Dagestan State Medical University: MBBS Fees, Hostel, NEET Cut-Off and Admission for Indian Students
Dagestan State Medical University (DSMU) in Makhachkala teaches medicine in English since 2018, and its price order of 2 April 2026 sets the English-language first-year fee at 420,000 roubles (₹4.8 lakh). Its graduates passed FMGE at 11.7% over 2022–2025, the lowest of the 24 Russian universities we rank. Makhachkala is in the North Caucasus, so this page has a long safety section.
In short: DSMU is a state medical university founded in 1932 in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan. The university's price order No. 75-K of 2 April 2026 gives 420,000 roubles (about ₹4.8 lakh) for a new English-language General Medicine student in the first year. Over 2022–2025 its graduates passed FMGE at a combined 11.7%, the lowest of the 24 Russian universities with at least 300 candidates, against a Russian average of about 25%. The university says medicine has been taught in English since 2018; Makhachkala is in the North Caucasus and the airport has had short flight restrictions, so read the safety section.
Dagestan State Medical University at a glance
| Founded | 1932 |
|---|---|
| City | Makhachkala |
| Language of the programme | English groups exist; ask whether all six years are in English |
| Duration | 6 years |
| Tuition, first year | 420,000 ₽ per year ≈ ₹4.8 lakh (university price list) |
| Hostel | 36,000 ₽ per year |
| FMGE pass rate (NBEMS) | 9.5% (6/63, December 2025) |
| Official website | dgmu.ru |
Dagestan State Medical University (DSMU, in Russian DGMU) is the main medical school of the Republic of Dagestan, on the Caspian coast. It was founded on 15 October 1932 as Dagestan Medical Institute, later became Dagestan State Medical Academy and then a university; we could not verify the year of that change. It is a federal state institution under the Ministry of Health, and its address is Lenin Square 1, Makhachkala.
The university's website says that since 2018 teaching for students of the medical faculty is conducted in English, on a six-year specialist programme 31.05.01. The Study in Russia portal lists "General Medicine (implemented in English)" with 40 contract places. We found no official count of Indian students. We also could not confirm a World Directory of Medical Schools listing; the directory blocks automated access, so the status is unknown rather than "no".
Get the Dagestan State Medical University fee structure
We send the current price order, the hostel details and the current safety position for your intake.
Dagestan State Medical University fees for Indian students
This is one of the few universities where we could trace an official price order for the current year. Order No. 75-K of 2 April 2026, based on a decision of the Academic Council of 19 February 2026 (protocol No. 9), sets "the cost of the unit of educational service for foreign citizens, 2026-2027". For a new student in the English-language programme, the first-year price is 420,000 roubles. For students already in the second and third courses, the same order lists 380,000 and 280,000 roubles, and for the fourth to sixth courses it refers to the amount in the existing contract. A Russian-language track for foreigners is priced at 350,000 roubles in the first year, and the order also has a "double diploma" line at 210,000 roubles a year.
DSMU fee structure 2026-27
| Six years at today's fee (fees usually rise each year) | INR |
|---|---|
| Tuition, 6 years | ₹28.5 lakh |
The table above uses the order's first-year price for a new student in the English-language programme. That figure of 420,000 roubles is about ₹4.8 lakh at today's exchange rate. The lower amounts for the second and third courses (380,000 and 280,000 roubles) are prices for students already studying, not a promise for a new student's path: do not add them up as a six-year total. The order also says that a student who is restored or transferred pays the first-year price. Ask DSMU to state in your contract the fee for every year, and plan with a reserve of 10–20% for increases and for the rouble-rupee rate. A rough planning figure is the first-year fee multiplied by six, about ₹28.5 lakh, with the real total depending on later orders.
| Cost item | What we know for DSMU |
|---|---|
| Tuition, first year (English) | 420,000 RUB (price order No. 75-K of 2 April 2026, for 2026-27) |
| Tuition, first year (Russian track) | 350,000 RUB (same order) |
| Hostel | 2,500 RUB a month in hostels No. 4 and 5 for foreigners, per the order (about ₹2,800) |
| Medical insurance | Compulsory for foreign students; ask which policy and what it costs |
| Flights | Kerala to Moscow, then about 2.8 hours by air to Makhachkala |
Compare DSMU with other universities on the MBBS in Russia fees page. Its first-year English fee is above the middle of our list. An agent table shows 380,000 roubles for 2025-26 and 374,827 roubles in a page updated in June 2026; both are below the official first-year price, which is why we use the order.
Living cost in Makhachkala
Beyond tuition and hostel, a student's monthly budget in Makhachkala is made of food, a mobile plan and internet, local transport and study material. Makhachkala has 623,254 people (2021 census). We have no verified price list for the city, so ask senior students for their real monthly spend before you fix the family budget.
