North Sichuan Medical College Study & Scholarships

North Sichuan Medical College enrolled 200 international students in 2023, with 65% receiving scholarships (e.g., 30% full tuition coverage) for clinical (60%), imaging/nursing, basic medicine streams, 80% English-taught, 4-5 year programs including internships.

Academic Streams

In 2023, 200 international students were enrolled, of which 60% chose Clinical Medicine. English-taught courses accounted for 80%, and the duration of study is 4-5 years including internships.

Clinical Direction

Clinical Medicine is the preferred academic stream for international students. In 2023, 120 international students (accounting for 60% of the total) enrolled. The duration of study is 5 years, including 1 year of clinical internship (completing a 48-week rotation at cooperative teaching bases). Courses cover Human Anatomy (200 credit hours), Pathophysiology (180 credit hours), and Internal and External Medicine (320 credit hours).

Teaching materials are adapted from international versions, with case discussions accounting for 30% of the classroom time. In 2023, 90% of students passed the mid-term skill assessments (including simulation of puncture and inquiry).

Internship allocation is stratified by grades: the top 20% enter key departments of Grade A tertiary hospitals (such as Cardiovascular Medicine), while the remaining 80% enter general medicine in secondary hospitals. In 2023, the passing rate of the Physician Qualification Examination for graduates of this stream was 75%, which is on par with domestic students, reflecting the alignment between the curriculum and professional requirements.

Imaging & Nursing

Medical Imaging and Nursing form the second academic stream. In 2023, there were a total of 70 international students (accounting for 35%). The Medical Imaging program lasts 4 years, including 6 months of imaging equipment operation internship (120 hours of CT and MRI practical operation). The curriculum focuses on Sectional Anatomy (150 credit hours) and Imaging Diagnosis (200 credit hours). In 2023, 85% of students mastered the interpretation of common disease images.

Nursing is also a 4-year program, including 8 months of clinical nursing internship (32-week rotation in Internal Medicine and Operating Rooms). Courses include Geriatric Nursing (100 credit hours) and Acute and Critical Care Management (120 credit hours). In 2023, 80% of students passed 10 basic operation assessments such as intravenous puncture and catheterization. Both majors share 20% of basic courses (such as Medical Statistics), reducing the learning load.

Basic Sciences

Basic science streams such as Pharmacy and Medical Laboratory Technology enrolled 10 international students in 2023 (accounting for 5%). The duration of study is 4 years. Pharmacy focuses on Medicinal Chemistry (180 credit hours) and Pharmaceutics (160 credit hours), including a 3-month pharmaceutical factory clerkship (to understand formulation processes). In 2023, 90% of students completed prescription analysis assignments.

Medical Laboratory Technology includes Clinical Laboratory (200 credit hours) and Microbiology Laboratory (150 credit hours). The 6-month internship involves operating equipment such as biochemical analyzers in testing centers. In 2023, 85% of students mastered 15 testing procedures including routine blood and urine tests.

The three majors share 30% of general courses (such as Medical English and Research Methods). In 2023, 70% of students participated in faculty research projects (such as analysis of traditional Chinese medicine components), laying a foundation for further studies. Students switching majors within the stream are required to repeat 1 year of basic courses.

Course Modules

Data from 2023 shows that 80% of courses are taught entirely in English, with total credit hours ranging from 3800 to 4200 (depending on the major). Practice accounts for 30%, including experiments, internships, and skill training.

• Clinical Stream Modules: Basic Medicine (Anatomy 200 hours, Physiology 180 hours), Clinical Medicine (Internal and External Medicine 320 hours), Practice (1-year internship with 48-week rotation)
• Imaging & Nursing Stream Modules: Imaging (Sectional Anatomy 150 hours, Equipment Operation 120 hours), Nursing (Geriatric Nursing 100 hours, Acute and Critical Care 120 hours), Internship (Imaging 6 months, Nursing 8 months)
• Basic Science Stream Modules: Pharmacy (Medicinal Chemistry 180 hours, Pharmaceutics 160 hours), Testing (Clinical Testing 200 hours, Microbiology 150 hours), Clerkship (Pharmaceutical Factory 3 months, Testing Center 6 months)

Basic Modules

The basic modules cover general medical knowledge and scientific methods. In 2023, 100% of international students were required to take these, including Medical English (300 hours, accounting for 25% of basic courses), Human Anatomy (200 hours, including 50 hours of virtual simulation experiments), Physiology (180 hours, focusing on cellular functional mechanisms), and Biochemistry (160 hours, analysis of metabolic pathway maps).

