MBBS vs MD - What is Difference between MD and MBBS?
MBBS vs MD – "Medicine is a science of uncertainty and an art of probability" a quote by Sir W. Osler. So aspirants who want to pursue their studies in the field of medicine in India or abroad must know the difference between Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), and Doctor of Medicine (MD). When we begin to understand these from the basics it is important for us to know what these terms actually mean. The basic difference between the MBBS & MD is that MBBS is an undergraduate course that is pursued by candidates who wish to make their career in the field of medicine. Whereas, MD is a postgraduate course that can be pursued by candidates who have completed their MBBS. The concept of MBBS vs MD is wide and requires a complete understanding of its complex details.

In order to get UG medical admission to all the government, deemed and central universities/institute and private medical colleges candidates are required to qualify National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). Whereas the admission process for postgraduate medical and dental seats is a bit more complex and is explained below. Candidates can go through the article on MBBS vs MD, to know all the details of course fees, syllabus, duration, etc. of both the courses.
MBBS vs MD - Key Difference
Sl. No. | Details |
1 | MBBS vs MD: Admission process |
2 | MBBS vs MD: Course fees |
3 | MBBS vs MD: Scope |
MBBS vs MD Admission in India
Knowing the admission process of MBBS vs MD is the basic that every aspirant should know. In India, medical aspirants are offered MBBS course in around 554 top medical colleges. Earlier for taking medical admission, aspirants have to clear NEET and admission to All India Institute Of Medical Science (AIIMS) and Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER) were through the latter's own examinations. However, from the year 2020, the medical entrance examination for all medical colleges, including the AIIMS and JIPMER was scrapped and now granted through only NEET. In the country, every year, more than 80,000 students take admission to the MBBS courses. The duration of the MBBS course was earlier five and a half years which has now been reduced to four years and two months. During this duration, it is mandatory for candidates to complete 12 months rotatory internship.
While understanding the postgraduate degree courses, it is essential for candidates to know that MD and MS (Master of Surgery) are the most sought after in this category, as many of the graduates wish to pursue this category. These courses are offered to candidates only when they complete their MBBS course successfully and are degree holders for the same. Admission to the MD course is done on the basis of NEET PG and INI CET. National Board of Examinations (NBE) is the competent authority to conduct NEET PG whereas AIIMS, New Delhi use to conduct INI CET 2021. In India, the MD program is taught for a duration of 3 years, where medicos are required to choose one of the following specializations that they wish to pursue.
MD (Doctor of Medicine) - Specialities
- Anaesthesiology
- Anatomy
- BiochemistryUG PG
- Biophysics
- Community Medicine
- Dermatology and Venereology
- Forensic Medicine and Toxicology
- Laboratory Medicine
- Medicine
- Microbiology
- Nuclear Medicine
- Obstetrics & Gynaecology
- Ophthalmology
- Pathology
- Pediatrics
- Pharmacology
- Physiology
- Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PMR)
- Psychiatry
- Radio-Diagnosis
- Radiotherapy
MS (Master of Surgery) - Specialities
- Surgery
- Otorhinolaryngology (ENT)
- Orthopedics
MBBS vs MD - Course Fees
The stress of candidates has reduced to a significant level due to the introduction of NEET at UG and PG levels. So now NEET has become the only UG level medical entrance examination. Earlier there were different state-level exams for which students had to appear in order to get entrance to medical and dental colleges. So now NEET has become the only UG level medical entrance examination. Earlier the private medical colleges use to charge a high amount of fee for granting medical admission. In order to have control over that authorities have made it mandatory for the government as well as private colleges to disclose their fee for the courses. The aforementioned step enables candidates to have clarity of every detail pertaining to their admissions. The fees of the MBBS course vary between all the government-aided institutions/ government/central universities and deemed universities/private institutions.
On the basis of the institute, the MD course fee can differ extensively. As the fees of government institutes are relatively very low than the private institutes. However, within these private and government institutes also as the fee may differ from one institute to another.
Candidates must note that when definitions for MBBS vs MD are given, then it may vary in other countries. The definition of MD that we mentioned above is on the basis of what we mean in India. For instance, the doctors in the US are awarded an MD or DO degree and not an MBBS degree. Also, to pursue this degree course they are required to first complete university-level pre-medical courses followed by qualifying MCAT.
In the USA, the MD/DO is a four-year program divided into two parts: pre-clinical and clinical. The pre-clinical courses consist of courses in basic sciences and the clinical courses consist of clinical rotation. There is a residency programme after the MD course after which a candidate is eligible to practice medicine in the USA. The residency programs for different specialties are different. It can range from 3 years for internal medicine and pediatrics to 5 years in general surgery. The residency programme for neurosurgery is 7 years.
