Forensic Medicine residency in Saudi Arabia
Medical evidence for the courts: examining the dead and the injured, and giving expert opinions.
Lowest accepted score 2026 (median): 78.3%. Training length: 4 years.
Rotations during residency
- Forensic medicine (R1 24 weeks, R2 28, R3 40, R4 48)
- Pathology (R1 20 weeks, R2 12 weeks)
- Toxicology at the regional lab (R2, 8 weeks)
- Forensic sciences lab, Ministry of Interior (R3, 4 weeks)
- Forensic radiology (R3, 4 weeks)
- Research (R1, 2 weeks)
- Islamic Shari'ah and forensic ethics (R1, 2 weeks)
Schedule overview
- R1: Forensic medicine 24 weeks, pathology 20, research 2, Shari'ah and forensic ethics 2
- R2: Forensic medicine 28 weeks, pathology 12, toxicology 8
- R3: Forensic medicine 40 weeks, forensic sciences lab 4, forensic radiology 4
- R4: Forensic medicine 48 weeks (senior responsibility)
Most common encounters
- Sudden unexpected natural deaths (heart disease, brain bleeds, lung disease)
- Road traffic and blunt injuries
- Sharp and stab wounds
- Firearm injuries
- Burns, scalds and electrical deaths
- Asphyxia, drowning and hanging
- Poisoning and drug-related deaths
- Estimating time since death
- Injury and assault examinations of living patients
- Crime scene examination
Most common procedures
- Forensic autopsy (external and internal)
- Collecting and preserving samples
- Crime scene examination and evidence collection
- Wound description and dating
- Bloodstain pattern interpretation
- Writing autopsy and medico-legal reports
- Giving expert testimony
Fellowships after residency
- Forensic pathology (2 to 3 years)
- Forensic toxicology (1 year)
- