International Higher School of Medicine

The International Higher School of Medicine (IHSM) is a private medical school in Bishkek, set up in 2003. It is also known as the International School of Medicine (ISM). It teaches General Medicine in English to international students, and says it has about 4,000 of them. Many come from India and Pakistan.

In the 2026 state accreditation of Kyrgyz medical universities, IHSM was accredited for six years. The Embassy of India's advisory of 8 June 2026 lists it under 'Accredited for 6 years', with institutional accreditation and accreditation of its five-year General Medicine programme. That puts it among only four institutions that received the full term.

The main question for Indian families is the course length. IHSM's fee table covers five years, and the Embassy lists the accredited programme as five years. India's NMC rules need at least 54 months of study plus a 12-month internship at the same university, which adds up to 66 months, or five and a half years. The WDOMS directory lists a 5.5-year 'with clinical rotation' track at IHSM. Ask IHSM in writing which track you are joining and how the 12-month internship is given before you pay.

Address: 1F Intergelpo Street, Bishkek 720054, Kyrgyzstan (Central Campus)

Highlights

• Accredited for six years in the 2026 Kyrgyz state accreditation, both as an institution and for its five-year General Medicine programme.
• Listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools (F0000840). Its General Medicine programme was accredited by the Independent Agency for Accreditation and Rating (IAAR), a WFME-recognised agency, in January 2022.
• Runs its own multidisciplinary clinic in Bishkek, Vedanta, and a clinical simulation centre.
• Published year-wise fees: USD 7,500 in Year 1 and USD 6,000 a year after that.
• Hostels in Bishkek and Cholpon-Ata, with an Indian mess serving vegetarian and non-vegetarian food.
• A large Indian student body: 2,088 IHSM graduates sat the FMGE in December 2025 (secondary reports of NBEMS data).

• General Medicine (MD), taught in English
• Medical and preventive medicine
• Nursing
• Master's and PhD (Health Sciences)
• Residency (postgraduate clinical training)
• Secondary medical education programme
• Short-term courses

For Indian students the main programme is the General Medicine (MD), taught in English over 5 years.

• Central Campus

  The main building in Bishkek holds the administration, the dean's office, the humanities and natural sciences chairs, the pathology chair, a library, a lecture hall and a student cafeteria.

• Educational and Morphological Centre

  Near the Central Campus. It houses the anatomy and histology chair and the public health chair, with an anatomy museum, a dissection room and a computer centre for exams.

• Clinical Simulation Centre

  Students practise emergency care, nursing skills, paediatric care, anaesthesia and resuscitation, surgery and obstetrics on mannequins, models and computer simulators before working with patients.

• Vedanta medical clinic

  IHSM's own multidisciplinary clinic in central Bishkek, with surgery, internal medicine, neurology, gynaecology, cardiology, rehabilitation, a laboratory and an operating unit. A second Vedanta centre covers eye, ENT and dental care.

• Issyk-Kul Campus

  A second campus at Lake Issyk-Kul, opened in 2017, with its own Vedanta medical centre and hostels in Cholpon-Ata.

• Hostels and Indian mess

  Eight hostel locations in Bishkek and Cholpon-Ata, each with 108 to 372 beds. Rooms share toilets and bathrooms with hot water, and hostels have laundry rooms, gyms, study rooms and Wi-Fi.

• It received the full six-year term in the 2026 state accreditation, which only four institutions achieved.
• The whole programme is designed for international students and taught in English.
• Fees are published year by year on the school's own website, so you can check any agent's quote against them.
• It has its own clinic and a simulation centre, in addition to state hospitals in Bishkek.
• There is a large Indian community, an Indian mess and female wardens in the hostels.
• WDOMS lists the school with notes for ECFMG (US) eligibility and Intealth's recognised accreditation policy, which matters if you may try the USMLE route later.
• Bishkek has the country's main hospitals, the Indian Embassy and the international airport.

• Class 12 (12 years of schooling) with Physics, Chemistry, Biology and English. IHSM also accepts two years at a specialised college.
• At least 50% in PCB for general category (40% for SC/ST/OBC, 45% for general PwD), as the NMC requires for students who want to practise in India.
• A qualifying NEET-UG score, valid for three years for study abroad under NMC rules.
• At least 17 years old by 31 December of the year of admission.
• Pass IHSM's entrance interview and oral exam in English, covering biology, chemistry and English.
• A passport valid for at least one year at entry, and the medical tests the visa and university need.

1. 1Check the latest Embassy of India advisory to confirm IHSM's accreditation term before you apply.
2. 2Fill in the online application form on ism.edu.kg and send scans of your Class 10 and 12 mark sheets, NEET scorecard and passport.
3. 3Ask IHSM in writing whether you are joining the 5-year or the 5.5-year track, and how a 12-month internship at IHSM is given after 54 months of study.
4. 4Take the entrance interview and oral exam in biology, chemistry and English.
5. 5Receive the admission letter and pay the first-year fee only into IHSM's official bank account.
6. 6Get the university's visa invitation and apply for the Kyrgyz study visa (category S) on the e-visa portal.
7. 7Travel to Bishkek, sign an English or bilingual study contract and complete enrolment.
8. 8Register your stay through the university within the legal time limit, and register with the Embassy of India on the MADAD portal.

