# Every Medical School in Addis Ababa: Public and Private, Compared > Addis Ababa has three public medical schools and at least seven private ones that train doctors. We checked each against the World Directory of Medical Schools and the national accreditation register, and set out what is known about each, and what still isn't published. Source: https://www.medicine.et/blog/medical-schools-in-addis-ababa Site: Bloom Medicine — https://www.medicine.et Last updated: 2026-10-07 --- October 7, 2026 · Health Education · 14 min read · by Bloom Medicine If you want to study medicine in Addis Ababa, the obvious names are Addis Ababa University and St. Paul's. But the city has many more medical schools than that. Most of them are private, and they are the hardest to find reliable information about. So we made the list ourselves. We started from the **World Directory of Medical Schools** (WDOMS), the international register run by the World Federation for Medical Education and FAIMER. Then we checked each school against the Education and Training Authority's (ETA) new accreditation register, the schools' own websites and published research. ## The short answer Ten institutions in or on the edge of Addis Ababa are listed as training doctors: - **Three are public:** Addis Ababa University, St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College and Yekatit 12 Hospital Medical College. - **Seven are private:** Hayat, Bethel, Africa, Myungsung, Santé, the Ethiopian Catholic University (ECUSTA) and Lorcan. - **One more, Pioneer College,** says on its website that it runs an MD programme, but it is not in the World Directory. Of the eleven Ethiopian schools the World Directory lists as private, seven are in Addis Ababa, so the city is where most of the private choice is. What is much harder to find is anything that compares these schools on quality. Only one Addis MD programme, Yekatit 12's, appears on the ETA's online accreditation register so far. And the Ministry of Health does not publish licensing-exam results by school. ![The gate of Balcha Hospital in Addis Ababa, with a sign reading "Balcha Hospital Russian Red Cross"](/images/blog/medical-schools-in-addis-ababa/balcha-hospital.webp) _Photo: [A.Savin](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ET_Addis_asv2018-01_img04_Balcha_Hospital.jpg), Free Art License 1.3, via Wikimedia Commons. Not every hospital in the city trains doctors; Balcha Hospital is not one of the schools in this guide._ ## The schools at a glance | School | Type | Teaching medicine since | Main teaching hospital | On the ETA accreditation register for medicine? | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Addis Ababa University, College of Health Sciences](/schools/addis-ababa-university) | Public | 1964 | Tikur Anbessa (Black Lion) Specialized Hospital | Not yet | | [St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College](/schools/st-pauls-hospital-millennium-medical-college) | Public (Ministry of Health) | 2007 | St. Paul's Hospital (700+ beds) | Not yet | | [Yekatit 12 Hospital Medical College](/schools/yekatit-12-hospital-medical-college) | Public | 2012 | Yekatit 12 Hospital (456 beds) | [Yes, provisional, 2025–2028](https://accreditation.neta.gov.et) | | [Hayat Medical College](/schools/hayat-medical-college) | Private | 2005 | Not stated on its website | Not yet | | [Bethel Medical College](/schools/bethel-medical-college) | Private | 2009 | Not published | Not yet | | [Africa Medical College](/schools/africa-medical-college) | Private | 2011 | Not published | Not yet | | [Myungsung Medical College](/schools/myungsung-medical-college) | Private (Christian) | 2012 | Myungsung Christian Medical Center ("Korean Hospital") | Not yet | | [Santé Medical College](/schools/sante-medical-college) | Private | 2014 | Not published | Not yet | | [ECUSTA School of Medicine](/schools/ethiopian-catholic-university-of-st-thomas-aquinas) | Private (Catholic) | 2018 | Not published | Not yet | | [Lorcan Medical College](/schools/lorcan-medical-college) | Private | 2021 | Not published | Not yet | | [Pioneer College](/schools/pioneer-college) | Private | Not stated ("newly established") | Rotations at Yekatit 12 and ALERT (college's own statement) | Not yet; not in WDOMS | _"Teaching medicine since" is the year instruction began according to each school's WDOMS entry; for St. Paul's it is the year the medical school opened according to the Ministry of Health (WDOMS gives 2008). Bethel's WDOMS address is Alemgena, on the city's south-western edge in Oromia._ ### How to read this table - **A WDOMS listing is not an endorsement.