Q1. Is Medicine at URJC taught in English?
+A: No. Instruction is entirely in Spanish, and URJC does not run an English-medium or bilingual track for Medicine.
Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) is one of the youngest state universities of Spain, founded in 1996. Faculty of Health Sciences in Alcorcón launched Medicine degree programme during the academic year 2008-09. First graduates were obtained in 2014, in number of 31. Despite its relatively short existence, faculty already has a very good academic reputation. Its fast development attracted much attention in Spain.
Probably, the brightest achievement of the programme is its performance in the MIR residency examination. In all three most recent rankings of faculties by the Spanish Ministry of Health, URJC occupied the first, third and sixth places nationally among all public and private medical universities. This fact shows that programme has formed its good academic performance very quickly, despite being quite new. Performance in MIR is one of the most important factors which characterise quality of medical education in Spain.
Similarly to the other state medical universities of Spain, URJC Medicine programme is held in Spanish only. There are no bilingual or English-taught tracks available. All lectures, seminars, exams and clinical studies should be done in the Spanish language. Thus, students should be ready to study and communicate in Spanish throughout the duration of the programme.
Also, the competition for admission to the programme is quite high. Domestic and EU applicants apply to URJC via the national EBAU university entrance examination. Medicine programme of URJC has one of the highest admission cut-offs in Spain, competing with such famous universities as Complutense University of Madrid and Autonomous University of Madrid. Usually, only candidates with extremely good academic results can get accepted to the programme.
For Indian and other non-EU applicants, the admission procedure follows the standard Spanish procedure for international applicants. Their secondary school qualification should be homologated through Spain's homologation process. Then, applicants should get their admission credentials through the UNEDasiss system, using Pruebas de Competencias Específicas (PCE) to increase their admission score. They should also have a Spanish language certification of level B2, usually SIELE or DELE.
Thus, the admission procedure is competitive and can require much work from the applicant. Unlike some private universities, URJC doesn't provide simplified admission procedure or special foundation programme for international students. Success in this case depends primarily on academic performance, language skills and proper preparation for the UNEDasiss admission procedure.
Tuition fees in URJC are set according to the regulations of the Community of Madrid. Contrary to several other regions of Spain, Madrid has different policy for non-resident international students. Non-EU applicants pay the fourth enrolment fee (credit) rate since their first year of study. It means that tuition fees will be higher than in many other public universities of Spain.
For Medicine programme, annual tuition fee is around €8,000, depending on standard workload. Despite being significantly cheaper than in most private medical universities, this cost is noticeably higher than in most other public universities of Aragon, Valencia and some other regions of Spain. Thus, students choosing between Spanish universities should keep in mind these differences.
Clinical studies begin in the later stages of the programme and are organised through two major teaching hospitals. Students are allocated to one of two teaching hospitals – Hospital Universitario Fundación Alcorcón or Hospital Universitario de Fuenlabrada through lottery. The rotations include all major medical specialties, such as internal medicine and surgery.
In addition to its medical programme, the university itself got five stars from QS Stars system in several categories. Although these assessments are not directly related to Medicine programme, they show overall quality and performance of the university. In general, the university has improved its reputation since its founding.
Graduates of URJC Medicine programme are certified as medical doctors in accordance with the regulation of Spain, Orden ECI/332/2008. They can participate in MIR examination and practise medicine throughout the territory of the European Union and European Economic Area. The qualification has good recognition in Europe and uses the same legal framework as any other Spanish medical degree.
Current data on URJC does not show that university has the WFME International Quality Label which some Spanish medical schools have. It has impact mainly on students who plan their further careers in US through ECFMG. In case of students who want to work in Spain, other European countries or India, the lack of this label is much less important. Nevertheless, one should take into account licensing requirements for specific country.
The university is located in its Alcorcón campus, which is in a residential suburb southwest of Madrid. With excellent metro connection, travelling to the centre of Madrid is quite fast and easy. Teaching hospitals and university are located close to campus, thus providing a convenient learning experience. Thus, students have both access to Madrid and comfortable suburban location.
In general, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos is suitable for the students with excellent academic performance and strong Spanish language skills who are able to compete in the Spanish admission procedure. Its excellent MIR performance, good partnerships with hospitals and the fact that it is a public university makes it one of the most attractive modern medical schools in Spain. However, it is neither English-taught programme nor one of the cheapest Spanish programmes for international students.
