Medicine Schools and Programs in Ecuador

Medicine Studies in Ecuador

Medicine in Ecuador is a single long degree of the third level (tercer nivel), entered directly after secondary school. It takes six years, is taught in person and in Spanish, and ends with a full year of hospital rotations called the internado rotativo. Graduates receive the professional title of Médico or Médica.

The country has 64 universities and polytechnic schools, according to the Consejo de Educación Superior (CES): 36 public, 20 self-financed private and 8 co-financed private. The quality agency CACES counted 22 Medicine programmes in its national evaluation, at both public and private universities.

How the degree is organised

The two universities in our directory follow the same outline: five years of courses and one year of internship.

• Basic sciences: morphology, biochemistry, physiology, microbiology, immunology and research methods in the first two years
• Clinical training: semiology, pharmacology and pathology, followed by internal medicine, paediatrics, gynaecology and obstetrics, surgery and emergency medicine
• Internado rotativo: a final year of supervised work in hospitals and community health centres, organised in rotations

At the Universidad de Cuenca the degree is listed as 10 cycles plus 2 cycles of rotating internship, six years in total. The rotations are clinical medicine, surgery, paediatrics, gynaecology and obstetrics, and a community cycle. The programme is built around primary health care, and the curriculum includes a course on alternative and Andean medicine. The university sets a second-language requirement at B2 level, linked to the eleventh cycle.

At the Universidad Espíritu Santo (UEES) the degree also lasts six years and leads to the title Médico/a General. The internship year has five rotations of 10 weeks each: internal medicine, surgery, gynaecology and obstetrics, paediatrics and community health. According to UEES, the rotations can be done abroad for the same period, except the community health rotation.

Where to study

Cuenca. The Universidad de Cuenca is a public university in the province of Azuay, created by legislative decree in October 1867. Its medical students practise in the university's Centro de Especialidades Médicas and, through agreements, in facilities of the Ministry of Health, the Instituto Ecuatoriano de Seguridad Social (IESS), the Municipality of Cuenca and the Hospital Militar.

Guayaquil. UEES is a private university with its campus at Km 2.5 on the road to Samborondón, in the Guayaquil area. Medicine belongs to its Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud "Dr. Enrique Ortega Moreira". The university describes hospital practice from the fifth semester and a simulation clinic for training clinical skills. Its postgraduate school in health offers medical specialities.

Admission and costs

Public and private universities admit students in different ways.

• Public universities: applicants first complete a mandatory national registration on the platform of the Ministry of Education. They then apply to the university and sit its entrance exam. For the September 2026 intake, the Universidad de Cuenca held registration from 6 to 12 July 2026 and its exam on 29 and 30 July 2026. A first degree at a public university is free of tuition; the Universidad de Cuenca notes that a second degree is not.
• Private universities: each one runs its own admission process and charges tuition. UEES publishes costs and scholarships through its admissions office rather than on the programme page, so applicants need to ask for the current figures.

Classes and patient contact are in Spanish from the start. Foreign applicants should ask the university how their secondary school certificate is recognised.

Students from abroad who stay for the whole degree need a residence status. Ecuador's Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists "Estudiante" (student) among the categories of its temporary residence visa. The requirements should be checked with the ministry or an Ecuadorian consulate.

Accreditation and the right to practise

The Consejo de Aseguramiento de la Calidad de la Educación Superior (CACES) evaluated the Medicine programmes between 2014 and 2025. According to CACES, all 22 programmes that took part obtained accreditation. The programmes of the Universidad de Cuenca and of UEES (listed under its official name, Universidad Particular de Especialidades Espíritu Santo) are both on the list.

To work as a doctor in Ecuador, graduates must also pass the Examen de Habilitación para el Ejercicio Profesional (EHEP). This national exam is required for careers that can affect public health and safety, and Medicine is one of them. A candidate who fails the first two attempts must take a refresher course at an authorised university.

Careers

Graduates work as general practitioners in public health centres and hospitals, in the social security system, in private clinics or in their own practice. Other paths are public health management, research and a medical speciality through postgraduate study. Doctors who want to practise in another country need to have the title recognised there.

Frequently asked questions

How many years does Medicine take in Ecuador?

Six years at both the Universidad de Cuenca and UEES, including a final year of rotating internship in hospitals and community health.

Do graduates need an exam to practise?

Yes. After the degree, graduates must pass the national EHEP exam run by CACES before they can work as doctors in Ecuador.

Are the Medicine programmes accredited?

According to CACES, all 22 Medicine programmes evaluated between 2014 and 2025 obtained accreditation, including those of the Universidad de Cuenca and UEES.

Can part of the internship be done abroad?

UEES states that its internship rotations can be done abroad, except the community health rotation. Other universities set their own rules.