King Edward Medical University

King Edward Medical University (KEMU) is a public medical university in Neelagumbad, Anarkali, central Lahore. The University of Health Sciences (UHS) Lahore conducts its MBBS admission. Applicants apply through the UHS public admission portal and list KEMU among their college preferences. ⁷⁹

KEMU does not run an undergraduate BDS programme. Its own programme table lists MBBS as the only PMDC-accredited undergraduate degree. ⁹ Undergraduate dentistry for the Lahore public sector sits at de Montmorency College of Dentistry. That college teaches its basic sciences at KEMU.

KEMU dates from 1860. It started as the Lahore Medical School and later took the name King Edward Medical College. The institution became a degree-awarding university in 2005. ¹⁰

Mayo Hospital is the main teaching hospital. KEMU also lists eight further affiliated clinical institutions for student training. ⁵ The university runs constituent colleges in nursing, physiotherapy, ophthalmology and orthopaedic technology. ⁶

KEMU is the oldest medical institution in Pakistan. Its history starts in 1860 with the Lahore Medical School in British India. The school trained the first local doctors of the region. ¹⁰

The institution later carried the name King Edward Medical College. KEMU states that its medical-education history runs from 1860 to 2018, a span of 158 years. ¹¹ The college became King Edward Medical University in 2005. ¹⁰ Wikipedia dates the rename to King Edward Medical College to December 1911. ¹⁵

Mayo Hospital grew with the college. KEMU records the hospital origin in 1871 and the completed facility in 1883. The hospital took its name from Viceroy Edward Mayo. ²³⁴ Today the hospital holds close to 2,800 beds. ²

The campus sits on historic ground in Anarkali, Lahore. The Patiala Block is the heritage academic building of the university. KEMU plans an expansion of this block with an examination hall, two lecture theatres, a library and an auditorium. ⁶

KEMU now houses departments of basic sciences, medicine, surgery, public health, dentistry, nursing and allied health sciences. ⁶ Its constituent institutions include the College of Ophthalmology and Allied Vision Sciences. ⁶ They also include the College of Nursing, the School of Physiotherapy and the School of Orthopaedic Technology. ⁶ KEMU also lists a Department of Psychiatry. ¹³

The university holds an annual international scientific conference. At the 2025 conference it presented lifetime-achievement awards to five of its physicians. ¹² Alumni networks KEMCAANA and KEMCA-UK connect graduates in Pakistan and abroad. ¹⁴

KEMU MBBS open-merit aggregates rose in each of the last four sessions. The closing aggregate moved from 91.27% in 2022 to 92.45% in 2023, then to 93.10% in 2024 and 94.87% in 2025.

UHS sets the aggregate with three components: 10% SSC, 40% HSSC and 50% MDCAT. ⁷ Compare sessions with care. The MDCAT mark scale changed between 2021 and 2025, so the same percentage does not mean the same raw score in every row.

Mayo Hospital is the primary clinical site for KEMU students. KEMU records its origin in 1871 and the completed hospital building in 1883. ²³⁴ The hospital holds close to 2,800 beds and serves central Lahore. ²

Students also train at eight affiliated institutions: Lady Willingdon Hospital, Lady Aitchison Hospital, Kot Khawaja Saeed Hospital and Nawaz Sharif Hospital (Yaki Gate). The other four are Said Mitha Hospital, Mian Munshi Hospital, Qila Gujjar Singh Hospital and Mayo Cancer Care Hospital, Manawan. ⁵

Clinical work starts in the later years of the MBBS course. Wards, specialty units and the emergency department give students patient contact under supervision. The wide hospital network spreads students across medical, surgical and paediatric specialties.

The main campus lies in Anarkali, central Lahore, next to Mayo Hospital. Academic departments, lecture halls and the heritage Patiala Block sit within walking distance of the clinical wards. ⁶ The university lists its address, telephone numbers and email on its contact page. ¹

KEMU lists an examination hall, two lecture theatres, a library, an examination office and an auditorium in the Patiala Block plan. ⁶ Campus facilities recorded in our dataset include the heritage library, simulation skill laboratories, dissection theatres, hostels and a sports pavilion.

Hostel capacity grew in recent plans. An HEC-funded five-storey girls' hostel holds about 300 students. ⁶ The plans also record two new blocks for the girls' hostel and renovation of the boys' hostel. ⁶

PMDC recognises the MBBS programme. ⁷ The degree appears in the WHO World Directory of Medical Schools and qualifies graduates for ECFMG certification in the United States. The UK General Medical Council accepts the qualification. KEMU departments hold CPSP accreditation for postgraduate training. KEMU runs PMDC-accredited postgraduate dental training, the MDS in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, but it does not enrol BDS students. ⁹

External rankings change each year. The QS subject ranking places KEMU in the 701-850 band for 2025 and 2026, and in the 541-560 band in the QS Asia ranking. ¹⁶ KEMU keeps a ranking archive that covers QS, Times Higher Education Impact and WURI listings. ¹⁷

KEMU sits in central Lahore, so students live close to hospitals, libraries and city services. The campus keeps its own sports pavilion and gymnasium in the facilities record.

On-campus hostels host male and female students. ⁶ The girls' hostel provides dining, prayer and recreation space as part of the residence plan. ²

Student life extends to research. The university runs its annual international scientific conference and departmental research units. ¹² Graduates join alumni bodies such as KEMCAANA and KEMCA-UK. ¹⁴