Bethel Medical College

Health and medical education

Bethel Medical College is one of Ethiopia's early private medical schools. The 2020 Ethiopian Medical Journal history of medical education names it among the first group, with Hayat, Africa, Myungsung and Santé. It trains doctors and also runs nursing and public health degrees.

Doctor of Medicine

According to the World Directory of Medical Schools (WDOMS), Bethel's six-year Doctor of Medicine (MD) has been taught since 2009. The directory's sponsor notes list graduation years as "2009 – Current" for ECFMG eligibility (the US route). They also say Bethel's medical degrees are acceptable to Canada's provincial regulators unless stated otherwise. That is a directory listing, not an Ethiopian accreditation.

The Hunt Foundation, a funder, describes Bethel as "accredited by the Ministry of Education to offer a medical doctoral degree program". It also calls it one of the few private institutions in Ethiopia with that accreditation. The page is undated, so ask for current paperwork.

The college's admission page sets out the entry route for the School of Medicine:

• Admission is based on the student's interest and their score in the national higher-education entrance exam. Bethel adds its own criteria.
• Female applicants who meet the criteria are given priority.
• Graduate entry to medicine is possible for holders of a BSc in a health-related field with a CGPA of 2.75 or above.

Nursing and public health

The admission page also describes a School of Nursing & Public Health offering BSc programmes. Holders of a Level 4/diploma in a health field can upgrade if they have a Level 4 COC certificate and at least two years' work experience in the same field, and pass the college's entrance exam. Business-directory listings say HERQA (the former quality agency) accredited Bethel's BSc Nursing, BSc Public Health and MD programmes, but give no dates. The Hunt Foundation says the college trains "doctors, nurses, health officers, and other essential medical professionals". The website also links to a CPD Center learning platform for continuing professional development.

Teaching hospital: how the college and Bethel Teaching General Hospital relate

The college and the hospital are separate sites, but they are closely linked:

• Same founder. The Hunt Foundation says the college was "first established by Dr. Yigeremu Asfaw". The Ethiopian Medical Association's obituary of Dr Yigeremu Asefaw (1950–2018) calls him the "founder of Bethel Teaching Hospital".
• Same parent company. In 2024, college job adverts at Bethel Medical College, Alemgena, were placed by Heal Africa Health City S.C., and job sites describe Bethel Teaching General Hospital as part of the same group.
• Different places. WDOMS gives the college's address as Alemgena, and the college says its campus is about 15 km west of the capital. The UK government's list of medical facilities puts Bethel Hospital in Kolfe Keranio Sub-City, Weyira area, Woreda 8, inside Addis Ababa. That list gives the hospital's numbers as +251 11 349 5475–78 and its email as info@bethelhospital.com.

The college's website says its campus is close to "a hospital that serves the local community". The Hunt Foundation says it funded a library, an expanded hospital wing and "medical training pods" there. No source we found states which hospital(s) Bethel's MD students use for each clinical rotation and the internship year, so ask.

Accreditation and outcomes

Bethel is not on the Education and Training Authority's (ETA) new online accreditation register. As of November 2026 the register lists only 13 programme accreditations, none of them at a private college. We found no published exit-exam or licensing-exam results for Bethel.

The institution

The Hunt Foundation says Bethel Medical College was established in 2004. Its campus is at Alemgena, on the Oromia side of the city's south-western edge, about 15 km west of central Addis Ababa. According to the college, the campus has an information commons, a clinical simulation centre, a science laboratory, a studio classroom, and student and faculty housing. The website also links to a student portal, a digital library and a learning-management system.

Contacts. The college's Facebook page, which its website links to, lists a mobile number and info@bmc.edu.et. The admission page gives the postal address as P.O. Box 541/1056, Addis Ababa. Several business directories list other landline numbers; one of them, +251 11 618 1240, is actually Hayat Medical College's main line, so we have left it out. When we checked in November 2026, the website's contact, about and programmes pages were not loading.

Admissions route. Placement follows the national entrance exam and Ministry of Education cut-offs, plus Bethel's own criteria (see above). The college does not publish tuition.

Rankings. Bethel does not appear in EduRank's medicine ranking for Ethiopia, and we found no other credible ranking.

Before you apply

• Ask for the current Ministry of Education/ETA licence or accreditation letter for the exact programme you want (MD, BSc Nursing or BSc Public Health). The college is not yet on the ETA's online register.
• Ask where clinical rotations and the internship take place: Bethel Teaching General Hospital in Kolfe Keranio, another hospital, or a facility at the Alemgena campus.
• Plan your transport or ask about housing. Alemgena is outside the city, about 15 km west of the centre, and the college says it has student housing.
• Ask for recent MD exit-exam and licensing-exam pass rates. None are published.
• Confirm the phone number before you rely on it. The only number on an official channel is the Facebook mobile; the landlines come from directories.
• Get the full fee schedule in writing.