Top Ranked Medical Schools in Zambia

The medical education industry in Zambia has seen a major boom in the last 10 years with more medical schools being established. The increase in number has not only resulted in more private universities but also more state-run medical schools being opened. With the growing number of schools, this brings added impetus to have validated scoring systems to compare and rank them to help one choose the most ideal medical school.

Several ranking systems and lists exist focusing on various aspects that affect the quality of university education These include the QS ranking of international universities, Times Higher Education Ranking, US News global university rankings and  the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR).  However, very few rankings specialize in ranking the universities on the African continent. 

The most common criteria include faculty, number of international students, research output and general repute. The sheer number of these criteria mean that no two lists may have exactly the same universities appearing on the same position on either and it is not uncommon for universities from a particular region faring better than others because of the methodology differences.

The numerous medical universities in Zambia have allowed for students both local and international from accessing a quality medical education. As a continent, South African Universities still dominate most ranking lists with a few Zambian universities appearing on some of them. However, the relatively young sector of medical education in the country is one of the most progressive and this will have positive results in the long term allowing for increased academic output through research and patents, a diverse and cosmopolitan international studentship as well  as increased investment in infrastructure. This will ultimately have a positive effect on the future rankings of the universities.

No formal lists are available for the country, but several internationally recognized ranking lists are available for comparison of the medical schools. The ranking of the top universities offering Medicine in Zambia are tabulated below as derived from Webometrics Ranking of World Universities as of 2020 that uses both web related and research related metrics:

It is important to note that this ranking is based on a scoring method encompassing the university as a whole and not based on the medical school solely.

State run schools dominate the list, with the University of Zambia heading the list as a result of it being the oldest and most recognized university in the country. It also comes in at a respectable continental ranking of 45. It is also one of the largest universities in the country having 2 campuses located in the capital city of Lusaka with one campus being dedicated to the medical faculty and affiliated to the largest referral hospital in the country. Apart from having several undergraduate courses, it also has numerous postgraduate courses on offer ranging from Masters of Public Health to Masters of Medicine and PHD degrees.

The Copperbelt University is one of the largest medical schools outside of the capital city located in the Copperbelt Province of the country. Its medical school. The Michael C. Sata School of Medicine is affiliated to one of the largest hospitals on the Copperbelt. It also boasts a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses with its Bachelor of Dental Surgery BDS degree being the first to be offered locally in 2011.

The Mulungushi University is another state-run university with its medical school that is also found outside of the capital.

The Levy Mwanawasa Medical University is one of the newest and fastest growing public medical universities that is entirely dedicated to health sciences education having incorporated the old Chainama Hills College of Health Sciences with newly constructed infrastructure.