If you are a doctor, dentist or allied-health graduate planning to pursue a postgraduate qualification at the National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS), the clock is now running on the Spring 2027 admission cycle. NUMS opened its online application portal for this intake on October 6, 2026, and the regular submission window closes in just over a week, which means candidates who still need to assemble documents or finalise a research proposal should not wait any longer.

What NUMS is offering this cycle

The Spring 2027 cycle spans a wide range of postgraduate qualifications. At the doctoral level, NUMS is accepting applications for PhD programmes in Biochemistry, Molecular Medicine, Pharmacology, Public Health, Science of Dental Materials, Pathology, and Psychology. One level below, the MPhil offerings include Anatomy, Physiology, Community Medicine, Oral Pathology, Chemical Pathology, Microbiology, and Haematology.

On the master's side, the university is admitting candidates into its Health Professions Education (MHPE) programme, MS Clinical Psychology, MS Transfusion Medicine, and MSc Cardiac Anesthesia, along with an MS in Nursing track that is reserved specifically for female candidates. For practitioners looking for a shorter, focused qualification, NUMS is also running a Diploma in Cardiology plus clinical certification courses in Interventional Radiology and Hybrid Imaging PET-CT Scan.

Key dates you cannot afford to miss

The single most important date for most applicants is the regular deadline: October 30, 2026, at 4:00 PM. Candidates who miss this cut-off are not entirely out of options, since NUMS is allowing a late submission window that closes on November 4, 2026, at 4:00 PM, though this comes at a cost. The processing fee for an on-time application is Rs. 3,000, non-refundable, while applying in the late window pushes that fee up to Rs. 5,000.

Once applications close, the university moves quickly. Admit cards are scheduled to become available through the NUMS online admission system on November 12, 2026, and this is also where candidates are expected to find their assigned test venues. The entry tests themselves are set for November 17 and 18, 2026, with candidates required to report by 9:00 AM ahead of a 10:00 AM start time. Applicants to the MS Clinical Psychology programme should additionally note a separate evaluation step scheduled for November 26, 2026.

After the written assessments, the process shifts to interviews, which NUMS has scheduled between December 1 and December 8, 2026. The university expects to release its merit list on December 16, 2026, giving successful candidates roughly three weeks to prepare before classes begin. For most PhD, MPhil and master's programmes, classes are set to start on January 4, 2027. Candidates admitted into the psychology-track programmes or the clinical certification courses have a later start date of February 15, 2027.

How to apply

Applications must be submitted online, and candidates should keep scanned copies of their research proposals, professional certificates, and provisional degree documents ready in advance, since several NUMS postgraduate tracks require these as part of the submission. The university's admission materials also reference general aptitude assessments (referred to as GAT or HAT) for certain programmes, though the specific weightage and applicability can vary by discipline, so applicants should confirm this detail against their chosen programme's advertisement before applying.

It is also worth flagging that some NUMS programme listings carry a "2026" label even though they fall under the Spring 2027 admission cycle, so candidates should match the exact programme title and session listed on the official NUMS admission portal rather than relying solely on how it is described elsewhere.

Our advice for applicants

Given how tightly the NUMS schedule is sequenced this cycle, with less than three weeks separating the application deadline from the entry test, candidates are better served treating October 30 as their real target rather than banking on the late window. Gather transcripts, provisional degrees, and any required research proposal early, confirm the specific eligibility criteria for your chosen programme directly with NUMS, since these can differ by department, and keep a close eye on the admission portal for admit card availability from November 12 onward. Because test centres and reporting instructions are only published alongside the admit card, applicants should plan to check the portal regularly in the days leading up to November 17.