All of the programs at UCIMED are semester-based and classes are taught in Spanish. Regarding the M.D. program, students who finish the first five semesters get a bachelor's degree in health sciences. At the fifth semester students start their clinical clerkships at hospitals from the Caja Costarricense de Seguridad Social such as the Hospital San Juan de Dios (Main General Hospital), Hospital México, Hospital Calderón Guardia, Hospital de Alajuela, Hospital de Heredia and Hospital Max Peralta de Cartago which are the main hospitals in Costa Rica; nevertheless, the university also has a wide network of access into secondary and tertiary care health infrastructure. Students rotate in various courses during their degree, such as semiology, internal medicine, surgery, psychiatry, pediatrics, OB/GYN and community medicine. In the last year, students do an internship in the country's hospitals. After finishing the eleventh semester, students who are in medical school obtain their MD degree.