Also read:
Top 10 Medical Courses in India
MBBS vs MD: Scope
Medical is a dynamic field and jobs are available in both private and public hospitals. A medical graduates can apply for jobs in government medical institutes and even in numerous private hospitals. Candidates after completing their MBBS wish to get jobs in reputed companies across the nation and globe. There are a lot of job opportunities for deserving aspirants in private and public sectors. After getting licensed and registered by the Medical Council of India, aspirants can also practice their specialities. After graduating MBBS, candidates can also choose to further their studies by pursuing MD programs.
After completing an MD degree, every graduates can not only call themselves an MBBS/MD, however, they can also opt for some amazing career prospects. It is indeed true that an MD has better career prospects in the long run.
Frequently Asked Question (FAQs) - MBBS vs MD - What is Difference between MD and MBBS?
Question: What is the full form of MBBS?
Answer:
MBBS stands for Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.
Question: What is the full form of MD?
Answer:
The full form of MD is Doctor of Medicine.
Question: Do I need to qualify NEET in order pursue MBBS in India?
Answer:
Yes, candidates need to qualify NEET entrance examination securing the minimum required percentile to get admission in the top medical college in India.
Question: What is the admission procedure of MD in India?
Answer:
The admission in MD in most of the colleges is granted on the basis of NEET PG scores along with counselling sessions. However, other institutes/universities such as AIIMS, JIPMER & PGIMER will be granted through INI CET.
Question: Can I pursue MD before MBBS?
Answer:
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Questions related to NEET
wHat aBout neeT sYllaBus 2021 ....will it be reduced .....if yes ......then will there be any impact on cutoff??
Hello student ,
As per the latest update, interacting in the webinar, Education Minister said that "The students will only have to study the revised syllabus for their CBSE board exams and for NEET 2021 questions, will be asked from the reduced syllabi. The topics which have been removed from the CBSE board syllabus and will might impact the NEET syllabus 2021 topic-wise .
Further to know about the latest syllabus do check the link given below - https://medicine.careers360.com/articles/neet-syllabus
Hope it helps !
neet 2021 application form ?when??
Hello student ,
As of now and as per the NEET 2021 latest news, authorities have not yet announced the NTA NEET 2021 application form date as well as the NEET 2021 exam date . However, both are expected to announce soon .
Further to know more check the given link .
https://medicine.careers360.com/articles/neet-application-form
Hope it helps !
when NEET 2021 application forms are going to start ?
Hello Aspirant,
See till now National Testing Agency which is the conducting authority for NEET, has not released any notification for NEET 2021 and until any notifications get released by we cannot help you with exact dates. Till the official notification gets out you should stick to your preparation and to help you in your preparation for NEET 2021 we have some resources which you can access from the link given below :-
https://learn.careers360.com/knockout-neet-may/?product=50&icn=knockout-neet-2021-may&ici=
As of the latest news on board exams and other competitive exams our Hon'ble education minister Mr. Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank was live on December 10th and 22nd on his different social media accounts as a part of the campaign which seeks opinions from different students, teachers and parents regarding the conduction of upcoming examinations such as boards, JEE NEET and so on.
So many doubts have been asked using using #EducationMinisterGoesLive on twitter as well as Facebook and other social media sites and. As the live session has been conducted and he told that some decision might be taken regarding the dates for upcoming examinations within few dates. Exact dates are expected to be out by January so till then we have to wait for it and the discussions are also being carried out for allowing the candidates to attempt NEET twice in a year.
To get live updates and complete details about NEET kindly visit the link given below :-
https://medicine.careers360.com/articles/neet-application-form
I hope this information helps you.
Good Luck!!
neet 2021 exam application form release date
Hi
Neet 2021 application form will be released at its official website i. e ntaneet . nic . in , but the exact date for the release of neet application form has not been announced as of now.
Last year the application form for neet was released in the month of December but this year for neet 2021 it's already January and form hasn't been released yet, there is delay in the release of your neet application form due to delayed events of neet 2020 like delayed counselling and also due to covid .
Your neet application form is expected to be released by the end of January or early february 2021, but these are mere expectations, so for exact dates we need to wait for the notification from NTA regarding the same.
