Medical Training in Tanzania: MD Program and Internship

The MD degree in Tanzania

Tanzania calls its undergraduate medical degree the Doctor of Medicine (MD), not MBChB. Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) in Dar es Salaam runs the country's oldest and largest program, tracing back to the Dar es Salaam School of Medicine founded in 1963. Direct entry from Form Six requires principal passes in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology at Advanced Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (ACSEE) level, and the degree runs 5 years for students who enter this way.

Early years cover basic sciences such as anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry. Later years move you into clinical rotations across internal medicine, surgery, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, and community health.

Where you can study medicine

MUHAS is the largest option, but not the only one. Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College in Moshi, the Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences in Mwanza, and the University of Dodoma's School of Medicine also run MD programs recognized by the Medical Council of Tanganyika. Admission processes and cutoff points differ by institution, so check each university's own portal during the application cycle you are targeting.

The internship year

After you graduate, you complete a mandatory internship year before you register as an independent practitioner. The internship rotates you through major clinical disciplines at a designated hospital. The Ministry of Health, working with the Medical Council of Tanganyika (MCT), posts interns to hospitals with capacity to supervise them, and you apply for your placement and track your progress through the MCT's online portal.

Medical Council of Tanganyika registration

The MCT is the statutory body that screens and registers every doctor and dentist who practices in Tanzania. It evaluates your medical school qualifications, confirms you completed internship, and monitors training standards from undergraduate education through continuing professional development once you are practicing.

Before internship, graduates must sit the MCT's Pre-Internship Examination, and passing it is required to obtain provisional registration and start the internship year. After completing internship, graduates sit the Post-Internship Examination, and passing it is what moves them to full registration to practice independently anywhere in Tanzania.

Funding your training

Medical training in Tanzania runs long and costs more than most degrees, so many students who qualify apply for a loan from the Higher Education Students' Loans Board (HESLB) to cover tuition and living costs. HESLB treats medicine as a priority program in its selection criteria, though loan coverage and repayment terms depend on the specific application cycle, so confirm current terms directly with HESLB before you commit to a funding plan.

After registration

Once fully registered, doctors work in public or private facilities as general practitioners or pursue postgraduate residency training toward a specialty. MUHAS and other universities run residency programs across disciplines such as surgery, internal medicine, paediatrics, and obstetrics and gynaecology, and the MCT registers you as a specialist once you complete that training.