On 15 July 2019, the German Council of Science and Humanities assessed the model degree programme in human medicine – the European Medical School Oldenburg-Groningen (EMS) – as an “impressive programme” that had been “convincingly implemented”. The country’s highest scientific advisory body called on the state to expand the programme further. It praised the strong research in neurosensorics and the excellent research into hearing. Placing a focus on the still-emerging field of healthcare research was described as “strategically sound and with scope for further development”. This successful evaluation was an important step towards the planned target of at least 200 places per year.

Since 2012, the University of Oldenburg and its four partner hospitals (Oldenburg University Hospital, Oldenburg Evangelical Hospital, Pius Hospital Oldenburg and Karl Jaspers Clinic) have been training doctors. Starting with 40 first-year students, 120 now begin their medical studies in Oldenburg each year. From the 2026/27 winter semester onwards, the number of first-year students will rise to 200 per year. This will be made possible by the additional €125 million that University Medicine Oldenburg is set to receive by 2028.