Q1. Is Medicine at UIB taught in English?
+A: No. Teaching is in Catalan and Castilian; B2-level English is required to graduate, not as a teaching medium.Q
Until recently, students of Mallorca, Menorca, and Ibiza needed to move to another country to study Medicine. Although there was a proposal to build a medical faculty in the Balearic Islands, it was unsuccessful until the 2011 when Spain's National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA) approved the medical degree. Funding was secured in 2016 with collaboration between the Balearic regional government and the Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB). Instruction officially began in 2016–2017 with 60 students and the first graduation occurred in 2022.
One of the features of UIB's Faculty of Medicine is its newness. As it is not an old university, UIB does not have a building for its medical faculty. In UIB, the Faculty of Medicine is located in Hospital Universitari Son Espases – the main teaching hospital in Palma. Therefore, unlike in many other universities where learning occurs in university buildings at the beginning of instruction and only then students start moving to hospitals, at UIB students learn in hospitals from the very beginning.
Such facilities as anatomical laboratories, dissection rooms, and clinical simulations centre are part of the hospital complex. The programme itself was built from scratch by the founder of the medical faculty – Dr. Margalida Gili Planas. Due to the small number of students in each cohort (only 60), the faculty pays a lot of attention to individual learning. Each student is provided with a separate clinical simulation equipment and personalized training.
Like in other public universities in Spain, language requirements at UIB involve knowledge of Catalan and Castilian Spanish. But UIB has one additional language requirement. All the classes are conducted in both Catalan and Spanish, but there is no programme in English. At the same time, students do not need to know English to get admitted. Before graduation, all students must prove English proficiency at the B2 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. This requirement concerns graduation only and not the entrance, which means that students become competent in three languages during their studies at UIB: Catalan, Spanish, and English.
The procedure of the admission for the international students is standard for Spanish public universities. First, you need to have your secondary school certificates recognized in the Spanish homologation system. Then, you can receive admission credentials through UNED. Admission is extremely competitive since only 60 seats are available.
At UIB, admission scores are calculated according to the Spanish 14-point system based on the homologated secondary-school grades and the highest weighted grades. Given the small number of the places available, admission is very competitive and students usually have outstanding academic records. Since only 60 places are available per year, Medicine is one of the most competitive UIB's programmes.
When the Faculty of Medicine was opened in 2016, the tuition fees for the domestic and European Union students were set quite low. UIB was heavily subsidized by the Balearic regional government to ensure the possibility to educate local doctors. Besides, the development of the faculty required considerable state funding for each new year of the programme. Therefore, affordability remains one of the key priorities of the UIB's faculty of medicine.
Tuition fees are different annually depending on the annual regional regulation and residency of the applicant. Generally, non-EU international students pay more for the studies than domestic and EU students. The best way to know the tuition fee is to check the current fee schedule at the university's website. As with any other public university in Spain, tuition policies may vary from one academic year to another.
Medicine at UIB is regulated by the national framework of Spain – Orden ECI/332/2008. Graduates have the right to take MIR examination for the postgraduate residency and practice in the European Union and European Economic Area countries. UIB's first graduates joined MIR residency programs in 2023, which means that the faculty already became part of Spain's healthcare system.
At the moment, there is no information concerning the fact that UIB holds the WFME International Quality Label that some Spanish medical schools have. Given the fact that the faculty is rather new, it is not surprising. Lack of this accreditation does not affect the possibility of the participation in certain postgraduate programmes in the US through ECFMG. However, for students who plan to practice in Spain, Europe, or India, it is not important.
Palma, the capital of the Balearic Islands, is a modern Mediterranean city with a high level of life. Besides, it is one of Spain's newer teaching hospitals. Therefore, students have an opportunity to learn in an active clinical setting in a small and cozy urban environment rather than a big city on the mainland. At the same time, the island environment gives a special experience to the students.
Overall, Universitat de les Illes Balears is the best choice for students who speak Spanish fluently and know Catalan, and who want to study in a new and small medical faculty. The advantages of the UIB include closeness to the hospital, personalized clinical training, and small student/faculty ratio. The drawback of UIB's medical faculty is its relative newness compared to Spain's older medical faculties and lack of the long history and alumni network.