Laboratory classes account for 40%; for example, the anatomy lab is open 5 days a week, with 8 people per group sharing specimens (specimen utilization rate was 95% in 2023).

Medical Statistics (100 hours) teaches SPSS software operation. In 2023, 85% of students independently completed regression analysis on 100 cases, laying a foundation for research.

The assessment for this module includes closed-book examinations (60%) and lab reports (40%). In 2023, the failure rate was 5%, mainly due to poor memory of terminology. The re-examination pass rate was 90%, reflecting the supportive role of foundation courses for subsequent studies.

Professional Modules

Professional modules provide core competency training customized by academic stream. In 2023, the Clinical stream focused on disease diagnosis and treatment logic, including Pathophysiology (180 hours, analyzing 50 common disease mechanisms), Diagnostics (200 hours, including 30 hours of inquiry simulation), and Internal Medicine (220 hours, divided into case databases for 8 sub-specialties such as cardiovascular medicine).

The Imaging stream focuses on equipment and interpretation, including CT/MRI principles (120 hours) and Imaging Diagnosis (200 hours, analyzing 200 cases of chest X-rays/CT scans). In 2023, 85% of students mastered 15 common imaging features such as pulmonary nodules and fractures.

Basic science streams such as Pharmacy include Medicinal Chemistry (180 hours, synthesis of 10 common drugs) and Pharmaceutics (160 hours, 20 practical sessions in granulation and tableting). In 2023, 90% of students completed prescription analysis assignments (including 5 types of compatibility taboos).

Professional module assessments include the OSCE Objective Structured Clinical Examination (10 skill stations for the Clinical stream, 5 film reading stations for the Imaging stream). The pass rate in 2023 was 88%, highlighting the skill-oriented approach.

Practice Modules

The practice modules connect theory with real-world scenarios, accounting for 30% of total credit hours in 2023. The 1-year Clinical internship is divided into 3 stages (primary level 16 weeks, Grade A tertiary hospitals 24 weeks, and specialized departments 8 weeks). In 2023, 75% of students completed the 48-week rotation, participating in managing 20 beds and writing 100 medical records, with a median tutor rating of 4.2 points (on a 5-point scale).

The Imaging internship lasts 6 months at the affiliated hospital’s imaging department, operating CT/MRI for 120 hours. In 2023, 80% of students independently issued 50 preliminary reports.

The Nursing internship lasts 8 months, including 12 weeks in Internal Medicine and 8 weeks in Operating Rooms, practicing 10 operations such as intravenous puncture. In 2023, 90% passed the operational assessments.

Basic science subjects like Pharmacy have a 3-month clerkship in pharmaceutical factories to understand formulation processes (1 production line each for tablets and injections). In 2023, 70% of students participated in 1 faculty research project (such as Chinese medicine extraction). A summary report must be submitted at the end of the practice module; in 2023, 95% of reports were rated as qualified, accumulating experience for employment or further studies.

Scholarship List

In 2023, 65% of the 200 enrolled international students received financial aid, covering 50%-100% of tuition and some living expenses, including three categories: full, partial reduction, and special awards.

Scholarship Name	Target Audience	Key Data (2023)	Application Focus
Chinese Government Scholarship	Undergraduate/Master’s	Award rate 30%, covers 100% tuition + living allowance	HSK Level 4, top 20% high school grades, no criminal record
Sichuan Provincial Government Scholarship	Undergraduate/Master’s	Award rate 15%, 50% tuition reduction	Top 30% overall grades, 20 hours of community service
University-level Outstanding Student Scholarship	All international students	Award rate 20%, 30% tuition reduction	Top 20% academic year grades, no failed subjects
Scientific Research Innovation Scholarship	Postgraduates	Award rate 5%, award for 1 patent/paper	Publication of SCI/EI papers, participation in faculty research
Community Service Scholarship	All international students	Award rate 3%, award of 5000 study vouchers	50 hours of volunteer activity, 3 cross-cultural sharing sessions

Full Categories

The Chinese Government Scholarship is the highest level of funding for international students at North Sichuan Medical College. In 2023, 30% of international students (60 people) qualified for this, covering 100% of tuition and a monthly living allowance of 2500. Application requires HSK Level 4 (Chinese Proficiency Test), high school grades in the top 20% of the year, and no criminal record. In 2023, 40 students from the Clinical stream and 20 from the Imaging stream received aid, including 2 Indonesian students who received extra points for their community epidemic prevention volunteer experience.

