Cebu Institute of Medicine: A Guide for Foreign Applicants

TL;DR: Cebu Institute of Medicine is a small, old, non-recruiting medical school on F. Ramos Street in Cebu City, teaching since 1957. It is the only one of the four schools in this series that publishes an actual tuition figure — about ₱150,000 per semester for first-year medicine in SY 2026-2027, roughly ₹2.3 lakh or US$2,400 — along with its application fees, its commitment fee, its deadline dates and its NMAT cutoffs. Those cutoffs are the catch: 70th percentile for local applicants and 90th percentile for anyone who graduated outside the Philippines. Its World Directory entry records PAASCU accreditation and confirms it meets the Intealth Recognized Accreditation Policy. If you can clear the 90th percentile, this is the most transparent school on the list. If you cannot, no agency can get you in.

What Cebu Institute of Medicine Is

The World Directory of Medical Schools lists CIM under FAIMER ID F0000213, private, currently operational, year instruction started 1957, with the alternate name "Cebu Institute of Technology College of Medicine (1957 – 1968)". The main address in that entry is 79 F. Ramos Street, Cebu City 6000. The admissions secretariat gives its own address as 47 F. Ramos St., and the application instructions give 79 F. Ramos St. corner V. Ranudo St., Barangay Cogon — the buildings sit on the same stretch, but confirm which door you are couriering documents to.

CIM's site references CHEDRO7 approval, and its research ethics board is the CIM-CVGH IRB, jointly with Cebu Velez General Hospital, which is the teaching hospital relationship you would expect for a school of this size.

Scale is the defining feature. Self-reported World Directory enrolment data shows 191 admitted in 2015, 183 in 2016 and 205 in 2018, graduating 138, 136 and 133. For comparison, Davao Medical School Foundation reported 1,519 admitted in 2017. CIM is roughly one-seventh the intake, and it does not appear to run an overseas recruitment network at all.

The World Directory also records clinical training at 50-74 per cent of the full programme, the highest band of the four Philippine schools we compared. That is a self-reported field, but it is consistent with CIM's problem-based, clinically weighted curriculum.

Programme Structure

The MD is a 4-year programme after a bachelor's degree, English medium, with the curriculum last revised in 2000 according to the World Directory. CIM publishes hour counts for the first three years:

Year 1 integrates human anatomy, physiology and biophysics, embryology and biochemistry. Year 2 works through fifteen instructional units on common community diseases in small-group facilitation with faculty. Year 3 continues into obstetrical, gynaecological, surgical, paediatric and medical cases. The curriculum page does not set out the fourth year clerkship or post-graduate internship in the same detail, so ask the registrar for the full four-year plan in writing.

CIM also runs PRECISE-APMed, a six-year straight programme for senior high school graduates: two preparatory years, two years of basic sciences medicine leading to a BS in Health Sciences, a year of medicine proper, and a twelve-month Senior Clerkship Program. The published PRECISE material does not state whether foreign students are eligible, so treat that as an open question to put to admissions.

Admission for Foreign Applicants

CIM defines a foreign applicant unusually, and it matters: anyone who graduated from a higher education institution outside the Philippines, whether or not they are a Filipino citizen. An accepted applicant holding dual citizenship may then choose to enrol as either a Filipino or a foreign citizen.

The published requirements:

• A bachelor's degree in any field, conferred within five years prior to filing the application. Sciences preferred, humanities and arts also accepted.
• NMAT percentile rank of at least 70 for local applicants and 90 for foreign students or graduates of foreign HEIs. The FAQ is blunt about it: "Do not submit your application if you do not qualify."
• NMAT taken within two years of admission.
• Official transcript of academic records; a certified true copy is accepted for application, the original is required at enrolment.
• Two letters of reference from college professors, on official letterhead, signed in wet ink, ideally emailed directly by the professor to [email protected].
• Certificate of Good Moral Character from a guidance counsellor, dean or student affairs office, separate from the reference letters.
• PRC board rating, if the applicant has taken a Philippine licensure exam.
• A Personality Inventory Test administered by the Student Enrichment Office, and a personal interview.