** The directory says plainly that being listed does not mean recognition or accreditation. It does confirm that a school exists and offers a medical degree. That matters if you ever want to sit the US or UK licensing exams, because foreign regulators use the directory to check where you trained. - **"Not yet" on the ETA register is not a failing mark.** The ETA's online accreditation system is new. When we checked, it listed only 13 programme accreditations nationwide, four of them in medicine: Arsi, Arba Minch, Debre Berhan and Yekatit 12. Most schools simply haven't been through the new process yet. Before you pay, ask a private school for its current ETA licence and accreditation letter for the MD programme specifically. Accrediting an institution doesn't automatically accredit each programme it runs. - **Rankings barely cover these schools.** EduRank's medicine table for Ethiopia has 16 entries. Addis Ababa University is first, and **Rift Valley University** (16th) is the only other entry it places in Addis Ababa. The World Directory lists Rift Valley's medical faculty in Adama. ## The public schools ### ![](/images/logos/aau.webp) 1. Addis Ababa University, College of Health Sciences [Profile, contacts and photos →](/schools/addis-ababa-university) Ethiopia's first medical school began teaching in **1964**. Its first Ethiopian doctors graduated in **1968**. Clinical teaching moved to what is now **Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital** in 1975. With about 700 beds, it is the country's largest specialised hospital. It is also the biggest school in the city: - About **1,700 medical students** in 2014/15 (926 pre-clinical and 776 clinical), according to a study of Ethiopia's seven oldest medical schools. - **360 admitted and 297 graduated** in 2014, the last year the school reported intake figures to the World Directory. AAU is first in Ethiopia on EduRank's medicine ranking, which counts research citations, and 751st in the world. Much of Ethiopia's specialist training started here, so it is also the school with the deepest bench of senior clinicians. ### ![](/images/logos/sphmmc.webp) 2. St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College [Profile, contacts and photos →](/schools/st-pauls-hospital-millennium-medical-college) St. Paul's is a teaching hospital that grew into a medical school: - **History:** the hospital was established in 1968, the medical school opened in **2007**, and a Council of Ministers decree made it a college in 2010. - **Governance:** it is run by a board under the Federal Ministry of Health, not the Ministry of Education. - **Size:** it has more than 700 beds and sees about 1,200 emergency and outpatient clients a day. - **Course length:** WDOMS lists the MD as 5.5 years, shorter than the usual six. St. Paul's set out to be different. It aimed to admit 30% of its students from rural areas and 30% women, and **it selects students through its own entrance exam** instead of taking whoever the Ministry of Education assigns. The Ministry of Health describes it as introducing Ethiopia's first integrated modular, hybrid problem-based curriculum. A 2020 history of Ethiopian medical education says the problem-based approach "could not take off well" and was soon discontinued. If teaching style matters to you, ask current students how the course actually runs today. ### ![](/images/logos/yekatit12.webp) 3. Yekatit 12 Hospital Medical College [Profile, contacts and photos →](/schools/yekatit-12-hospital-medical-college) Yekatit 12 is one of the oldest hospitals in the city. It was founded in **1923** and renamed in 1937 in memory of the victims of that year's massacre in Addis Ababa. It became a medical college in 2011. It has **456 beds** and sits at Sidist Kilo, near AAU's main campus. According to the World Directory, MD teaching began in **2012**, and the directory lists graduation years from 2017. Yekatit 12 has something no other Addis school can yet show. Its **medicine programme is provisionally accredited by the ETA**, under certificate ETA-000005, issued on 29 May 2025 and valid until 28 