TL;DR: Davao Medical School Foundation is the oldest medical college in Mindanao, founded in July 1976, run as a non-stock non-profit consortium that includes Ateneo de Davao University and San Pedro College, and approved by CHED. Its World Directory entry records PAASCU accreditation and confirms it meets the Intealth Recognized Accreditation Policy. It publishes a genuinely useful admissions page: NMAT 40th percentile minimum, a document list that separates local from international applicants, three intake deadlines, and hard peso figures for the entrance exam fee (₱1,300), the commitment fee (₱10,000) and the first-semester downpayment (₱38,000). What it does not publish anywhere is tuition. Indian agency sites fill that gap with "₹47-49L all-in", a number DMSF has never confirmed in public.
What Davao Medical School Foundation Is
DMSF states on its own profile page that it was established in July 1976 in response to a shortage of doctors serving rural communities and specialists in the urban centres of Mindanao, and that its College of Medicine was the first such college set up in Mindanao.
It is not a conventional private university. A consortium operates the Foundation, made up of Ateneo de Davao University, Brokenshire Memorial Hospital, the Development of Peoples' Foundation, San Pedro Hospital and San Pedro College. The school is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a non-stock, non-profit organisation and is approved by the Commission on Higher Education. Besides the College of Medicine it runs colleges of Dentistry, Nursing, Midwifery and Biology, plus postgraduate programmes and an Institute of Primary Health Care.
The World Directory of Medical Schools lists it under FAIMER ID F0001304 as Davao Medical School Foundation College of Medicine, Davao City, private, currently operational, with instruction started in 1977.
On scale, the profile page states around 125 faculty, a total student population across all four years of "usually around 1,058", and "some 800 foreign medical students at various years of schooling". Those two numbers sit oddly together — 800 of 1,058 would make the college three-quarters foreign — and the page carries no date. Treat them as the school's own rough figures and ask the registrar for current numbers if the mix matters to you.
The campus is on a 2.5 hectare site near the centre of Davao City, at Medical School Drive, Bajada.
Programme Structure and Duration
The World Directory entry records one qualification, Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), instruction begun in 1976, curriculum last revised in 2016, curriculum duration 4 years, language of instruction English, admission following completion of an undergraduate degree, foreign students admitted, entrance exam required, and clinical training at 25-49 per cent of the full programme.
DMSF describes the teaching in two blocks. The preclinical years cover basic sciences with anatomy taught through cadaveric dissection, body mapping, Anatomage and plastinated cadavers, plus clinical skills labs and patient-physician communication. The clinical years bring in Objective Structured Clinical Examinations and a standardised patient programme in senior year. Teaching methods listed include lecture-based formats, team-based learning, problem-based learning and small group discussions.
Self-reported enrolment data in the World Directory shows how sharply intake grew: 1,043 admitted in 2015, 1,281 in 2016, 1,519 in 2017, against 186, 156 and 435 graduating in those same years. Large admitted-to-graduated gaps are normal in a four-year programme with rising intake, but a jump of that size is worth asking the Dean's office about directly.
Admission for Foreign Students
This is where DMSF is unusually transparent for a Philippine medical school. The College of Medicine page states the requirements for all applicants:
- A bachelor's degree in a science or humanities field
- NMAT minimum 40th percentile score
- Completed application form and personal history statement
- College transcript and diploma
- Two valid IDs
- A short essay, maximum 100 words, on motivation
International applicants must add:
- Letters of reference from two former professors
- Passport photocopy
- Police clearance from the country of origin
- Notarised affidavit of financial support
- HIV/AIDS test and chest X-ray
- Eight 2×2 colour photographs
Submission deadlines given on that page are 15 April for the June semester, 30 September for the second semester and 31 January for summer.
Note the NMAT bar. The 40th percentile matches the floor set in CHED Memorandum Order No. 18 series of 2016, quoted in the Center for Educational Measurement's own Bulletin of Information, which also requires the NMAT to have been taken no more than two years before admission. DMSF is not asking foreign applicants for more than the legal minimum. Cebu Institute of Medicine, by contrast, publishes a 90th percentile requirement for foreign applicants. Neither approach is wrong, but they select very differently.
NMAT registration itself costs ₱1,900 domestically (roughly US$31 or ₹2,950 at about ₱62 to the dollar) and US$60 for NMAT-International.