Everything goes in as a single PDF under 15 MB through an Electronic Data Registration form, with physical copies couriered or hand-delivered afterwards.

There is no separate entrance exam. The NMAT is the only test score, which is exactly why the 90th percentile bar bites. Our NMAT registration guide covers the mechanics; note that NMAT-International costs US$60 and domestic testing ₱1,900, and that CHED Memorandum Order No. 18 series of 2016 sets the national floor at the 40th percentile. CIM is asking foreign applicants for more than double that.

Fees: The Numbers CIM Actually Publishes

Conversions are approximate, at roughly ₱1 = ₹1.55 and ₱62 = US$1.

The exact wording in the FAQ is that "the fee for the first-year medicine for the current school year 2026-2027 is about One Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos per semester" and that "a new schedule is currently being applied for the AY 2027-2028", with enquiries directed to [email protected]. Two semesters at that rate is about ₱300,000 a year, roughly ₹4.65 lakh or US$4,840, before living costs — but treat it as a first-year figure only, because CIM does not publish later-year rates and says the schedule is changing.

That single published number does more work than it looks. It gives you a defensible anchor when an agency quotes you a lakh figure for a different Philippine school, because you can see what an actual Philippine medical school charges per semester in its own words. Our medical school tuition guide sets that in context against UV Gullas, which publishes nothing at all.

CIM also lists scholarships: entrance scholarships for accepted applicants who received Latin honours in their undergraduate degree, college scholarships for the students ranked first and second in first year, and CHED MSRS scholarships on written application to the Committee on Scholarships.

Deadlines and the Selection Calendar

For AY 2027-2028, CIM publishes a full calendar, which almost no other Philippine medical school does:

• Applications open 1 October 2026
• Last day for submission: 7 May 2027, 5:00 PM
• Screening closes 9 May 2027
• Acceptances released monthly: 26 January, 23 February, 23 March, 20 April and 18 May 2027
• Academic year tentatively starts 12 July 2027

One caution from reading the pages side by side: the FAQ says screening for the PBL Regular Med programme "will open on November 9, 2026" and its processing table starts on 3 November 2026, while the application page and the site banner both say the period opens 1 October 2026. The dates in the school's own two pages do not fully agree. Email admissions and get one authoritative set before you plan around them.

Applicants finishing their bachelor's degree may apply provided they will have completed coursework and been certified to graduate before the academic year starts, submitting a partial transcript marked "for purposes of application only". Anyone graduating after July 2027 is directed to apply for AY 2028-2029 instead.

Recognition, and What It Does Not Cover

Checked on 29 August 2026, the World Directory Sponsor Notes for CIM record that PAASCU most recently gave the programme the status of Accredited on 23 November 2007, that PAASCU is an accrediting agency recognised by the World Federation for Medical Education, and that the school currently meets the Intealth Recognized Accreditation Policy. ECFMG certification eligibility runs for graduation years 1957 to current. Canadian provincial and territorial regulators accept degrees from the school unless indicated otherwise.

Note the 2007 date. PAASCU status is reviewed periodically and the World Directory says explicitly that the information "may be updated from time to time" and that you should contact the accrediting agency directly for the current position. Nineteen years is long enough that you should do exactly that.

For Indian applicants, none of this amounts to Indian recognition. The National Medical Commission states that it "does not endorse any list of Foreign Medical Institutions/ Universities". What governs is the Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations, 2021: a course of at least 54 months, English medium, a 12-month internship in the same foreign institution, everything done outside India in that one institution, registration with the awarding country's regulator at par with its citizens, and completion within ten years, followed by a further 12-month supervised internship in India and the screening test.

The friction is arithmetic. CIM's MD is listed at 4 years, 48 months. An NMC public notice of 22 November 2023 describes the Philippine MD in those exact terms and states that the Commission de-recognises the BS course in the Philippines with effect from 18 November 2021. On top of that, the PRC advisory and the Medical Act of 1959 require a foreign national to establish reciprocity before sitting the Philippine Physician Licensure Examination, which is hard for most Indian graduates and directly relevant to the NMC's "registration at par with citizens" condition. For the exam itself, NBEMS figures reported in Indian coverage put the FMGE session held on 17 January 2026 at 10,262 qualified from 42,872 who appeared, about 23.9 per cent. NBEMS does publish school-wise figures in its annual Country/Institute Wise Performance in FMGE report, but CIM barely registers in them: one candidate appeared and one passed in 2024, and one appeared and none passed in 2025. A percentage computed on a single person tells you nothing about the school, which is worth remembering if you are shown a CIM figure of 100 per cent or zero.

