Careers › Health

How to become a Doctor (Medicine)

Diagnoses and treats illness. Six years of study, then internship and community service.

This needs more than the degree

Six years for the MBChB, then a compulsory two-year internship, then a one-year community service placement before the HPCSA registers you to practise independently – about nine years from matric, before any specialisation.

Apply early

Selection programmes like this often close months before the standard application deadline, and marks alone don’t guarantee a place. See the Dates page for the exact closing dates.

What does a Doctor (Medicine) actually do?

More about this career

Six years of study (MBChB), then a compulsory internship (about two years) and a community service year before you can practise independently – so it’s closer to nine years from matric to full registration. After that, most doctors specialise (surgery, paediatrics, psychiatry and more) through further years of registrar training, while some stay in general practice.

Where this degree can take you

  • Specialist Physician
  • Surgeon
  • General Practitioner
  • Public Health Doctor

This is our general description of the role and related jobs, not from an official source – it’s here to give you a fuller picture, not as a careers-counselling guarantee.

Not from an official source

Subjects that usually help

  • Mathematics
  • Physical Sciences
  • Life Sciences

This is our general guidance about which school subjects suit this career. It is not an admission requirement and not from an official source – the real requirements are on the degrees below.

Not from an official source

Where to check this yourself

What the degrees we’ve captured actually ask for

  • Mathematics – asked for by 8 of 9 degrees
  • Physical Sciences – asked for by 8 of 9 degrees
  • Life Sciences – asked for by 6 of 9 degrees

Counted from the requirements below (an “or” alternative counts for each subject named). Each degree links to the page it came from.

Degrees that lead here

9 degrees at 9 universities. More are added as we verify them.

Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University

Selection programmePartly verified

MBChB (Medicine)

School of Medicine

SMU APS 38

  • Mathematics, Physical Science, Life Science, Life Orientation, English – Each needs a minimum of 6 points on SMU’s own APS conversion scale (A = 12 points down to F = 3 points - not the standard 1-7 NSC level scale).

38 is the Grade 11 provisional pre-selection threshold for about 250 places a year; final Grade 12 selection is competitive on actual percentage marks, and meeting the minimum does not guarantee a place. Closes 31 July 2026 for undergraduate programmes (applications open 1 April 2026) - notably earlier than most universities in this batch.

Source: View the official page (smu.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

Stellenbosch University

Selection programme

MBChB (Medicine)

Medicine & Health Sciences · 6 years

Stellenbosch aggregate 75 %

  • Mathematics: 60%
  • Physical Sciences: 50%
  • Life Sciences: 50%

Every Stellenbosch programme is a selection programme. The figures shown are the published minimum requirements - the actual selection threshold is usually higher. About 280 students are selected, and non-academic merit is also assessed. NBTs are not required for 2027 entry at SU, except for Law programmes, the School for Tomorrow, AHSD and online-school applicants.

Source: View the official page (files.su.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

University of Cape Town

Selection programme

MBChB (Medicine)

Health Sciences · 6 years

UCT Faculty Points Score 450 out of 600

  • Mathematics: 70%
  • Physical Sciences: 70%
  • English: 65% if it is your Home Language, 65% if it is your First Additional Language
  • Next 3 subjects: 70%
  • NBT – NBTs are compulsory and must be at Intermediate level or above. The final NBT date is 3 October 2026.

The 450 shown is the APS sub-minimum (out of 600) - meeting it does not get you in. Selection uses an FPS out of 900 (APS/600 + NBT/300): Band A is 810 with all NBT domains Proficient, Band B is a WPS of 807 and Band C is 644. About 240 places. We cannot compute your FPS without your NBT results. Applications close 31 July 2026. Matching figures appear on the faculty page: https://health.uct.ac.za/home/undergraduate-programmes

Source: View the official page (uct.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

University of KwaZulu-Natal

From an older documentNo cut-off published

MBChB (Medicine)

Health Sciences · 6 years

No points cut-off published for this one – see the note below.