For Indian nationals there is a separate gate: NMC rules require Indian citizens and OCIs taking admission abroad on or after May 2018 to hold a qualifying NEET score, and that result serves as the eligibility certificate, valid three years and covering any pre-medical or language course taken first. See our MBBS in the Philippines for Indian students overview for the full sequence.
Fees: What DMSF Publishes and What It Does Not
DMSF publishes more hard numbers than most, and still leaves the biggest one out.
| Item | Published amount | Approx. ₹ | Approx. US$ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medicine application and entrance exam fee | ₱1,300 | ₹2,000 | US$21 |
| Commitment fee (medicine, non-refundable) | ₱10,000 | ₹15,500 | US$160 |
| First semester downpayment, medicine | ₱38,000 less commitment fee | ₹59,000 | US$610 |
| Annual or per-semester tuition | Not published | — | — |
| Hostel or dormitory rates | Not published | — | — |
Conversions are approximate, at roughly ₱1 = ₹1.55 and ₱62 = US$1.
The commitment fee reserves the slot after the Letter of Acceptance and is deducted from the ₱38,000 enrolment downpayment. Payment routes published on the admissions page are the DMSF cashier, bank transfer to its Metrobank, RCBC or PNB accounts, or online payment.
The Finance page carries no tuition schedule at all. It gives contact details, bank accounts and instructions for submitting proof of payment, and nothing else. If you want the tuition figure, you have to email [email protected] or call the Finance Department and ask.
Meanwhile, dmsf.in — an Indian admissions portal operating from Chennai and Pune, not the school — describes the total as "₹47-49L all-in" over 6.5 years, with "₹7.5 Lakhs (BS Pre-Medicine tuition)" as a starting figure and hostel costs at "₱15,000/month". We cite that only as evidence of what agencies publish. DMSF has confirmed none of it in public. Compare the spread: agency sites quote roughly ₹17-19 lakh for UV Gullas and ₹47-49 lakh for DMSF, for programmes in the same country under the same regulator. That gap is not a market signal, it is a symptom of unpublished pricing.
Recognition and What It Actually Buys You
The World Directory Sponsor Notes for DMSF, checked on 29 August 2026, record two things that matter:
- PAASCU reviewed the programme and most recently gave it the status of Accredited on 22 November 2013. PAASCU is the Philippine accrediting agency recognised by the World Federation for Medical Education, with recognition status listed as valid to April 2033.
- According to data provided to Intealth, one or more of the school's programmes currently meets the Intealth Recognized Accreditation Policy — the requirement, in force since November 2024, that a school be accredited by an agency itself recognised by an external body approved by Intealth.
The entry also records ECFMG certification eligibility for graduation years 1979 to current, and the standard note that Canadian provincial and territorial regulators accept degrees from the school unless indicated otherwise.
What none of that gives you is Indian recognition. The National Medical Commission states on its own guidance page that it "does not endorse any list of Foreign Medical Institutions/ Universities for MBBS or equivalent course", and advises confirming fee structure and course details directly with the institution. Any site describing DMSF as NMC approved is describing something that does not exist.
What does exist is the Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations, 2021, in force since 18 November 2021. The NMC's own FAQ document sets the conditions: a course of at least 54 months, English medium, a 12-month internship in the same foreign institution in addition to the course, the whole course and internship completed outside India in that one institution, registration with the awarding country's regulator at par with its own citizens, completion within ten years, then a further 12-month supervised internship in India and the screening test.
Two Philippine-specific frictions follow. First, the World Directory lists the DMSF curriculum at 4 years, or 48 months. An NMC public notice dated 22 November 2023 uses exactly that framing, requiring an extra internship year from earlier Philippine cohorts "(Since their course is of 48 months only unlike 54 months MBBS course in India)", and states that with effect from 18 November 2021 the Commission de-recognises the BS course in the Philippines. Any 6.5-year package that leans on a pre-medical BS needs a written NMC answer first. Second, the "registration at par with citizens" condition collides with Philippine law: the PRC advisory and the Medical Act of 1959 require a foreign national to prove reciprocity before sitting the Physician Licensure Examination.
On the exam, NBEMS figures reported in Indian coverage for the FMGE session held on 17 January 2026 show 43,933 registered, 42,872 appeared and 10,262 qualified, about 23.9 per cent of those who sat; June 2025 was 18.61 per cent. NBEMS does publish school-wise figures, in an annual report called Country/Institute Wise Performance in FMGE, so a DMSF number can be verified rather than taken on trust. The 2024 report shows DMSF with 2,993 candidates appeared and 586 passed, 19.58 per cent — the largest Philippine cohort in the table. The 2025 report's two sessions show 1,055 appeared / 116 passed (11.00 per cent) and 1,369 appeared / 283 passed (20.67 per cent). These are appearance-based rates including repeat attempters, not graduating-class rates. Our FMGE and NExT guide covers the sequence.
