Kursk State Medical University (KSMU) is a state medical university in Kursk, Russia, that has taught General Medicine (MBBS) to international students in English since 1994 through its International Medical Institute. The course lasts 6 years; fees are set in roubles each year, so get the 2026/27 price list in writing and read the current travel advice for Kursk Oblast before you apply.
Kursk State Medical University is a public medical university in Kursk, a regional city in western Russia. It was founded in 1935 as Kursk Medical Institute and belongs to the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. It trains doctors, dentists and pharmacists.
Foreign students have studied at KSMU since 1992, when the first students came from Syria and India. Since 1994 General Medicine and Pharmacy have been taught to international students through English as an intermediary language, and Dentistry since 1998, according to the university's own history page.
The International Medical Institute (IMI) of KSMU opened on 13 February 2020 as the division that admits and supports foreign students. It signs tuition contracts, controls payments for study and hostels, handles visa registration and extensions, and organises orientation and student events.
The IMI office is at the Western Campus, office 214, 3 Karl Marx Street, Kursk 305029. Its official contacts are +7 4712 51-37-48 and imi_ksmu@mail.ru. Use them to confirm anything you hear from others.
Yes, both. KSMU departments teach in Russian and in English, and the programme lasts 6 years in either language.
Choose English if your home country requires the whole course in English, as India does. Choose Russian if you plan to work in Russia. Even in the English stream you will learn Russian, because from the clinical years you talk to patients in hospitals in Kursk, and they speak Russian.
| Question | English stream | Russian stream |
|---|---|---|
| Language of lectures | English | Russian |
| Russian language classes | Yes, alongside medical subjects | Preparatory year first if you do not speak Russian |
| Fits India's NMC rule on language | Yes, if the whole course is in English | No |
| Best for | Students planning to practise at home | Students planning to stay in Russia |
KSMU sets its tuition for foreign students in roubles, per academic year, through a price list approved by the university. The official 2026/27 price list was not available on the university's public website when we checked in November 2026, so we do not print a figure. Ask the IMI for the price list and check that the same number appears in your contract.
Many websites quote KSMU fees in US dollars, but the contract is in roubles, and the rouble amount decides what you pay.
| Amount in roubles |
|---|
| 100,000 RUB (≈ $1,240) |
| 300,000 RUB (≈ $3,720) |
| 500,000 RUB (≈ $6,200) |
Tuition does not cover the hostel, medical insurance, visa costs, food or flights; ask the IMI for each as a separate line.
You apply to the university, sign a tuition contract, receive a visa invitation and then apply for a study visa at a Russian embassy or consulate.
The first study visa is usually valid for up to 90 days, single or double entry. The university then extends it inside Russia. Never enter Russia on a tourist visa if you plan to study.
The academic year at KSMU has an autumn semester and a winter semester; senior students must be back by 27 August for the autumn semester and by 1 February for the winter one. New international students usually arrive in autumn, and the university's news shows freshers from Malaysia arriving in September 2024. Your exact arrival date is the one on your invitation, so plan flights only after you receive it.
Yes, in principle. Free places for foreigners at state universities, KSMU included, come through the Russian government quota, and you apply on the official portal education-in-russia.com, not to the university. For the 2027/28 intake the deadline for non-CIS countries is 15 January 2027. Quota places are mostly in Russian after a preparatory year.
No foreign university is "NMC approved", because the National Medical Commission (NMC) of India does not publish a list of approved foreign universities.
Its Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations 2021 set conditions that your course must meet instead. The main ones: at least 54 months of study taught in English for the whole course, a 12-month internship at the same foreign institution, eligibility for a medical licence in the country of study, completion within 10 years, no transfer between universities, and a 12-month supervised internship in India after you return.
You must also qualify in NEET-UG before you go and then pass India's screening exam. The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) still runs the FMGE; the National Exit Test (NExT) has not replaced it yet. Before you sign, ask KSMU in writing how its English-stream graduates meet the internship condition, and keep the reply.
Rankings say little about whether a degree will let you practise. At the June 2025 graduation the rector said KSMU had entered a global ranking that measures how much applicants worldwide want to study at a university. For your decision, three checks matter more: the university's state accreditation in the Rosobrnadzor registry, the language of instruction in your contract, and the licensing rules of your home country.
KSMU houses international students in its own numbered hostels within walking distance of the main campus. The university says the buildings have professional security, CCTV and fire alarms. Its news mentions international students from India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka living in hostels No. 4, 5 and 6.
