Campus Life

BGU is consistently voted the most popular campus among students in Israel. Once on campus, you’ll join our dynamic, welcoming university community. Though MSIH students live off-campus, BGU is the center of student life, connecting people from all backgrounds and areas of study. In addition to convenient facilities and restaurants, the campus is host to an exciting array of events, performances and student organizations. Life at BGU is truly immersive for international students — you get to experience the “real” Israel, learning alongside Israeli students and making yourself at home.

Student Organizations

MSIH’s student organizations are a key component of its close, supportive community. These groups are an excellent way to meet people, explore your surroundings and gain valuable career and life experience. Options include:

• Adopt a Safta or Saba is an initiative that pairs young adults with survivors of the Holocaust in an effort to mitigate the pain of loneliness and enrich the quality of life that is experienced by such fellow human beings. This is run by BGU students with MSIH students participating.
• American Medical Student Organization (AMSA) works to promote the well-being of students through access to resources, scholarships and networking opportunities, as well as fundraising and social events such as the annual prom.
• BGU Student Union is the representative body of the students on campus, responsible for promoting and developing student life in Beer Sheva.
• Bedouin Tutoring Program gives MSIH students the chance to teach English to high school students at the Umm Batin High School, located in a Bedouin village south of Beer-Sheva.
• Bioethics Interest Group is for students who are fascinated by bioethics and want to have civil and open discussion on topics that are medically relevant today. They focus on issues that students are interested in and research topics that they want to learn more about. They also hosts guest speakers who deal with medical ethics on a daily basis. The group attempts to uncover the reality of the gray areas in medicine and to be better prepared for the tougher situations that they will likely face as clinicians.
• Environmental Impacts on Health Interest Group
• Global Health Made Local pairs MSIH students with Israeli medical students to help local families manage illness and navigate the health care system.
• Literary Society
• Medical Students for Choice is an international organization dedicated to ensuring all students have access to education and advocacy resources for essential reproductive healthcare and reproductive justice. Students in this group network to expand their knowledge of procedures and global access.
• MSIH Basketball Association which offers students a competitive, structured athletic program beyond the scope of the intramural level.
• MSIH Student Council coordinates student activities, facilitates communication with administration, maintains ties with alumni and works to improve medical education at MSIH. There are many clubs and interest groups associated with the student council. There is also an Ethics Committee and Curriculum Committee.
• Negev Refugee Center (NRC) English Tutoring offers student to teacher connection, cross cultural communication, and self reflection as a student physician. Each tutor is responsible for teaching English to a small group of asylum seeker status individuals of Sudanese or Eritrean origin. The weekly class is structured around English lessons, empowerment, and self-efficacy as the students and teachers build a resilient community.
• Palliative Care Interest Group organizing lectures and panel discussions to increase awareness about cross cultural palliative care. There is training and volunteer opportunities at Soroka Hospital to ensure no patient dies alone.
• Physicians for Human Rights is an international organization that works to stop human rights violations through science and medicine.
• Save a Child’s Heart is an Israeli organization that aims to improve cardiac care for children from developing countries.
• Specialty Interest Groups including a Pediatrics Interest Group, Geriatrics Interest Group, Emergency Medicine Interest Group, Women’s Health Interest Group, Internal Medicine Interest Group and a Surgery Interest Group.
• Staying in Israel Interest Group