Verdict

CIM is the outlier in this group, in a good way and an inconvenient one. Good, because it publishes what the others hide: a tuition figure in its own words, fee amounts, deadline dates, a defined selection process with interviews and monthly deliberations, and a stated NMAT cutoff instead of a vague "we assess holistically". Inconvenient, because that cutoff is the 90th percentile for anyone with a foreign degree, applied to a class of roughly 200, at a school with no overseas recruitment pipeline.

That combination is worth understanding rather than resenting. A school that sets a high bar and publishes its prices is behaving like an institution. A school that sets the legal minimum bar and publishes no prices is behaving like a business with a sales channel. Both exist in the Philippines, and you can tell them apart in about ten minutes on their own websites.

If you are a strong applicant, apply here early — the slots are limited and acceptances are released monthly from January. If your NMAT is below the 90th percentile, do not pay the US$100 application fee; the FAQ tells you plainly that the application will not be processed. Look at Cebu Doctors' University and the other options in our medical schools for foreign students roundup, and browse the wider Cebu City school directory for pre-med and English-track options.

Sources

• Cebu Institute of Medicine — https://cim.edu.ph/
• Cebu Institute of Medicine, Curriculum (year blocks and instructional hours) — https://cim.edu.ph/curriculum/
• Cebu Institute of Medicine Admissions Committee, Apply to Regular MED Program (NMAT cutoffs, fees, deadlines) — https://sites.google.com/cim.edu.ph/cimadmissions/apply-to-regular-med-program
• Cebu Institute of Medicine Admissions Committee, Frequently Asked Questions (tuition, foreign applicant definition, scholarships) — https://sites.google.com/cim.edu.ph/cimadmissions/frequently-asked-questions
• Cebu Institute of Medicine Admissions Committee, PRECISE-APMed Background — https://sites.google.com/cim.edu.ph/cimadmissions/precise-apmed-background
• World Directory of Medical Schools, school detail for Cebu Institute of Medicine (FAIMER ID F0000213) — https://search.wdoms.org/home/SchoolDetail?id=F0000213
• Intealth, Recognized Accreditation Policy — https://www.intealth.org/accreditation/
• World Federation for Medical Education, Agencies with Recognition Status — https://wfme.org/recognition/bme-recognition/accrediting-agencies-status-bme/
• Center for Educational Measurement, NMAT Bulletin of Information (fees, CMO 18 s. 2016) — https://www.cem-inc.org.ph/nmat/files/downloads/NMAT_BOI_OCBT_0725-R.pdf
• National Medical Commission, For Students to Study Abroad — https://www.nmc.org.in/information-desk/for-students-to-study-in-abroad/
• National Medical Commission, FAQs on the FMGL Regulations, 2021 — https://www.nmc.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/5.2-Frequently-Asked-Questions-on-FMGL-Regulations-dated-22nd-February-2022.pdf
• National Medical Commission, Public Notice dated 22 November 2023 (Section B, Philippines) — https://www.nmc.org.in/MCIRest/open/getDocument?path=%2FDocuments%2FPublic%2FPortal%2FLatestNews%2FPublic+notice+fmg.pdf
• Professional Regulation Commission, Public Advisory on Applications of Foreign Nationals — https://www.prc.gov.ph/article/public-advisory-applications-foreign-nationals-intending-take-philippine-licensure
• Careers360, FMGE December 2025 scorecards, NBEMS figures — https://news.careers360.com/fmge-scorecards-out-december-2025-over-76-foreign-mbbs-graduates-fail-qualify-result-download-link-natboard-edu-in-nbems
• Country/Institute Wise Performance in FMGE 2024 (PDF) — NBEMS
• FMGE Performance Report 2025 (PDF) — NBEMS