The university also says that many students choose to rent private flats in Kursk at affordable prices. The hostel fee is set separately from tuition, so ask the IMI for the 2026/27 hostel rate and whether a place is guaranteed for first-year students.
Clinical training at KSMU takes place at hospitals in Kursk that serve as its clinical bases, such as the Kursk regional clinical hospital and city hospitals, and at the university's own clinic. Before patients, students practise in the Accreditation and Simulation Centre, which has laboratories for emergency care, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics and general practice, and in a virtual clinic for acute medicine.
The rector has said the university puts "at the bedside" training first, which is why working Russian matters from the first year.
Kursk has a moderate continental climate with warm summers and cold, snowy winters. KSMU sits in the city centre, so lecture buildings, canteens and shops are within walking distance, and the university says living costs in Kursk are among the lowest in Russia.
Student life runs through national communities and clubs: Indian, Malaysian, Sri Lankan and Nigerian students organise sports days, festivals and Ramadan dinners, and graduates from 18 countries received diplomas in 2024.
Money needs planning. Visa and Mastercard cards issued outside Russia do not work in Russia, so bring enough cash for the first weeks, open a Russian bank account with a Mir card after you arrive, and agree with your family how they will send tuition and living money.
Read the official travel advice first, because Kursk Oblast borders Ukraine. As of its September 2026 update, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advises against all travel to Russia and reports military activity in Kursk and Belgorod oblasts, mainly in the districts that border Ukraine, together with drone attacks and short-notice airspace closures.
In August 2024 the Embassy of India in Moscow advised Indian nationals to take precautions and temporarily relocate outside the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions.
These are country and region level warnings, not statements about the university, and they change. The university has continued to teach and to graduate international doctors, including 175 in June 2025. Check your own embassy's latest advisory, save the IMI and embassy numbers, and expect flight delays: the FCDO notes restrictions on domestic flights in southern Russia.
He had only recently started learning Russian when he took part in a Pushkin Day evening at the university and enjoyed reading as a poet. He said the event was great and that Pushkin's work had impressed him since his first year.
— Harsh Mulik, a student from India, in a June 2024 KSMU news story (source)
When the KSMU dance group from India was announced at a folk festival, the audience burst into applause, thanked the students personally and asked for photos, which the students called a great joy.
— Girish Nivedhya, a 5th-year student, in a September 2023 KSMU news story (source)
On their first tour of the campus, new students from Malaysia noticed how much English literature the library holds and liked the free internet in the reading room. They called it a place where time flies and where you want to stay as long as possible.
— newly arrived Malaysian students of the IMI, in a September 2024 KSMU news story (source)
These accounts come from the university's own news pages, so also ask current students about daily costs and the hostel.
KSMU has taught General Medicine in English since 1994 and has large Indian, Malaysian and Sri Lankan communities. Whether it suits you depends on the fee in your contract, the current safety advice for Kursk Oblast and whether the course meets the NMC conditions.
General Medicine at KSMU lasts 6 years. Graduates receive a degree in General Medicine with the qualification of physician, which is the Russian equivalent of an MBBS or MD degree.
For Indian citizens, yes in practice: the NMC requires a NEET-UG qualification before you study medicine abroad if you want to practise in India later. Without it you cannot get a licence in India, whichever university you attend.
Yes. KSMU has its own guarded hostels near the main campus. The hostel fee is separate from tuition, so ask the IMI for the current monthly rate.
Last updated: 1 November 2026. Fees and regulations change; check the official sources above before you apply.
Kazan State Medical University (KSMU) is a state medical university in Kazan, Russia, dating from 1814 and teaching more than 2,200 international students. For 2026/27 General Medicine costs 636,000 RUB a year in English or Russian. You apply between 20 June and 15 July and pass online tests in Chemistry and English or Russian, with at least 65 points in each.
Kazan Federal University (KFU) is a large state university in Kazan, Russia, founded in 1804 and teaching about 11,500 international students. For 2026/27 General Medicine costs 653,400 RUB a year in English and 524,628 RUB in Russian; you apply online, pass entrance tests (in person for medicine) and pay the first year in full before the visa invitation.
Samara State Medical University (SamSMU) is a state medical university in Samara, Russia, that teaches General Medicine (MBBS) in English for 450,000 RUB in the first year (2026/27) and in Russian from 360,000 RUB. Foreign students from visa countries now live in its hostels free in years 1 to 4.
Create a free applicant account. We check your documents before submission, and a Univenter coordinator guides you to enrolment.