Hostel and hostel fees
The 2026-27 price order lists the hostel for foreigners in dormitories No. 4 and No. 5 at 2,500 roubles a month. If charged for twelve months that is 30,000 roubles a year (about ₹0.34 lakh). An agent table quotes 36,000 roubles a year for the hostel. Ask the international office whether the fee applies for all twelve months or only in term time, how many students share a room, and what happens in the summer break.
Parents often ask about the girls hostel. We found no DSMU statement on it. Makhachkala is a conservative, Muslim-majority city, and customs on dress and behaviour are stricter than in most of Russia. Ask how rooms are allocated, whether female students are placed together, what the entrance security is and how far each dormitory is from the teaching buildings and hospitals.
NEET cut-off and eligibility
DSMU does not set a NEET cut-off above the national qualifying score that we could find. What you need is the NEET-UG qualifying score for your category, because without it an Indian graduate cannot practise in India:
- NEET-UG: qualified, result valid for three years. In NEET-UG 2026 the qualifying score was 213 out of 720 for general and EWS, 194 for general PwBD and 177 for SC, ST and OBC (144, 127 and 113 in 2025).
- Class 12: Physics, Chemistry, Biology and English, with at least 50% in PCB (40% for reserved categories).
- Age: 17 by 31 December of the admission year.
We found no published entrance exam for foreign applicants. Ask whether DSMU holds an interview or a test in biology and chemistry. There is no published acceptance rate. Students who meet the criteria and apply on time are usually admitted, so the real filter is FMGE six years later, and DSMU's record makes that the key question. See the full eligibility and documents list.
Check your eligibility for DSMU
Send your NEET score and Class 12 marks; we tell you if you can apply this year.
Admission process at DSMU
Apply and send documents
Send scans of your passport, Class 10 and 12 mark sheets and NEET score card to the university's international office, directly or through us.
Admission letter and contract
The university checks the documents and issues an admission letter. Read the contract for the fee in every year, the language of instruction and the internship.
Invitation and visa
The university applies for your study invitation from the Russian migration authorities. With it you apply for the student visa; the nearest Russian consulate to Kerala is in Chennai.
Travel to Makhachkala
Fly to Moscow through a Gulf hub or Delhi, then on to Makhachkala Uytash Airport, checking the flight status before you leave. The university completes your migration registration after arrival.
Apply soon after NEET results, because the invitation and visa take several weeks. The general admission process page explains documents, apostille through NORKA Roots and the visa in detail.
Ranking and recognition
Families search for the Dagestan State Medical University ranking or its world ranking. We could not verify a ranking position for DSMU, and nothing found shows it in the main global lists for medicine. Three things matter more for an Indian student:
- NMC rules. The degree is valid in India only if the course meets the NMC Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations 2021: at least 54 months of study in English, a 12-month internship at the same university, and eligibility for a licence to practise in Russia. The NMC keeps no list of approved universities, so ask DSMU for written confirmation of each point. See NMC rules.
- World Directory of Medical Schools. Check DSMU's entry yourself; an Indian graduate needs a degree from a recognised medical school.
- FMGE results, below, which show how its Indian graduates actually do.
FMGE passing percentage of Dagestan State Medical University
NBEMS publishes FMGE results for every foreign university. DSMU's graduates have passed below the Russian average in every NBEMS report from 2022 to 2025. In 2022, 4 of 56 passed (7.1%) against a Russian average of 26.0%; in 2023, 6 of 88 (6.8%) against 19.4%; in 2024, 21 of 107 (19.6%) against 29.5%. In June 2025, 6 of 52 passed (11.5%) against 18.1%, and in December 2025, 6 of 63 (9.5%) against 30.9%. Over 2022–2025 combined, 11.7% of 366 candidates passed, twenty-fourth of the 24 Russian universities with at least 300 candidates in our ranking.
| Session | Appeared | Passed | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 2025 | 63 | 6 | 9.5% |
| June 2025 | 52 | 6 | 11.5% |
| 2024 | 107 | 21 | 19.6% |
| 2023 | 88 | 6 | 6.8% |
| 2022 | 56 | 4 | 7.1% |
| 2021 | 62 | 8 | 12.9% |
| 2020 | 82 | 5 | 6.1% |
The earlier reports were also low: 6.1% in 2020 and 12.9% in 2021. The best year, 2024, was still about ten points below the Russian average. We do not know the reasons, and the NBEMS data do not give them. The older "MCI passing ratio" is the same thing as FMGE. Compare DSMU with every other university on the FMGE pass rate page. A family choosing DSMU on price should ask what the university does to prepare Indian students for FMGE, and should plan self-study from the third year.
