federal, state, and private schools, and the realistic alternatives if you do not get a Medicine slot in your first JAMB cycle.

At a glance

The table below is a quick reference for the headline requirements of MBBS in Nigeria.

Detail	Value
JAMB compulsory subjects	Use of English, Biology, Chemistry, Physics
O Level credits required	5 at C6 or above
O Level subjects	English, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics
JAMB minimum score (federal)	250 (working floor 280)
JAMB minimum score (state)	240 to 250
JAMB minimum score (private)	200 to 240
Years of study	6 years (MBBS)
Direct Entry route	A Level, IJMB, JUPEB with strong sciences
Licensing exam	MDCN
Housemanship	1 year at an accredited teaching hospital

O Level requirements in detail

You need five credits at credit level (C6 or above) in not more than two sittings of WAEC, NECO, or NABTEB. The five must be English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. No school will admit a Medicine candidate without these five, and a pass (D7 or E8) does not count. If you sat Further Mathematics or General Knowledge in Science as a sixth subject, it adds nothing to your eligibility for Medicine specifically but is useful as a tie-breaker at competitive schools.

Some schools (UI, UNILAG, OAU) are strict on a credit in English at the first sitting. Read the school’s own admission notice carefully if your English credit came in a second sitting; you may need to sit an additional screening or be filtered out at the verification stage even if your JAMB score is strong. The strictness is partly about quality signal (the school assumes a second-sitting English credit reflects a weaker baseline) and partly about MDCN preferences, since the medical school accreditation requires evidence of communication skills.

NECO is widely accepted alongside WAEC, but some private medical schools still prefer a WAEC pass for English and Mathematics. Combine WAEC and NECO from the same year only if you must; a single-sitting result from one body looks cleaner on the admission screen. NABTEB is accepted but rare in Medicine applications.

JAMB UTME requirements in detail

The JAMB UTME combination for Medicine is Use of English, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. That is the same at every accredited medical school in Nigeria, federal, state, and private. The minimum score that allows you to register for Post-UTME varies by school. At federal universities the published cut-off is usually 250, but the working floor (the score at which you have a real chance) has been 280 to 290 in the last three admission years.

State medical schools (LASUCOM, LAUTECH, UNIOSUN College of Health Sciences, EBSU College of Health Sciences) advertise cut-offs around 240 to 250, and the working floor is usually 260 to 270. Private medical schools (Madonna, Bingham, Babcock, ABUAD, Igbinedion, Bowen, Niger Delta University, Achievers) typically advertise a 200 to 240 JAMB floor, but their internal cut-off after screening is closer to 240 to 250. Tuition at private medical schools runs into millions of naira per session, so the cost is the real filter, not the score.

A common mistake is to register UTME with a non-Medicine combination (for example, including Mathematics in place of Biology or Physics) and then try to switch to Medicine after the result. JAMB will not let you sit Post-UTME for Medicine without the correct combination, and a Change of Course will still not change the subjects you sat in JAMB. If you intend to study Medicine, register UTME with Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Use of English is automatic.

Universities offering Medicine in Nigeria

The list below covers the schools accredited to award the MBBS degree in Nigeria as of May 2026. The MDCN maintains the binding list; check there before you commit to any school.

• Federal: University of Lagos (UNILAG), University of Ibadan (UI), Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile-Ife, University of Benin (UNIBEN), Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) Enugu Campus, University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Bayero University Kano, University of Calabar (UNICAL), University of Jos, University of Maiduguri, University of Port Harcourt, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto.
• State: Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM), Olabisi Onabanjo University Sagamu, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma, Imo State University, Ebonyi State University, Niger Delta University Wilberforce Island, Delta State University Abraka, Rivers State University, Enugu State University of Science and Technology.
• Private: Madonna University Elele, Babcock University, Bingham University, Igbinedion University Okada, Bowen University, Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Achievers University, Lead City University, Edwin Clark University, Wesley University, Pan-Atlantic University, Augustine University.

Medicine is not offered at the polytechnic level in Nigeria. Polytechnics offer related programmes such as Medical Laboratory Technology, Pharmacy Technology, Public Health, and Community Health Officer training; these are real careers but they are not MBBS and do not lead to a “doctor” designation.

Direct Entry route

Direct Entry into Medicine is rare but available. The accepted paths are A Level passes in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics with a B average or above; IJMB or JUPEB at the same combination with strong As and Bs; a B.Sc. in a related life science (Biochemistry, Physiology, Anatomy, Microbiology, Nursing) with a 2.1 minimum at federal schools. Direct Entry candidates register with JAMB on the DE form (₦5,700), then sit a school-specific DE screening before the admission is uploaded to CAPS.

DE candidates usually enter 200 level (second year) at federal universities and skip the foundation MBBS year. The slots are limited, often fewer than 20 places per school per session, so plan UTME as plan A and DE as plan B. Some private medical schools offer a faster-track route for B.Sc. holders, sometimes admitting into 200 or 300 level if your transcript covers the relevant pre-clinical courses. This route is sometimes called “graduate-entry MBBS” and is a route many candidates take when they could not secure MBBS straight from UTME but completed a life-science B.Sc. first.

The MBBS curriculum: what the 6 years look like

MBBS in Nigeria is split into two phases: pre-clinical and clinical. The pre-clinical phase covers the first three years; the clinical phase covers the final three years. Knowing what each year looks like helps a candidate (and their parents) understand the financial and time commitment.

Year 1 (foundation MBBS). A general science year covering Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics at university level, plus introductory humanities. Most students share courses with Pharmacy, Dentistry, Nursing, and Medical Laboratory Science candidates. The end-of-year exam (Pre-MB) is a serious filter; schools sometimes use it to decide who proceeds to 200 level.