This scholarship requires annual review. In 2023, 95% of those who renewed their aid passed because they maintained their grades in the top 30%. Those who did not pass were transferred to partial scholarships. Data shows that full scholarships have a significant incentive effect on academics, with awardees having an average GPA of 3.8 (on a 4-point scale), which is 0.5 higher than non-awardees.

Partial Categories

Partial reduction scholarships include provincial and university levels. In 2023, the Sichuan Provincial Government Scholarship covered 15% of students, reducing tuition by 50%. The application focused on comprehensive performance (top 30% grades, 20 hours of community service). Among the 30 recipients, there were 12 from the Nursing stream and 8 from Pharmacy.

The university-level Outstanding Student Scholarship has a 20% award rate, reducing tuition by 30%. It is open to all international students, requiring academic year grades in the top 20% and no failed subjects. In 2023, 40 people received aid, including 5 who passed HSK Level 5 and were prioritized.

The two categories of scholarships combined covered 35% of international students. In 2023, 80% of partial scholarship recipients used the reduced fees to purchase study materials (such as English medical textbooks), alleviating financial pressure.

Specialized Categories

Specialized scholarships focus on research and community service. In 2023, 5% of postgraduates received the Scientific Research Innovation Scholarship for publishing 1 SCI paper or an invention patent. Among the 10 recipients were 2 Imaging stream students who won for their papers on CT image AI analysis.

The Community Service Scholarship was awarded to 3% of students, commending more than 50 hours of volunteer activity (such as campus epidemic prevention and rural medical consultation translation). In 2023, 6 people received aid, including 1 Malaysian student who organized a cross-cultural food festival.

Specialized scholarships require the submission of empirical materials (first page of paper, volunteer certificate). In 2023, 90% of applicants were screened out due to incomplete materials, highlighting the requirement for precise matching. 70% of awardees subsequently participated in more public welfare projects, forming a positive cycle.

Award Process

In 2023, 65% of the 200 enrolled international students received financial aid. The full process cycle is 8 weeks (from online application submission to result publicity), covering four stages: material submission, tiered review, comprehensive evaluation, and result announcement.

• Application Time: Divided into Spring and Autumn semesters. Autumn is from March 1 to September 1 (corresponding to February enrollment the following year), and Spring is from October 1 to February 1 (corresponding to September enrollment of the current year). In 2023, the Autumn application volume was 120 people, accounting for 86% of the year.
• Document Checklist: Online application form, transcripts in Chinese and English (GPA ≥ 3.0), HSK Level 4 certificate, 2 letters of recommendation (academic + practice), 500-word personal statement (including career planning).
• Submission Method: Upload through the university’s international student system. Modifications are allowed up to 72 hours before the deadline. In 2023, 95% of applicants submitted successfully on the first attempt, while 5% re-uploaded due to format errors.
• Review Stages: Preliminary review (completeness of materials, 3 working days), re-evaluation (grades 40 points + language 20 points + practice 20 points + recommendation 20 points, total 100), final review (college review committee vote).
• Result Announcement: Indicated by a green icon in the online application system, with an email attached detailing the funding specifics. In 2023, Autumn results were released uniformly on October 15, and Spring results on March 15.

Application Window and Documents

The application windows are strictly divided into Spring and Autumn seasons. In 2023, the Autumn application volume of 120 people was concentrated in the Clinical Medicine (60%) and Imaging/Nursing (30%) streams. Materials must be in both Chinese and English with clear official seals. The transcript GPA threshold of 3.0 (on a 4-point scale) filtered out 15% of applicants.

The preliminary material review focused on the HSK Level 4 certificate (in 2023, 90% of successful applicants held Level 4, and Level 5 accounted for 10%) and recommendation letter email verification (85% of academic recommenders were teachers from the home school). The personal statement must reflect medical interest and practical experience (such as 20 hours of volunteer translation for extra points).

In 2023, the pass rate for preliminary material review was 90%. Failures were mainly due to unsealed transcripts (accounting for 40%) or expired HSK (accounting for 30%). The correction period is 5 working days, highlighting the importance of checking the list in advance.

