Tbilisi State Medical University (TSMU) is a public medical university in Tbilisi, Georgia, with a six-year Medical Doctor (MD) programme taught in English for 8,000 USD a year as of November 2026. You apply directly to the university with notarised Georgian translations of your documents and a B1 English certificate, and the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia approves your enrolment before the D3 study visa.
Tbilisi State Medical University (TSMU) is a public medical university in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Its history starts on 17 June 1918, when the professors' council of Tbilisi State University opened a medical faculty. After that university was reorganised on 10 June 1930, the faculty became the Tbilisi State Medical Institute, and in 1992 it took the name of a university.
Today TSMU teaches medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, public health and rehabilitation. According to the rector's page, more than 3,500 international students from 84 countries study there. Clinical teaching uses the university's own clinics, among them the First University Clinic and the Givi Zhvania Pediatric Academic Clinic.
The programme Indian and other international students call "MBBS" is the one-cycle Medical Doctor (MD) programme, taught fully in English. It carries 360 ECTS credits, and one year equals 60 credits, so it takes six years. Graduates receive the qualification Medical Doctor (MD).
TSMU publishes its English-medium fees in US dollars on its international students page. The page shows no academic year next to the figures, so ask the admissions office to confirm the fee for your intake in writing. As of November 2026 it lists:
| Programme (English medium) | Fee a year |
|---|---|
| Medical Doctor (MD), International Faculty of Medicine and Stomatology | 8,000 USD a year |
| American MD (USMD) programme, Faculty of Medicine, international students | 13,500 USD a year |
| Dental Medicine | 7,000 USD a year |
| Pharmacy | 3,500 USD a year |
| Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation | 3,000 USD a year |
| Preparatory course | 2,000 USD a year |
Check which of the two MD programmes is written on your offer and invoice. All residency (specialist) programmes at TSMU are taught only in Georgian, which matters if you plan to specialise in Georgia after graduating.
TSMU is a common choice for MBBS in Georgia because of its history going back to 1918, its English-medium MD and its own clinics in the capital. Whether it suits you depends on your budget, your home country's recognition rules and where you want to practise. Our guide to MBBS in Georgia compares the options.
For Indian students, the deciding document is the NMC Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate (FMGL) Regulations 2021. A foreign degree counts only if the course lasts at least 54 months, includes 12 months of internship in the same institution, is taught in English, covers the listed subjects and makes you eligible for a licence to practise in the country where you studied. Ask TSMU in writing how the MD programme meets each of these conditions, especially the internship and the Georgian licence, before you pay.
India and Georgia read the licence rule differently. On 14 October 2026 NCEQE published a 17-point statement saying the Georgian MD fits the FMGL rules: six years, a sixth-year internship, teaching in English (apart from at least 12 ECTS of Georgian for talking to patients) and a registration number from the Regulation Agency for Medical and Pharmaceutical Activities that lets graduates work as junior doctors. Earlier, in October 2026, the NMC answered a candidate's grievance, as reported by PTI, that junior doctor status counts only if it legally permits practice at the required level, and that the question will be decided by Georgian law. Until the NMC publishes a final position, ask the university in writing how its graduates meet Regulation 4(b), and keep the answer.
You also need a valid NEET-UG result. After graduating you take the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE); NMC plans to replace it with NExT, but no NExT has been held yet.
Your home regulator (PMDC in Pakistan, BMDC in Bangladesh, the Nepal Medical Council, the Sri Lanka Medical Council or MDCN in Nigeria) sets its own rules for foreign degrees. Check its current list and licensing exam rules for Georgian MD graduates before you sign a contract.
You apply directly to the TSMU admissions office, and your admission is then approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia. The university's admission regulations list these steps:
Documents are accepted on weekdays at the administrative building, 33 Vazha-Pshavela Avenue; the email is admissions@tsmu.edu. The admissions page does not list an entrance exam or fixed deadlines, so ask the office about interviews and dates for your intake.
The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists the D3 study visa documents. The core set includes the university's invitation and admission letter, the Minister of Education's order on your acceptance, proof of accommodation, travel insurance covering the whole stay, a bank statement for the past three months or a sponsor letter, a flight booking and a biometric photo.
The VFS Global checklist for applicants in India adds a NEET score card for MBBS, apostille of all educational documents by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), and a passport issued within the last 10 years with two blank pages. You apply online through geoconsul.gov.ge and submit at the VFS Georgia centre.
Most international students in Tbilisi rent shared flats. TSMU is building its own seven-floor dormitory for 800 people at 14 Uznadze Street, with individual and shared rooms, a library space, a canteen and sports areas. Ask the international office whether places are open for your intake.
Tbilisi is a capital of more than a million people with a metro and a large bus network.
Summers are hot and dry, winters short and cool, with occasional snow. You study in English, but patients in clinical years speak Georgian, so basic Georgian makes rotations easier.
Her day starts early, classes run back to back in different buildings, and she often sleeps about four hours. She shares a flat, cooks and shops herself, and takes the metro or a city bus between the university and the hospital.
— An Indian medical student in Tbilisi, describing her daily routine (video)
Her study time does not end with university classes. In the evening she solves an online question bank for the Indian licensing exam and joins online webinars, for example on reading chest X-rays. Once she thought a webinar was set in Georgian time, when it was in Indian time, and had to watch it on the bus.
— An Indian medical student in Tbilisi (video)
The first months were hard: graduates remember stress and missing their families. That passed once they made friends, and after six years they say living in Georgia taught them life skills next to medicine.
— Indian graduates of Tbilisi State Medical University, filmed at their graduation (video)
Diplomas, degree certificates and transcripts are collected at the Dean's office. He says the paperwork and legalisation after graduation took about a month.
— An Indian graduate of Tbilisi State Medical University (video)
The graduation video, filmed during Covid, mentions students from more than 70 countries; the university's current figure is 84.
Yes. TSMU is a public university in Tbilisi with roots in the medical faculty opened in 1918. Foreign students are enrolled by order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia.
As of November 2026 the English-medium Medical Doctor programme costs 8,000 USD a year and the American MD programme 13,500 USD a year. Confirm the fee for your intake with the admissions office, because the page shows no academic year.
Six years. The Medical Doctor programme has 360 ECTS credits at 60 credits a year, and graduates receive the MD qualification.
TSMU asks for an internationally recognised English certificate at B1 level or higher. Ask admissions which certificates, such as IELTS or TOEFL, they accept.
TSMU is building a dormitory for 800 people at 14 Uznadze Street. Until places open, most international students rent shared flats.
Last updated: 3 November 2026. Fees and regulations change; check the official sources above before you apply.
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