What the programme page says at a glance
Kuwait's Ministry of Higher Education publishes the conditions for its Advanced Human Medicine programme on a page in its e-services, and the page we read is in Arabic. We read the 2026/2027 page on 24 October 2026, and the table below summarises what we took from it. The figures are the ministry's, not ours, and conditions change between intakes, so if you are looking at a later intake, open the programme page on the ministry's site and read what it says there. This page gives no application dates, no exam fee and no test date, and it is not advice about what any one applicant needs.
| Condition | What the page says |
|---|---|
| Language | IELTS 6.5, with no band below 6.5. The language condition names IELTS only; no other English test is offered in its place. |
| Degree | A bachelor's degree in one of the scientific fields the page names: engineering, sciences, allied medical sciences, pharmacy. |
| Entrance test | The MCAT, with a minimum of 500 points. The page also names the GAMSAT as another option; this page does not quote a GAMSAT figure, so read it on the page itself. |
| Ranking | Applicants are compared on their MCAT score (or its equivalent); the page also mentions a personal interview at the university. |
| Age | The applicant must be no older than 30. |
| University acceptance | Final acceptance from a university to which the ministry sends students in the scholarship countries. |
| Some of the documents required | A copy of the Civil ID and a copy of the MCAT score report at the required score (500). |
The ministry page lists further conditions that this table does not cover, so read it in full before you plan anything.
Band Booster IELTS is a private one-to-one online tutoring service, not a test centre. It registers no one for IELTS or for the programme, and it is not connected to the ministry, any university, IDP or the British Council. The sections below cover the English side only: our lessons do not cover the MCAT, the GAMSAT or science subjects.
The IELTS condition: 6.5, and no band below 6.5
How to read the wording
An IELTS result carries four skill scores, for Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking, and an overall band that is their average rounded to the nearest half band. The page asks for 6.5 and for nothing below 6.5 "in all items" (في كافة البنود, the ministry's words; the Arabic word is البنود, literally "the items" or "the clauses"). Our reading is that the items are the four skill scores, so each skill must reach 6.5 and a good overall band on its own is not enough. If you are unsure what "items" means here, ask the ministry.
If all four skills reach 6.5, the overall band cannot be lower than 6.5, so in practice what matters is your lowest skill score, not the average. An arithmetic illustration only, not a real result: Listening 7.0, Reading 7.0, Writing 6.0 and Speaking 6.0 average exactly 6.5, so the overall band is 6.5, yet two skills are below 6.5 and, on our reading, that result would not meet the condition that no band be below 6.5.
What the sentence we read does not settle
- Which IELTS test. The sentence we read names IELTS without saying Academic or General Training. Read the page, and ask the ministry which one it expects before you book. IELTS Academic or General Training? explains the difference: Listening and Speaking are the same in both, while Reading and Writing differ.
- A substitute test. The language condition we read offers no other English test, such as TOEFL, in place of IELTS.
- Format and test centre. The ministry page does not say which IELTS format or test centres it accepts, so ask it before you pay for any test. For what IDP, the British Council and ielts.org say about IELTS on computer in Kuwait and nearby countries, see Computer-delivered IELTS in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.
What 6.5 in every skill looks like
IELTS bands run from 0 to 9 in half-band steps, so 6.5 sits half a band above 6 and half a band below 7. Writing and Speaking have public band descriptors that describe performance at each whole band, and you can compare your own work with the descriptors for bands 6 and 7 to see where you stand. Listening and Reading are scored from the number of correct answers out of 40, converted to a band. The table sets out the format of each skill.
| Skill | Format | How it is scored |
|---|---|---|
| Listening | 30 minutes, 40 questions, 4 parts, recording played once | Correct answers converted to a band |
| Reading | 60 minutes, 40 questions, 3 sections | Correct answers converted to a band |
| Writing | 60 minutes: Task 1 of at least 150 words (about 20 minutes) and Task 2 of at least 250 words (about 40 minutes); Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1 | Four equally weighted criteria: Task Achievement (Task 1) or Task Response (Task 2), Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy |
| Speaking | 11 to 14 minutes, 3 parts | Four equally weighted criteria: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation |
Where IELTS sits among the page's other conditions
IELTS is one condition among several the page lists, and reaching 6.5 in every skill does not mean a place on the programme. Three notes on how it relates to the rest:
- Ranking. The page names the MCAT score (or its equivalent) as the basis for comparing applicants, and also mentions a personal interview at the university, while IELTS appears in the language condition. We mention this to show where each condition sits on the page, not to say that one matters more than the other.
- University acceptance. The page asks for final acceptance from a university to which the ministry sends students in the scholarship countries. Each university sets its own admission requirements, and this page does not list any university's requirements. IELTS scores for study abroad explains the difference between a visa minimum and a university's admission requirement; both vary by country, institution and course, and change over time.
- The ministry's other scholarship pages. The ministry publishes other scholarship pages separately, so do not carry a figure from one page to another; read the page for your own route. Our guide to IELTS scores on the ministry's scholarship pages covers what those pages say.
The ielts.org figure for the Ministry of Health: a different ministry, an indicative number
ielts.org's page for the Ministry of Health Kuwait shows a 6.5 minimum for the programme type Dental Administration (Academic and General Training), and says its scores are indicative and that you should contact the institution directly for an accurate requirement. That is a different ministry from the Ministry of Higher Education and a different programme type from Advanced Human Medicine, and we do not present the figure as a requirement of this programme or of health professionals in general.
We mention the figure only so the two bodies are not confused: the same number, 6.5, appearing in both sources does not mean a requirement carries over from one to the other.
How a tutor can help with your weakest skill
On our reading of the condition, the lowest of your four scores decides whether it is met, not the average. General teaching advice, not from the ministry or ielts.org:
- Find your lowest skill first, from an earlier IELTS result or a timed practice test. The IELTS band score calculator shows how four skill scores become an overall band.
- Give Writing both tasks. Write Task 1 and Task 2 in one 60-minute sitting and have them marked against the public band descriptors; Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1, but a weak Task 1 still lowers the Writing band.
- Speak aloud through Parts 1, 2 and 3 in turn, and use the Speaking Part 2 timer for the long turn.
- Practise Listening and Reading against the clock: the Listening recording plays once, and Reading gives 60 minutes for 40 questions. Note which question types cost you marks.
At Band Booster, Mike teaches every session himself, one-to-one on Google Meet in English. He holds the Cambridge CELTA, teaches from Hanoi, and scored 8.5 in Speaking in his own IELTS (about Mike). A session can cover Listening, Reading, Writing (Task 1 and Task 2, marked against the public band descriptors) or Speaking (Parts 1, 2 and 3 in the real test format), with feedback during the session, written progress notes after each session in your account, and a recording on request. See IELTS Speaking coaching and IELTS Writing feedback.
There is no fixed course, and no band and no place on the programme is promised: progress depends on your starting point and the work you do between sessions. This page is not medical, career or admission advice.
Before you book anything
- Open the programme page on the ministry's site and read the language condition and the other conditions in full. We read the 2026/2027 page; for a later intake, read what the page says for it.
- If you have questions about which IELTS test the ministry expects, or where it must be taken, ask the ministry before you book.
- Book the test with a test provider, not with Band Booster. IELTS test venues in Kuwait (IDP, the British Council and the ielts.org finder) and booking IELTS in Kuwait (ID, changes and payment, as IDP's Kuwait site and ielts.org describe them) set out what the test providers say, not what the ministry accepts.
For lessons, open the booking calendar. It shows each slot in your own time zone, and your price in your own currency with the payment options, before you pay. Kuwait is in a higher regional price tier than Vietnam, and your first booking can be the paid 30-minute trial, once. You can reschedule at no charge up to 12 hours before a session. See also online IELTS tutor for Kuwait City and the page for Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.