  • Mathematics: level 5 (60% or more)
  • Physical Sciences: level 5 (60% or more)
  • Life Sciences: level 5 (60% or more)
  • English: level 5 (60% or more)
  • Life Orientation: level 4 (50% or more)
  • Aggregate – An overall aggregate of 65% is required.

UKZN publishes no APS for MBChB - entry is by the subject levels and aggregate shown. Applications close 30 June. Also stated at https://chs.ukzn.ac.za/undergraduate-progra/bachelor-of-medicine-and-bachelor-of-surgery-mbchb/ . This comes from the Study@UKZN 2026 brochure, the most recent official source we could find. UKZN had not published a 2027 table when we checked, so treat these as 2026 figures pending a 2027 update. Applications go through the CAO.

Source: View the official page (studyatukzn.ukzn.ac.za) (opens the official page)

University of Limpopo

Partly verified

MBChB (Medicine & Surgery)

Health Sciences (School of Medicine) · 6 years

UL APS 27 points

  • English: level 4 (50% or more)
  • Mathematics: level 5 (60% or more)
  • Physical Sciences: level 5 (60% or more)
  • Life Sciences: level 5 (60% or more)
  • Two more subjects – Two further subjects at level 4 or better.

From UL’s 2027 Undergraduate Prospectus. UL states that meeting the minimum APS does not guarantee admission. No official 2027 closing date was found in the sections we read.

Source: View the official page (ul.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

University of Pretoria

Selection programme

MBChB (Medicine)

Health Sciences

UP APS 35 points

  • English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Mathematics: level 6 (70% or more)
  • Physical Sciences: level 5 (60% or more)

All UP Health Sciences programmes are selection programmes - meeting the minimum does not guarantee a place. Most UP closing dates are 30 June; Veterinary Science closes 31 May. Grade 12 applicants apply with their final Grade 11 results.

Source: View the official page (drupalwebprod-files.up.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

University of the Free State

Selection programmePartly verified

MBChB (Medicine)

Health Sciences

UFS AP score 36 points out of 49

  • English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Mathematics: level 5 (60% or more)
  • Physical Sciences: level 5 (60% or more)
  • Life Sciences: level 5 (60% or more)

UFS requires an AP score of at least 36 to qualify for selection, plus level 5 (60%) in each of English, Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Life Sciences - both from the 2027 MBChB selection rules. Selection then goes well beyond marks (the document also awards points for other things). The AP scale is worked from the four compulsory subjects plus your best two, plus 1 point for Life Orientation at 60%+; the scale itself comes from UFS’s 2024 prospectus because the 2027 document refers to the prospectus for it. The duration is not stated in the 2027 document.

Source: View the official page (ufs.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

University of the Witwatersrand

No cut-off published

MBBCh (Medicine)

Health Sciences · 6 years

No points cut-off published for this one – see the note below.

  • English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Mathematics: level 5 (60% or more)
  • Life Sciences: level 5 (60% or more) OR Physical Sciences: level 5 (60% or more)
  • NBT – The NBT must be written in person by 17 August.

Wits Health Sciences does not use APS. It uses a Composite Index: 75% school average across 5 subjects and 25% NBT. Wits does not publish the Composite Index cut-off scores, so nobody - including us - can tell you the number you need. Applications close 30 June 2026.

Source: View the official page (wits.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

Walter Sisulu University

Partly verified

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB)

Medicine & Health Sciences · 6 years

WSU APS 30 points out of 48

  • English: level 5 (60% or more)
  • African language – Another African language at level 5.
  • Mathematics: level 5 (60% or more)
  • Physical Sciences: level 5 (60% or more)
  • Life Sciences: level 5 (60% or more)
  • One more subject – Any other subject at level 5 or better, excluding Life Orientation.

From WSU’s 2027 Undergraduate Information Brochure & Admission Requirements. We could not confirm the application closing date from the pages we read - check the current date on wsu.ac.za.

Source: View the official page (wsu.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

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