Master in Human Medicine

The Master degree programme serves to acquire the skills expected for practising medicine after completing the federal examination. The University of Fribourg offers an innovative study programme that focuses on patient education. Medical students are actively involved in their learning process and are introduced to the challenges of the medical profession through interactive teaching formats, practical courses, guided self-study and integration into a clinical environment.

The study programme is based on the criteria laid down at federal level in PROFILES (Principal Relevant Objectives and Framework for Integrative Learning and Education in Switzerland). Other focal points are the areas of general and family medicine, the development of professional behaviour and the teaching of needs-based and population-oriented medicine with social responsibility.

• Study programme

  The Section of Medicine at the Faculty of Science and Medicine has been offering a Master degree in human medicine with 40 places since the autumn of 2019. Upon successful completion of the programme, students will be awarded the title Master of Medicine. The study programme prepares students for the federal examination in human medicine. After passing this examination, candidates are awarded the Federal Medical Diploma, which authorises them to work as a clinical assistant doctor.

  In addition to the general requirements of the Swiss Confederation for all degree programmes in human medicine, which are set out in the PROFILES skills catalogue, the Master's degree programme in Fribourg focuses on additional topics that take into account the dynamic environment of tomorrow's medicine. These are family medicine, the development of professional behaviour, needs-based and population-oriented medicine with social responsibility and the application of reflective practice.

  The Master programme consists of 3 phases that build on each other.

  • Phase 1 facilitates the transfer of the basics acquired in the Bachelor programme to the clinical practice. The focus is on disease models and the needs of patients at different stages of life.

  • In Phase 2, students rotate through the departments of the associated clinics. They act as part of the team on site. In regular one-day visits to a GP practice, students also familiarise themselves with the special features of outpatient medicine throughout the year.

  • In Phase 3, students are in the elective year and expand their clinical skills during stays of several weeks in clinical facilities in Switzerland or abroad.

  Students are required to write a Master thesis. This is a academic work that students carry out and document individually and independently.

• Assessment

  The study programme includes various formative assessment methods such as MC tests, essays, OSCEs, project work and direct observations. The information obtained in this way is collected in an electronic portfolio, a kind of diary, which is used to document the student's individual level of education. The assessment system includes self-reflection and the development of individual learning goals by the students.

• Freiburger profile

  The Master degree programme in Human Medicine at the University of Freiburg is characterised by the following special features:

  • Thanks to the strong focus on practice-orientated teaching and the intensive examination of specific issues in human medicine, students receive a broad medical education in accordance with Swiss-wide standards. At the same time, both the programme's focus on family medicine and population-oriented medicine and the didactic concept, which requires and encourages active student participation, are unique to the University of Fribourg.

  • Admission to the Master programme is limited to 40 places. A small cohort offers a personalised study atmosphere and ensures supervision in the classroom and in the clinical institutions.

  • The human medicine programme at the University of Fribourg is bilingual. Students have the opportunity to communicate with specialists, team colleagues and patients in German and French. This gives students the opportunity to use and expand their specialised vocabulary in both languages.