These figures come from the fee table on IHSM's own Undergraduate Applicants page, checked in October 2026. Tuition is USD 7,500 in Year 1 and USD 6,000 a year from Year 2, about USD 31,500 over five years. From Year 2, hostel and mess cost USD 2,150 a year and a medical fee of USD 200 is added. The table does not list a hostel charge for Year 1, so ask whether it is included in the first-year fee. If you join a 5.5-year track, ask for the fee for the extra half year and the internship. Visa, insurance, flights and personal costs are extra. Pay only into IHSM's account and get a receipt for every payment. Approximate exchange rates (based on ECB reference rates, March 2026). Actual rates on your payment date will differ.

• Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic (state accreditation, 2026)Accredited for 6 years, institutional accreditation and General Medicine (5 years), as listed in the Embassy of India advisory of 8 June 2026.
• World Directory of Medical Schools (WDOMS)Listed as International Higher School of Medicine, F0000840, private, Bishkek, instruction since 2003. Curriculum shown as 5 years, or 5.5 years with clinical rotation.
• Independent Agency for Accreditation and Rating (IAAR), KazakhstanGeneral Medicine programme accredited, latest status dated 28 January 2022 (per WDOMS). IAAR is recognised by the WFME.
• ECFMG / Intealth (United States)WDOMS sponsor note: graduates from 2003 onwards may apply for ECFMG certification, subject to other rules; at least one programme meets Intealth's recognised accreditation policy.
• National Medical Commission (NMC), IndiaThe NMC does not approve foreign universities. Whether a graduate can register in India depends on their own course meeting the FMGL Regulations 2021, including 54 months of study plus a 12-month internship at IHSM, and on passing the licensing exam. No NMC advisory naming IHSM was found as of October 2026.

• Vedanta medical clinic of IHSM, 34 Manas Avenue, Bishkek (the school's own clinic)
• Vedanta Plus centre for eye, ENT and dental care
• City Clinical Hospital No. 1, Bishkek (partner of Vedanta Plus)
• Bishkek Research Center of Traumatology and Orthopedics (next to IHSM's planned clinical complexes)
• Vedanta Issyk-Kul medical centre, at the Issyk-Kul Campus
• About 20 affiliated state hospitals in Bishkek, according to IHSM (names not listed on its website)

Most first-year students live in IHSM hostels in Bishkek, and some study at the Issyk-Kul campus near Cholpon-Ata. Hostels have shared bathrooms with hot water, laundry rooms, gyms, study rooms and Wi-Fi, and some have billiards rooms. Cleaning staff, female wardens, inner gates and police security are provided, and students must be back by 10 pm. A canteen run by IHSM's representatives for India and Pakistan serves Indian food three times a day, with vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. Students who move out later rent flats; IHSM says rent starts at about USD 200 a month. The basement of the Central Campus has rooms for the student council, music and dance. Learn everyday Russian early: you will need it in hospitals and around the city.

Bishkek is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. It lies at the foot of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too range of the Tian Shan mountains, with wide tree-lined streets, parks and Soviet-era buildings. Summers are hot and dry; winters are cold and snowy, and winter air pollution can be bad. Russian is widely spoken, alongside Kyrgyz. The city has the country's national hospitals, the Embassy of India and Manas International Airport, with direct and connecting flights to Delhi. Weekend trips to Ala-Archa National Park and Lake Issyk-Kul are popular.

IHSM is not in the major global rankings. It is not among the five Kyrgyz universities in the QS World University Rankings 2026 (24.kg, 19 June 2025), and we found no THE ranking for it. Treat agent claims of a 'world rank' with caution.

IHSM's website does not publish merit scholarships for international MBBS students. Ask the school directly whether any first-year discount or instalment plan is available, and get it in writing on IHSM letterhead. Some Indian state governments and charitable trusts support students from low-income families; check with your state's welfare department.

• Class 10 and Class 12 mark sheets and pass certificates
• NEET-UG scorecard
• Passport, valid for at least one year (longer is better)
• Passport-size photographs on a white background
• Birth certificate
• MEA apostille on Indian educational documents
• Notarised Russian translation of school certificates, if IHSM asks for it
• Medical certificate with HIV, hepatitis and other tests the university requires
• Health insurance policy valid in Kyrgyzstan
• Visa invitation letter from IHSM
• Signed study contract in English or English and Russian
• Receipts for every fee paid to IHSM

Read our full guide to MBBS in Kyrgyzstan

1. IHSM: Undergraduate applicants (fees, intakes, entrance exam, hostels) (opens in a new tab)
2. IHSM: Food and accommodation (opens in a new tab)
3. IHSM: Campuses and divisions (opens in a new tab)
4. IHSM: Home page (students, clinics, Issyk-Kul campus) (opens in a new tab)
5. Vedanta medical clinic of IHSM (opens in a new tab)
6. WDOMS: International Higher School of Medicine (F0000840) (opens in a new tab)
7. Embassy of India, Bishkek: State accreditation results, 8 June 2026 (opens in a new tab)
8. Embassy of India, Bishkek: Advisory, 13 July 2026 (opens in a new tab)
9. Embassy of India, Bishkek: Advisory on reforms and minimum fees, 29 April 2026 (opens in a new tab)
10. 24.kg: Five Kyrgyz universities in QS World University Rankings 2026, 19 June 2025 (opens in a new tab)
11. CareerMarg (NBEMS 2025 report): FMGE 2025 university-wise results (secondary reporting) (opens in a new tab)

Official website: www.ism.edu.kg (opens in a new tab)