Years 2 and 3 (pre-clinical). Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Medical Genetics, Pharmacology. Heavy theoretical workload. Each subject ends in an MDCN-style exam at the end of 300 level. Failure means re-sitting in part or in whole.

Years 4, 5 and 6 (clinical). Pathology, Microbiology, Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Psychiatry, Community Health, Ophthalmology, ENT, Anaesthesia. Hospital-based rotations at the teaching hospital. The final MBBS exam at the end of year 6 is the gateway to the MDCN licensing exam.

After graduation: one year of housemanship at an accredited teaching hospital (UCH Ibadan, LUTH, LASUTH, ABUTH Zaria, UPTH and others), then NYSC, then optional postgraduate residency through the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (NPMCN) or the West African College of Physicians and Surgeons. Specialist residency takes 4 to 6 additional years depending on speciality.

Career outlook and cost of MBBS

After six years of MBBS, every fresh graduate writes the MDCN licensing exam and serves a one-year housemanship at an accredited teaching hospital. The NYSC year follows for graduates under 30. House officer salary is set by the Medical Residency Training Act and is around ₦200,000 to ₦300,000 monthly. Newly qualified doctors in the public sector earn ₦250,000 to ₦400,000 a month; specialists earn ₦600,000 to ₦1,500,000 a month depending on cadre and sector (federal vs state vs private hospital). Many Nigerian doctors also take the Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) exam for UK practice or the USMLE for US practice, both routes that have become common in the last five years.

Tuition cost ranges significantly. At a federal university, tuition is officially free but full first-year fees (acceptance, levies, ID, exam, library, faculty levy, medical kit) come to ₦200,000 to ₦400,000 for the first year and ₦100,000 to ₦200,000 a year thereafter, plus accommodation and books. State universities run ₦200,000 to ₦600,000 a year. Private medical schools run ₦3 million to ₦10 million per session, with Madonna and Bingham at the lower end and Babcock and ABUAD at the higher end. The MDCN licensing exam at the end is the same for everyone, regardless of where you studied; a Madonna graduate writes the same paper as a UI graduate.

Frequently asked questions

Can I study Medicine without Physics at O Level?

No. Every accredited medical school in Nigeria requires Physics at credit level (C6 or above) in O Level. The MDCN includes Physics in the list of foundational sciences required for medical training, and the school’s admission committee will filter out any candidate without the credit at the verification stage. If you missed Physics at WAEC May/June, you can sit WAEC GCE (November) or NECO November/December for Physics and combine with your existing five-subject WAEC. Plan this immediately if you find yourself without a Physics credit; the gap-year cost is far less than discovering it at clearance.

Is Further Mathematics required for Medicine?

No. Mathematics at credit level is required; Further Mathematics is not. Some candidates worry that Further Mathematics gives them an admission edge for Medicine; it does not. The five O Level credits required are English, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics. Anything beyond that is extra padding for tie-breakers and is sometimes weighed at the verification stage at competitive schools, but it never replaces a missing credit in one of the core five subjects.

Can I switch from a B.Sc. to Medicine?

Yes, through Direct Entry. If your degree is in a relevant life science (Biochemistry, Physiology, Anatomy, Microbiology, Nursing, Medical Laboratory Science) with a 2.1 minimum, federal schools consider you for DE into MBBS, usually at 200 level. Private medical schools offer a graduate-entry MBBS that admits B.Sc. holders straight into 200 or 300 level depending on the transcript. This is a longer overall path (B.Sc. years plus MBBS years) but it is a real route, and many practising Nigerian doctors took it after their first JAMB cycle did not yield a Medicine slot. Plan your B.Sc. with this route in mind if Medicine is your real target.

Is private school Medicine cheaper or easier?

Private medical school cut-offs are lower (200 to 250 JAMB), so the admission filter is easier on paper. The cost is the real filter: ₦3 million to ₦10 million per session at most private medical schools, plus accommodation, books, clinical kit and the usual living expenses. The MBBS curriculum is the same nationally; private graduates write the same MDCN licensing exam as federal graduates and serve the same housemanship. The career outcome is functionally identical. The choice is therefore mostly about whether your family can sustain the private school tuition for six years versus competing for a federal slot with a much higher JAMB cut-off.

What can I do if I miss Medicine in my first JAMB cycle?

Three realistic options. First, accept a Change of Course on JAMB to a related life-science programme (Anatomy, Physiology, Medical Laboratory Science, Pharmacy, Nursing) where your score is competitive, then either internal-transfer to Medicine in 200 level (a path some schools support) or proceed to a graduate-entry MBBS after the B.Sc. Second, retake JAMB in the next cycle with a stronger preparation; many candidates lift their score 30 to 60 marks after a focused gap year. Third, consider a private medical school if your family can sustain the tuition. All three are real careers in medicine; the only path you should avoid is paying for “JAMB upgrades” or “admission help”, which are scams that put your record at risk.

How long does it actually take to become a doctor in Nigeria?

Six years for the MBBS degree, one year for housemanship, and one year for NYSC. So at minimum, eight years from JAMB admission to the day you can practise independently. Specialist training (residency) adds another four to six years on top, taking total training to twelve or fourteen years for consultant status. If you re-sat JAMB once, add a year. If you took a gap year for an entrance test or O Level retake, add a year. Plan your family’s financial and emotional support around this timeline; medicine is the longest undergraduate path in Nigeria, and the difficulty of housemanship and residency surprises some candidates who only thought about the six MBBS years.

Related guides

• JAMB 2026 Subject Combinations: complete list by course
• How to gain admission into UNILAG
• How to gain admission into UI
• How to score 300 and above in JAMB

Sources

JAMB 2026 brochure; Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) accreditation list; admission notices of UI, UNILAG, OAU, UNN, ABU; National Universities Commission (NUC) approved programme list; National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria.