New Medicine curriculum at UCM: what changes from 2025-26

Key data

Future Medicine students at the Complutense University of Madrid will encounter a renewed academic structure from the 2025-26 academic year. The modification of the curriculum, approved by the Council of Universities following a favorable report from the Madri+d Knowledge Foundation in December 2024, is officially published through the Resolution of July 23, 2026 (BOE-A-2026-17183).

This is not a minor adjustment: the new plan redefines the distribution of 360 ECTS credits among different types of training and reorganizes the curriculum into six thematic modules. Anyone planning to access Medicine at UCM from September 2025 onwards must understand this structure before making decisions about their academic pathway.

What does this regulation establish?

The resolution formalizes the modification of the Medicine Degree curriculum at UCM. The new plan totals 360 ECTS credits, distributed as follows:

The plan is organized into 6 modules that cover the complete pathway of medical training, from the most basic subjects to supervised clinical practice:

• Morphology and physiology
• Clinical training
• Diagnostic procedures
• Supervised internships
• Additional modules of basic and mandatory training (integrated into the structure of 6 blocks)

A relevant fact: external internships do not appear as a differentiated credit category, which means that practical training is integrated within the mandatory and supervised internship blocks of the plan.

The modification was approved by the Council of Universities with a prior favorable report from the Madri+d Knowledge Foundation, issued in December 2024. Its application is binding from the 2025-26 academic year.

Academic and operational impact

For UCM centers and departments, the entry into force of the new plan means adapting teaching programming, resources, and credit allocation to the new distribution. The coexistence of two plans—the previous one for already enrolled students and the new one for new entrants—implies parallel management for several academic years.

For future students, the impact is direct: the curriculum they will follow from day one will be determined by this new structure. The reduction of elective credits to 12 ECTS (compared to greater flexibility in previous plans at many universities) and the absence of external internships as an independent category are elements that condition the planning of the degree.

For families and academic advisors, understanding this distribution is key to correctly advising students who access from the 2025-26 academic year onwards.

Who does it affect?

• New students in Medicine at UCM from the 2025-26 academic year: are subject to the new plan on a mandatory basis.
• Students enrolled before the 2025-26 academic year: continue to be governed by the previous curriculum. They are not affected by this modification.
• UCM departments and faculties: must adapt their teaching offer, teaching guides, and resource allocation to the new module and credit structure.
• Academic advisors and pre-university schools: must update the information they provide to future students about the degree pathway.
• Families of future Medicine students at UCM: the planning of the degree (duration, elective options, internships) changes compared to the previous plan.

Practical example

A student who accesses the Medicine Degree at UCM in September 2025 will pursue a plan with 360 ECTS credits distributed over 6 academic years (60 ECTS per year). Of those 360 credits:

• They will dedicate 90 ECTS (25% of the degree) to basic training: subjects such as morphology, physiology, and basic medical sciences.
• The bulk of the degree, 252 ECTS (70%), corresponds to mandatory subjects, which include clinical training, diagnostic procedures, and supervised internships.
• They will only have 12 elective ECTS (3.3% of the total) to personalize their curriculum.
• They will close the degree with a Final Degree Project of 6 ECTS.

In contrast, a classmate who enrolled in the 2024-25 academic year or earlier will follow the previous plan until completing their degree, without being affected by this modification.

What should those involved do now?

1. Future Medicine students at UCM: consult the new module and credit structure before formalizing enrollment for the 2025-26 academic year and plan your academic pathway with the actual distribution of 360 ECTS.
2. Already enrolled students: verify with the faculty secretariat which plan you are enrolled under. If enrollment was before the 2025-26 academic year, the previous plan remains in effect for you.
3. UCM departments: review and update teaching guides, course programming, and resource allocation to adapt them to the 6 modules of the new plan.
4. Advisors and academic counselors: update informational materials about the Medicine Degree at UCM with the new credit distribution (90 basic + 252 mandatory + 12 elective + 6 final project).
5. Consult the official resolution: access the full text in the BOE (BOE-A-2026-17183) to verify the specific details of each module and the plan verification requirements.

Official source

Consult complete regulation at official source

Notice: This article is purely informational in nature and does not constitute legal advice. For specific decisions, consult a qualified professional. Source: https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2026-17183