Safety: is Makhachkala safe for Indian students?
North Caucasus. Dagestan is a republic in the North Caucasus with a history of armed attacks and security operations. The Indian Embassy in Moscow's August 2024 advisory named the Bryansk, Belgorod and Kursk regions, not Dagestan, but Makhachkala's airport, Uytash, has had short flight restrictions from the Russian aviation authority (for example in December 2025 and again on 8 May 2026, when flights resumed the same day). Check the current advisory at mea.gov.in and with the embassy before you apply and again before you travel.
We found no incident involving Indian students at DSMU in the sources we checked. What is known about the region: in June 2024 coordinated armed attacks on police posts, churches and a synagogue in Makhachkala and Derbent killed about twenty people, most of them police officers, according to Russian authorities and news agencies. In May 2025 a shootout in Makhachkala killed two police officers, and investigators said the attackers had been planning it for months. In April 2026 a man with a knife seriously injured two doctors in the emergency department of the Republican Clinical Hospital in the city. The regional outlet Caucasian Knot counted at least 14 people injured or killed in armed and terrorist attacks in the whole North Caucasus in the first quarter of 2026 and at least 12 in the second. Local media have also reported fights involving foreign students in the North Caucasus, including Dagestan, after which police stepped up checks in dormitories. We cannot verify every report, but the picture is of a region where security incidents happen and are handled by a large police presence.
What we suggest for a family considering DSMU:
- Ask the university in writing about hostel security, the rules for going out at night and what support Indian students have in an emergency.
- Keep the Indian Embassy in Moscow in your phone and register with it after arrival.
- Check the MEA advisory before travel, and ask the embassy if the position has changed.
- Avoid crowded protests, religious events and any situation where police are checking papers; always carry your passport copy and migration card.
- Never accept a job or "contract" offer that involves the Russian military.
Many families choose another region because of the safety position and the FMGE results together. We will tell you honestly which universities with similar fees are elsewhere.
Get the Dagestan State Medical University fee structure
We send the current price order, the hostel details and the current safety position for your intake.
Life in Makhachkala for Kerala students
Makhachkala is a city of about 620,000 people on the Caspian coast and the capital of Dagestan. Long-term averages are 1.0 °C in January and 24.8 °C in July: a mild winter by Russian standards, with hot summers on the coast. A warm jacket is still needed from December to February. The city is extremely ethnically diverse, with a minority of ethnic Russians, and is predominantly Muslim, so halal food is likely to be easy to find; we have no verified information on Indian restaurants or on Malayali students.
Ask the university how many Indian students study in the English group, and ask us: we can connect you with families whose children are already in Russia.
Where DSMU is: distance to Moscow and how to get there from Kerala
DSMU is in Makhachkala, Dagestan, on the Caspian coast. The distance from Makhachkala to Moscow is about 1,590 km in a straight line, about 2.8 hours by air or about 40.7 hours by train. The nearest airport is Makhachkala Uytash Airport (MCX), which is operating but subject to short restrictions.
From Kerala there is no direct flight to Russia. The usual route is Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram or Kozhikode to Moscow through Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Doha or Delhi, then a domestic flight to Makhachkala. Makhachkala time is 2.5 hours behind India. Read more on the universities page and the map of all cities.
Scholarships, syllabus and courses
We found no DSMU scholarship that reduces tuition for Indian students. The Russian government offers a limited number of state-funded places to foreign citizens each year through its quota programme, applied for on the official education-in-russia.com portal; competition is high and places in medicine are few. Indian families should plan to pay the full fee.
The General Medicine syllabus follows the Russian federal standard for specialty 31.05.01. A typical six-year plan looks like this; ask DSMU for its own curriculum before you sign:
| Years | Main subjects |
|---|---|
| 1–2 | Anatomy, histology, physiology, biochemistry, biology, Latin, Russian language |
| 3 | Pathology, pharmacology, microbiology, propaedeutics of internal diseases, general surgery |
| 4–5 | Internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, pediatrics, neurology, infectious diseases, psychiatry |
| 6 | Clinical rotations in hospitals and the state final examinations |
The first years cover the basic sciences, then clinical subjects follow, with hospital practice in the senior years. Agents say English is used throughout, but we found no official statement on whether Russian is introduced in later years; clinical training involves Russian-speaking patients, so basic Russian helps. The programmes we can confirm are General Medicine in English, General Medicine for foreigners in Russian, and a double-diploma line in the price order.
