Ambo University

Health and medical education

Ambo University's College of Medicine and Health Sciences (CMHS) is young compared with the university itself. The college says it was established in 2009 and took its first students in 2010: 73 in Public Health, 55 in Pharmacy and 56 in Nursing, taught by six instructors.

Medicine

In March 2011 the college launched a New Innovative Medical Education Initiative (NIMEI) programme and admitted 75 students to train as doctors. The World Directory of Medical Schools (WDOMS) instead gives 2012 as the year MD teaching began. WDOMS lists a curriculum length of five years with admission straight after secondary school; ask the college how long the programme is today, including internship. The WDOMS entry carries no ECFMG sponsor note.

Programmes today

According to the college, it runs undergraduate programmes in seven departments: Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Anesthesia, Midwifery, Medical Laboratory Sciences and Public Health. It also lists 12 postgraduate programmes:

• Medical specialties: Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Pediatrics and Child Health, and Obstetrics and Gynecology;
• MSc programmes: Medical Microbiology, Maternity and Reproductive Health, and Adult Health Nursing;
• MPH programmes: General Public Health, Nutrition, Epidemiology and Reproductive Health;
• a PhD in Medical Microbiology.

The college says it plans to add an orthopaedics specialty, an MPH in Health Service Management, a PhD in Public Health, and MSc programmes in medicinal chemistry, clinical pharmacy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmaceutics and pharmaceutical analysis. As of April 2023 it reported 225 academic staff on duty, more than 100 of them assistant professor or above, with another 76 on study leave.

Pharmacy

Ambo's pharmacy department opened in 2010 using the national harmonised modular curriculum. A 2021 study of student research projects counted 275 students in its regular and non-regular pharmacy programmes.

Teaching hospital and facilities

The college describes the university's Teaching Referral Hospital, presented on the university site as Ambo University Referral Hospital, as part of its training infrastructure. Its inpatient services include:

• internal medicine, general surgery, pediatrics, neonatal care, gynaecology and obstetrics, orthopaedics and an ICU;
• ophthalmology, dentistry, ENT and psychiatry;
• plastic surgery and a burn unit;
• urology, physiotherapy, dermatology and neurology;
• a private wing.

It also runs specialty clinics, including an ART clinic. The university does not publish a bed count. The college also has skills laboratories and biomedical science laboratories (anatomy, biochemistry, pharmacy and medical laboratory science), plus a COVID-19 testing laboratory that it says can be used for molecular biology research.

Accreditation and rankings

None of Ambo's health programmes appeared in the Education and Training Authority's new online accreditation register when we checked. The register held only 13 programmes nationwide, so this is not evidence of a problem. Ambo does not appear on EduRank's Ethiopian subject lists for medicine, nursing, public health, pharmacology or OB-GYN.

The institution

Ambo has one of the longest histories of any Ethiopian higher-learning institution. A government school opened there in 1931 and closed during the Italian occupation. Ambo School of Agriculture, which the university calls Ethiopia's first agricultural school, was established in 1939 E.C. The university's history page dates this to 1946, while the president's message says 1947.

The institution then went through several stages:

• 1967: promoted to an institute of agriculture;
• 1974: Ambo Junior College of Agriculture;
• 1992: Ambo College of Agriculture;
• 2003: began degree programmes, affiliated with Jimma University;
• 12 March 2008: became an autonomous university college;
• 2009: became Ambo University.

The university says it has over 20,000 students. Its history page lists 51 graduate and 85 undergraduate programmes in nine colleges, institutes and schools. Besides the main campus in Ambo, it runs the Guder Mamo Mezemir campus (agriculture and veterinary science), the Hachalu Hundessa campus (Institute of Technology) and a Woliso campus.

Ambo town is the capital of the West Shewa Zone of Oromia, 114 km west of Addis Ababa, at about 2,100 m altitude, and is known for its hot springs and mineral water. Ambo is 19th in Ethiopia on EduRank's overall list and 25th of 51 on uniRank's 2026 table.

Regular undergraduate places are assigned through the Ministry of Education's national placement. The university's student portal lists available undergraduate programmes.

Before you apply

• Ask how long the MD takes now. WDOMS lists a five-year curriculum, but the college's own pages don't state the length. Confirm the duration including internship.
• Check accreditation. Ask the college for the ETA accreditation status of your programme, since none appeared on the ETA's online register when we checked.
• Specialty applicants: the four running specialties are internal medicine, general surgery, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynaecology. Orthopaedics is only planned.
• Ask which hospital you will rotate through. Ambo University Referral Hospital lists a broad range of services, but ask about bed numbers and patient volume for clerkships.
• Phone numbers on the site are inconsistent. The most reliable contact is info@ambou.edu.et. The main campus line (+251 11 236 2017) is the only number we could read without ambiguity.