May 2028. It is the only Addis MD programme on the new register. ## The private schools Private medical education in Ethiopia grew out of the 2000s expansion of higher education. A 2020 history in the *Ethiopian Medical Journal* named Hayat, Bethel, Gambe (Gamby), Africa, Myungsung and Santé as the first private medical schools. It added a warning that is still worth asking about: "many of the newly opened private medical schools run the teaching through part-time teachers." No private school in Addis publishes its tuition on its website, and we found no credible published figures. Ask for the full fee schedule in writing. ### ![](/images/logos/hayat.webp) 4. Hayat Medical College [Profile, contacts and photos →](/schools/hayat-medical-college) Hayat, in Bole, began teaching medicine in **2005**. It describes itself as "the first private medical college to produce medical doctors in Ethiopia." Its website lists: - **Facilities:** two teaching laboratories, a clinical skills lab set up in 2015, and a library seating 200. - **Programmes:** medicine now, with nursing, dental medicine and master's programmes in public health marked "coming soon." It does not name its teaching hospital or publish exam results. ### ![](/images/logos/bethel.webp) 5. Bethel Medical College [Profile, contacts and photos →](/schools/bethel-medical-college) Bethel's WDOMS entry gives its address as **Alemgena**, just outside the city boundary in Oromia, with MD teaching from **2009**. The Hunt Foundation, which funded a library and an expanded hospital wing there, says the college was established in 2004. It also says Bethel is one of a few private institutions accredited by the Ministry of Education to offer the MD. That page is undated, so ask for current paperwork. ### ![](/images/logos/africamedical.webp) 6. Africa Medical College [Profile, contacts and photos →](/schools/africa-medical-college) Africa Medical College is one of the least documented schools on this list. The World Directory lists it as a private school in Addis Ababa, teaching a six-year programme since **2011**, with graduation years listed from 2017. The 2020 *Ethiopian Medical Journal* history names it among the early private medical schools. We could not find an official website, teaching-hospital details or any outcome data. ### ![](/images/logos/myungsung.webp) 7. Myungsung Medical College [Profile, contacts and photos →](/schools/myungsung-medical-college) Myungsung is the best-documented private option. It is attached to **Myungsung Christian Medical Center (MCM)**, known locally as the "Korean Hospital", which a Korean Presbyterian church founded in 2004. - **Teaching hospital:** the hospital has two wings, with 161 and 67 beds. The college says the hospital was recently promoted to Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, and calls it the first private institution of that type. - **Course:** the college opened in **2012** and runs a six-year curriculum including internship. - **Results:** the college says its fourth graduating class all passed the national licensing exam. The statement is undated and self-reported, but it is at least a figure you can ask the college to back up. ### ![](/images/logos/sante.webp) 8. Santé Medical College [Profile, contacts and photos →](/schools/sante-medical-college) Santé is at Sarbet, near Bisrate Gebreal. Its MD teaching began in **2014**, according to the World Directory. Besides medicine, it runs a six-year Doctor of Dental Medicine, medical laboratory science and several master's programmes in public health. In 2024, *Addis Fortune* described it as a decade-old college with more than 700 students. On its website, Santé says its MD students had a 100% pass rate on their first university exit exam and 93% on their second, and that the Ministry of Education commended it for this. The years aren't given, and the Ministry hasn't published results by school, so treat these as the college's own figures. ### ![](/images/logos/ecusta.webp) 9. Ethiopian Catholic University of St. Thomas Aquinas (ECUSTA), School of Medicine [Profile, contacts and photos →](/schools/ethiopian-catholic-university-of-st-thomas-aquinas) ECUSTA is the Catholic Church's university in Ethiopia. Its medical school is in Nifas Silk-Lafto, and the World Directory dates MD teaching from **2018**. A La Salle International article on the