Visas, Hospitals and Davao
DMSF runs a Foreign Students Unit that handles student visa (9f) conversions, visa extensions, Special Study Permits, ACR I-Card applications and renewals, address changes, the annual alien registration report and visa downgrading. Its published guidance lists the 9(f) conversion documents: a joint letter from school and applicant, the Notice of Acceptance with school seal, a completed CGAF form, passport copies, NBI clearance if you arrived six or more months earlier, and ten 2×2 photos on a white background. Extensions can be filed two months before expiry and require transcripts from previous semesters. Our guides to the 9(f) student visa and the ACR I-Card explain what the Bureau of Immigration expects.
For clinical rotations in third and fourth year, DMSF states affiliation with Davao Medical Center, Davao Doctors Hospital, San Pedro Hospital and Brokenshire Memorial Hospital, and it operates the DMSFI Hospital.
We are not going to describe hostels, food or student life. DMSF does not publish dormitory details, and the sources that do are recruitment sites. Email the Office of Student Affairs and get the housing terms in writing.
How to Apply
- Confirm you meet the bachelor's degree requirement and sit the NMAT with CEM, at least the 40th percentile and within two years of admission.
- Download the College of Medicine application form and the Personal History Statement from the DMSF admissions page.
- Assemble the international applicant extras: two professor references, passport copy, home-country police clearance, notarised affidavit of financial support, HIV/AIDS test, chest X-ray, eight photos.
- Submit before the relevant deadline (15 April, 30 September or 31 January), pay the ₱1,300 application and entrance exam fee, sit the psychological assessment, then meet the Admissions Committee.
- On acceptance, pay the ₱10,000 commitment fee within the stated window, then the ₱38,000 downpayment less that fee at enrolment.
- Before any of this, email Finance and ask for the full tuition schedule in pesos, in writing, with a date.
- Then work with the Foreign Students Unit on the 9(f) conversion.
Verdict
DMSF is a real institution with a long record, a hospital consortium behind it, PAASCU accreditation on file and an Intealth accreditation statement that many Philippine medical schools do not have. Its admissions page is specific in a way that is rare here: named documents, named deadlines, named peso amounts. That is a good sign about how the school operates.
The gap is price. A school that publishes a ₱1,300 exam fee and a ₱38,000 downpayment but no tuition figure is asking you to commit before you know the cost, and that silence is exactly what lets agencies quote ₹47-49 lakh without contradiction. Get the tuition schedule from Finance in writing before you pay the commitment fee, not after.
And if India is the destination, the 48-month curriculum duration and the de-recognised BS course are not details to sort out later. They are the whole question, and only the NMC can answer them for your cohort.
Sources
- Davao Medical School Foundation, Profile — https://www.dmsf.edu.ph/about/
- Davao Medical School Foundation, College of Medicine (requirements, deadlines, accreditation) — https://www.dmsf.edu.ph/medicine/
- Davao Medical School Foundation, Admissions (commitment fees, downpayments, exam fee) — https://www.dmsf.edu.ph/admissions/
- Davao Medical School Foundation, Admission and Enrollment Instructions for College of Medicine — https://www.dmsf.edu.ph/admission-and-enrollment-instructions-for-college-of-medicine-for-ay-2025-2026/
- Davao Medical School Foundation, Foreign Students Unit — https://www.dmsf.edu.ph/foreign-students-unit/
- Davao Medical School Foundation, Finance (no tuition schedule published) — https://www.dmsf.edu.ph/finance/
- World Directory of Medical Schools, school detail for Davao Medical School Foundation College of Medicine (FAIMER ID F0001304) — https://search.wdoms.org/home/SchoolDetail?id=F0001304
- 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
- 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 — https://www.cem-inc.org.ph/nmat/files/downloads/NMAT_BOI_OCBT_0725-R.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
- Agency claim only, cited as evidence of what agencies publish: DMSF India admissions portal — https://www.dmsf.in/
- Country/Institute Wise Performance in FMGE 2024 (PDF) — NBEMS
- FMGE Performance Report 2025 (PDF) — NBEMS