DSMU compared with similar universities
Families shortlisting DSMU usually compare it with universities at a similar fee. The table uses first-year tuition and the combined FMGE pass rate for 2022–2025 from the NBEMS reports.
| University | City | Tuition per year | FMGE 2022–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dagestan State Medical University | Makhachkala | ₹4.8 lakh (price order, English track, 2026-27) | 11.7% |
| Rostov State Medical University | Rostov-on-Don | ₹4.2 lakh (price list 2026-27) | 14.5% |
| Penza State University | Penza | ₹4.4 lakh (applicant list 2026-27) | 30.2% |
| North Ossetian State Medical Academy | Vladikavkaz | ₹4.1 lakh (price list 2026-27) | 22.4% |
At a similar or lower fee, Penza and North Ossetian have had FMGE results roughly twice DSMU's or more, and Rostov is slightly higher. Of the four, only DSMU is both the most expensive and the lowest on FMGE. Its strengths are a clear 2026-27 price order and English teaching since 2018.
After graduation: FMGE, internship and registration in Kerala
DSMU awards the Russian specialist diploma in General Medicine after six years. To practise in India, a graduate then needs to:
- Pass FMGE, held by NBEMS three times a year since 2026 (the NMC plans to replace it with NExT, with no date yet).
- Complete a 12-month supervised internship in India, as the NMC requires for foreign graduates.
- Register with the Travancore-Cochin Medical Council to practise in Kerala.
After registration, graduates can take NEET-PG for postgraduate seats in India like any other doctor. Practising in Russia is also possible but needs Russian accreditation and fluent Russian. Plan for a year or more between the diploma and the first salary in India. Degree documents are attested through the MEA apostille and, in Kerala, via NORKA Roots.
Pros and cons for a student from Kerala
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Official 2026-27 price order found, with the English-track price stated | First-year fee of about ₹4.8 lakh, above several universities with better FMGE results |
| University says medicine is taught in English since 2018 | Whether English runs through all six years is not officially stated |
| Hostel for foreigners at 2,500 roubles a month | FMGE 11.7% over 2022–2025, last among 24 ranked universities |
| Mild winter on the Caspian coast | North Caucasus: security incidents, flight restrictions at Uytash |
| State medical university under the Ministry of Health, founded in 1932 | WDOMS listing unconfirmed; far from Kerala |
Talk to us about DSMU
We tell you honestly whether DSMU fits your NEET score, budget and risk comfort, and which alternatives to consider.
Dagestan State Medical University: Frequently Asked Questions
What is the MBBS fee at Dagestan State Medical University for Indian students?
The university's price order No. 75-K of 2 April 2026 gives 420,000 roubles for the first year of the English-language programme, about ₹4.8 lakh at the Central Bank of Russia rate of 15 October 2026. Lower amounts in the same order are for students already in the second and third courses and are not a path for a new student. Hostel, food, insurance and flights are extra.
What are the hostel facilities and hostel fees at Dagestan State Medical University?
The order lists the hostel for foreigners in dormitories No. 4 and 5 at 2,500 roubles a month. Rooms are normally shared with common kitchens. Ask for the girls hostel arrangements, the months charged and the security in writing.
What NEET score is required for admission to Dagestan State Medical University?
You need the NEET-UG qualifying score for your category: in 2026 that was 213 out of 720 for general and EWS candidates and 177 for SC, ST and OBC (144 and 113 in 2025). We found no higher cut-off set by the university and no published entrance exam.
Does MBBS at Dagestan State Medical University meet NMC rules and is it taught in English?
The university's website says teaching for medical students has been in English since 2018, and the price order has an English-language line. We found no official statement that all six years, including clinical practice, are in English. The NMC requires the whole course in English, at least 54 months of study and a 12-month internship at the same university, so ask for written confirmation.
Is Makhachkala safe for Indian students?
Makhachkala is in the North Caucasus, where armed attacks have occurred, including in Makhachkala in 2024 and 2025, and its airport has had short flight restrictions. We found no incident involving Indian students at the university. Check the MEA advisory and ask the embassy before travel, and ask the university about hostel security in writing.
Sources: Dagestan State Medical University price order No. 75-K of 2 April 2026 (dgmu.ru/sveden/files/005015.pdf) and university website; Study in Russia portal listing for DSMU; agent fee tables (2025-26, June 2026); Russian and English Wikipedia on the university and Makhachkala; en.wikipedia Uytash Airport page; Caucasian Knot quarterly tallies and reports for 2026; Novaya Gazeta report of 5 May 2025; Indian Embassy in Moscow advisory of August 2024; NBEMS FMGE reports 2020–2025; NMC FMGL Regulations 2021; Central Bank of Russia rate of 15 October 2026.