university reported 38 students training to be doctors. Admission requires an entrance exam. ### ![](/images/logos/lorcan.webp) 10. Lorcan Medical College [Profile, contacts and photos →](/schools/lorcan-medical-college) Lorcan is the newest school in the World Directory for Addis. It began teaching in **2021** and offers an MD and a Doctor of Dental Medicine. Its MD is listed at **6.5 years**, longer than most. It admits foreign students, and it requires an entrance exam. ### ![](/images/logos/pioneer.webp) 11. Pioneer College [Profile, contacts and photos →](/schools/pioneer-college) Pioneer College, on Ring Road near German Square, describes itself as "newly established." It lists a six-year Doctor of Medicine, and its website gives two more details: - **Clinical training:** rotations at Yekatit 12 Hospital and ALERT Specialized Hospital. - **Licensing:** it says all its programmes are "fully licensed" by the ETA. It is not in the World Directory, and its MD is not on the ETA's new accreditation register. Check its licence status with the ETA before applying. ### Nearby, and names that can mislead - **[Defence University College of Health Sciences](/schools/defence-university-college-of-health-sciences)** trains military doctors. The World Directory lists it in Bishoftu, not Addis Ababa, and it does not admit foreign students. - **[Menelik II Medical and Health Science College](/schools/menelik-ii-medical-and-health-science-college)** is backed by the Addis Ababa city administration. It graduated 300 health professionals in 2024 "in various health fields." **Universal Medical College** is a private health-sciences college. Neither is in the World Directory, and we found no evidence that either offers the MD. Having "medical" in a college's name does not mean it trains doctors. ## What no list measures: the licensing exam Every new doctor in Ethiopia must pass the Ministry of Health's national licensing exam. It is the closest thing to an independent test of a school. A study of the February 2024 round found: - 1,259 graduates from 19 schools sat the exam. - Graduates of public schools scored **significantly higher** than graduates of private schools. - The ministry does not publish results by school. The university exit exam shows a similar gap, although its published results cover all subjects, not medicine alone. In the 2024 results: - Private-sector students sitting for the first time passed at **21%**, against 69% in public universities. - On the second sitting, the private-sector pass rate was 15%, against 33% in public universities. None of this tells you that any particular private school is weak. It does tell you to ask each one for its own numbers. ![Four Ethiopian health workers in white uniforms standing with Dr Catherine Hamlin at a desk in the Hamlin Fistula Hospital, Addis Ababa](/images/blog/medical-schools-in-addis-ababa/hamlin-staff.webp) _Photo: [Lucy Perry / DFAT (Australian Government)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Africa_Partnerships_Hamlin_Fistula_8_(10665435365).jpg), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Staff at the Hamlin Fistula Hospital in 2009; the hospital is a specialist centre, not one of the medical schools in this guide._ ## If you are choosing a school in Addis 1. **Ask for the paperwork.** You want the ETA licence and the accreditation letter for the MD programme itself. In March 2026 the ETA revoked the licences of 52 private colleges for ignoring its re-registration and quality requirements. The six colleges named in reports were business, leadership and hospitality schools, not medical schools, but it shows that a licence can be withdrawn. 2. **Ask for licensing-exam and exit-exam pass rates** for the last two or three graduating classes, with the year and the number of students who sat. 3. **Find out where you will do your clinical years.** A school with its own hospital (AAU, St. Paul's, Yekatit 12, Myungsung) has its wards on site. A school that rents placements in other hospitals has to share them with everyone else. 4. **Ask how many teachers are full-time.** This was the main weakness the *Ethiopian Medical Journal* history found in the early private schools. 5. **Check the length of the course.** It ranges from 5.5 years at St. Paul's to 6.5 at Lorcan. Find out whether internship is included. 6. **Get every fee in writing.