History
The university was opened initially in Mingaladon in the outskirts of Yangon as Medical College 2, as an affiliated college of Yangon University on 15 July 1963. The college became Institute of Medicine 2, an independent university per the University Act of 1964. The Institutes of Medicine were transferred to the Ministry of Health from the Ministry of Education on 1 October 1973 and were supervised by the Department of Medical Education. The Department of Medical Education is now designated as the Department of Medical Sciences as production of all categories of human resources for health come under its jurisdiction. The institute was moved to the present campus in North Okkalapa on 25 September 1996 and is now situated approximately 12 miles from downtown Yangon. In 1963, the 1000-bed Defence Services General Hospital was affiliated as the only teaching hospital of the Institute. Affiliated hospitals include North Okkalapa General Hospital (since 1970), Insein General Hospital (since 1973), Thingangyun Model Hospital (since 1996), South Okkalapa Maternal and Child Hospital (since 1998), Mawlamyaing General Hospital in Mon State and Pathein General Hospital in Ayeyarwady Division (since 1997), among others. Hlegu township, together with its township and station hospitals and the rural health centers, is the university's field practice area for community medicine. The university started with an annual intake of 50 undergraduate students; the intake today stands at 600 annually. Postgraduate courses were started in 1973 with master's degree programs in anatomy and physiology. The university now offers 14 diploma courses, 14 master's degree courses, six Doctor of Medical Science courses in postgraduate studies and seven PhD courses in basic sciences. The University of Medicine 2, Yangon is one of the most selective schools in the nation as the medical schools continue to be the top choice amongst perspective college students in Myanmar. The school admits about 500 students per year based solely on their Basic Education High School (college entrance) exam scores.
