Program overview
Basic medical science, simply put, is the discipline that studies 'why people get sick' and 'how to cure diseases at their root.' Unlike clinical medicine, which directly treats patients, it works in laboratories using cells, molecules, animal models, and other tools to uncover disease mechanisms, identify diagnostic markers, and drug targets. Core courses include human anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, immunology, molecular biology, genetics, and more. If you enjoy hands-on experiments, are curious about life sciences, and have patience and logical thinking, this major is a great fit. Chinese universities have strong research capabilities in basic medical science—for example, Peking University, Fudan University, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University have national key laboratories with deep expertise in oncology, neuroscience, infection and immunity, and many labs collaborate with top international institutions, giving international students opportunities to participate in cutting-edge projects.