Once, the application form gets released you will be able to fill it in online mode at the official website of neet i. e ntaneet . nic . in and for that you need to go through 5 steps i. e
*neet registration to generate your login credentials,
*then fill the form,
* and after that you need to go for uploading your documents,
* then pay the application fee
*and finally you should take the printout of confirmation page
And,
to be eligible for filling the form you should be at least 17 years old by 31st December 2021 and should be either appearing for 12th board 2021 or should have passed it with English and PCB with at least 50% in aggregate of PCB in case if you are from general or at least 40% in aggregate of PCB in case if you are from obc/sc or st category
Till the application form gets released you should continue your neet preparation, go well through the chapters , solve numericals and mcqs after finishing each chapter, follow a timetable to avoid wastage of time and once you are done with your neet syllabus focus on revision and then go through previous year question papers and mock test papers.
For detailed information about neet 2021 application form , you can go through our page for which link is provided below
https://medicine.careers360.com/articles/neet-application-form
If you have any other doubt/query then you can always reach us to clear them :) we are always available to help you out and guide you
Thank you
I am a class 10th student and i wanna go into the medical stream i am really interested in biology nd wanna be a surgeon some day. But i have a doubt, bout my study options.. kota or private or dummies or should i take 11tg nd 12th with a normal neet coaching. Nd try my best for neet
Hi
It's a personal choice that whether you should opt for 11th and 12th in regular school along with coaching or you should go for studies in Kota . Both has its own merit.
For example,
If you study in regular school then you will get to enjoy your school life like you will actually do all the practicals in lab, also, there are a number of co-curricular activities that you will be doing in those two years in school but yes it can become hectic to manage both board exam and Neet preparation for those students who are not good at managing time and if you are that kind of person then you should better go to Kota and no opt for regular School and the benefit here which will get is studies totally devoted towards your neet, no tention of school homework, assignments and projects. So, take your time and decide :)
To help you further, I am providing you the tips following which you can prepare well for you Neet examination after your 10th :-
* First of all go through each chapter and while studying the chapter, your major focus should be on understanding the concepts .
The top books which you can follow for the preparation of your NEET examination are provided below:-
PHYSICS :-
*NCERT Physics textbooks for Class XI and XII
*Objective Physics for neet By DC Pandey
CHEMISTRY :-
*NCERT Chemistry textbooks for Class XI and XII
*Physical Chemistry by OP Tandon
*MS Chauhan (Organic)
BIOLOGY:-
*NCERT Biology Class XI and Class XII "-
*NCERT at your fingertips by mtg
*Practice questions:- after finishing each chapter you should practice numericals and mcqs .You should practise at least 80 to100 numericals and mcqs in Each chapter to master concepts so that you can solve numericals and MCQs easily.
* Short breaks :- take short breaks in between your studies, studying continuously can be brain tiring and it becomes difficult to focus and study with concentration, so take breaks to relax and refresh your brain.
* Make short notes:- You should make chapterwise short notes for each chapter and it should contain all the important concepts and formulas. These short notes will be a great revision tool for your examination.
* Set goals :- set daily like I have to cover these many topics today, weekly goals like I have to cover these chapters this week and solve their mcqs too by the end of this week and similarly set monthly goals to cover the syllabus and meet them without any fail.
* Follow a routine or timetable :- you can make a routine and religiously follow it and try to give at least around 8 hours to study each day in your routine.
PHYSICS is the toughest part for most of the medical aspirants as it has both numericals and concepts to deal with ,so keep at least 3 hours each day for physics
In Chemistry you have to deal with reactions and learn them and solve questions as well, so give at least 2.5 hours to Chemistry
In biology you have to read, learn and revise again and again, so keep around 2.5 hours for Biology.
*Revise:- revise your concepts, formulas etc at regular intervals . Revision is very important otherwise as you move forward in your syllabus, you start forgetting the concepts you have learned before and you won't be able to perform well in your examination.
*Solve previous year NEET question :- Solving previous year questions will let you know the examination pattern, type of questions asked in the exam and difficulty level of questions, also concepts of the questions often gets repeated so it will be of great help to you . You can get previous year papers at https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/jee-main-question-papers .
* Go through NEET mock test papers :- Once you are done with your complete syllabus solve mock test papers as it will let you know your preparation level .After solving each mock test paper, analyse yourself which will help you to know your weak areas /topics so that you can work on them and them strong so that you can perform well in your examination.
To prepare well you can go for our neet program at the convenience of your home, the link for the same is provided below :-
https://learn.careers360.com/knockout-neet-may /
If you have any other doubt then you can always reach us to clear them :) we are always available to help you out and guide you
Thankyou