** Public universities use cost-sharing, where graduates repay part of the cost from their salary. Private schools set their own fees and don't publish them. For how the Addis schools compare with the rest of the country, see our guide to the [top medical schools in Ethiopia](/blog/top-medical-schools-in-ethiopia). For what happens after graduation, see our look at [Ethiopia's health workforce gap](/research/health-workforce-gap). ## Sources **Directories and registers** - World Directory of Medical Schools (WFME/FAIMER). School entries: [Addis Ababa University](https://search.wdoms.org/home/SchoolDetail/F0001363), [St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College](https://search.wdoms.org/home/SchoolDetail/F0003142), [Yekatit 12 Hospital Medical College](https://search.wdoms.org/home/SchoolDetail/F0005740), [Hayat Medical College](https://search.wdoms.org/home/SchoolDetail/F0002637), [Bethel Medical College](https://search.wdoms.org/home/SchoolDetail/F0004278), [Africa Medical College](https://search.wdoms.org/home/SchoolDetail/F0005810), [MyungSung Medical College](https://search.wdoms.org/home/SchoolDetail/F0002834), [Santé Medical College](https://search.wdoms.org/home/SchoolDetail/F0003834), [ECUSTA School of Medicine](https://search.wdoms.org/home/SchoolDetail/F0006376), [Lorcan Medical College](https://search.wdoms.org/home/SchoolDetail/F0008065), [Ethiopian Defense University College of Health Sciences](https://search.wdoms.org/home/SchoolDetail/F0003340), [Rift Valley University](https://search.wdoms.org/home/SchoolDetail/F0008307). Ethiopia country search at [search.wdoms.org](https://search.wdoms.org/). - FDRE Education and Training Authority. [Accredited Institutions & Programs](https://accreditation.neta.gov.et). - EduRank. [Best universities for medicine in Ethiopia](https://edurank.org/medicine/et/), updated 15 March 2026. **Research and history** - Mekasha A. [Brief history of medical education in Ethiopia](https://emjema.org/index.php/EMJ/article/download/1461/577). *Ethiopian Medical Journal* 58(1), 2020. - Assefa T, Haile Mariam D, Mekonnen W, Derbew M. [Survival analysis to measure turnover of the medical education workforce in Ethiopia](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5348897/). *Human Resources for Health*, 2017. Source for AAU student numbers. - Belay LM, Siebeck M, Fischer MR, et al. [Psychometric evaluation of the Ethiopian National Medical Licensing Examination](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12849317/). *BMC Medical Education*, 2026. **News** - Tamrat W. [Addressing poor pass rate in HE exit exam remains urgent](https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20240417140934766). *University World News*, 18 April 2024. - The Reporter. [Education Authority Revokes Licenses of 52 Private Colleges](https://www.thereporterethiopia.com/49999/), 31 March 2026. - Addis Fortune. [Accreditation crackdown sweeps higher education](https://addisfortune.news/accreditation-crackdown-sweeps-higher-education/), 2024. - allAfrica. [Addis commits to quality health delivery](https://allafrica.com/stories/202404150547.html), April 2024 (Menelik II graduation). **School and hospital profiles** - Addis Ababa University: [Black Lion Hospital](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lion_Hospital). - St. Paul's: Ministry of Health college profile (moh.gov.et). - Yekatit 12: [Yekatit 12 Hospital](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yekatit_12_Hospital). - Hayat: [Hayat Medical College website](https://hayatmedicalcollege.edu.et/). - Bethel: [Hunt Foundation project page](https://www.thehuntfoundation.org/past-projects/ethiopia/bethel-medical-college/). - Myungsung: [Myungsung Christian Medical College profile](https://samaritanspurse.medicalmissions.com/organizations/myungsung-christian-medical-college-addis-ababa-ethiopia) (MedicalMissions.com); [Myungsung Christian Medical Center](https://samaritanspurse.org/medical/myungsung-christian-medical-center-addis-ababa-ethiopia/) (Samaritan's Purse). - Santé: [Santé Medical College website](https://santemedicalcollege.edu.et/). - ECUSTA: [Ethiopia Catholic University article](https://lasalleinternational.org/2022/02/ethiopia-ecu-university-education/), La Salle International. - Pioneer College: [Pioneer College website](https://www.pioneercollege.edu.et/).