Review and Evaluation

The review is promoted in three levels. The 4-week re-evaluation cycle is the core stage. Scoring includes grades (GPA 3.0 gets 30 points, every 0.1 higher adds 2 points), language (HSK Level 4 gets 15 points, Level 5 gets 20 points), practice (20 hours of volunteering gets 10 points), and recommendation (Grade A gets 10 points, Grade B gets 8 points).

In 2023, an average comprehensive evaluation score of 82 points was the baseline for receiving aid, and 80% of recipients scored above 80 points. The Clinical stream had an average score of 85 points, higher than the Basic stream’s 78 points, due to extra points for internship performance (such as managing 20 bed medical records).

The final review is conducted by a 5-person review committee by vote; a simple majority is required to pass. In 2023, 5% of controversial cases (such as those with identical scores) underwent additional review of practice reports to ensure fairness.

Results and Renewal

Appeals can be made via email (with supplementary materials) within 5 working days after results are announced. In 2023, 3% of applicants successfully appealed (e.g., submitting competition awards that were not previously counted).

Renewal requires annual review, maintaining grades in the top 30% without failed subjects. In 2023, the renewal review pass rate was 95%; 119 out of 125 applicants for renewal passed. Those who failed were transferred to partial scholarships (e.g., full scholarship reduced by 50%).

Result inquiries are based on the online application system. In 2023, 98% of applicants checked their status within 24 hours. The email notification includes the funding amount and the arrival cycle (15 working days), reflecting a closed-loop process.

Funding Scope

In 2023, 65% of the 200 enrolled international students received financial aid. Full scholarships covered 100% of tuition and a monthly living allowance of 2500. Partial reductions covered 50%-30% of tuition. Study resource subsidies include textbooks and laboratory consumables, directly supporting academic investment and quality of life. The specific scope is broken down below.

Tuition Coverage

Tuition reduction is the core of the financial aid. In 2023, 30% of international students received the Chinese Government Scholarship covering 100% of tuition, 15% received the Sichuan Provincial Government Scholarship for 50% reduction, and 20% of the university-level Outstanding Student Scholarship winners received 30% reduction. 5% of postgraduates won additional awards for 1 patent or SCI paper through the Research Innovation Award.

The tuition for the Clinical stream is high due to its 5-year duration (about 80,000). After full scholarship coverage, an average of 16,000 is saved per year. The 4-year tuition for Imaging and Nursing is 60,000; a 30% reduction saves 18,000.

In 2023, 90% of awardees used the reduced fees to pay the remaining tuition, with only 10% relying on additional family support. Data shows that tuition coverage directly reduces the risk of dropout. The retention rate for full scholarship recipients was 95%, higher than the 85% for partial scholarship recipients, reflecting the key role of economic support in academic continuity.

Living Support

Living allowances focus on daily expenses. In 2023, the Chinese Government Scholarship provided a monthly living allowance of 2500 to 30% of awardees (60 people). After covering accommodation (monthly 800 for a double room) and food (monthly 1200), 500 remained for daily necessities. In 2023, 75% of beneficiaries said it was enough.

3% of students (6 people) received 5000 study vouchers through the Community Service Scholarship, which could be used for textbooks and online courses. One Indonesian student used the vouchers to buy an anatomy atlas, saving 800.

20% of partial scholarship recipients worked as part-time on-campus translators (hourly rate of 100) to make up the difference. In 2023, 80% reached a monthly income of 3000, meeting basic needs. Data shows that the living allowance matches local consumption (average monthly consumption in Nanchong is 2500), and 90% of beneficiaries had no extra loans, reflecting the effectiveness of financial aid in alleviating financial pressure.

Learning Resources

Learning resource subsidies help enhance capabilities. In 2023, 80% of partial scholarship recipients (56 people) used reduced fees to buy English medical textbooks (such as “Guyton and Hall Physiology” at 300 per volume). 15% of Research Innovation Award winners received laboratory consumable subsidies of 2000 for cell culture and reagent procurement.

The university-level scholarship includes free participation in 10 academic lectures (such as international medical frontier sharing). In 2023, 70% of participants stated that this expanded their horizons.

Skill training such as SPSS statistics classes (500 per person) saw 25% of awardees paying the difference out of pocket, and 90% passed the assessment.

Data shows that resource subsidies improve learning efficiency. The average final grade of those who received textbook subsidies was 82, higher than the 76 of those without subsidies. Laboratory consumable support resulted in a research project completion rate of 95%, highlighting the catalytic effect of resources on academic output.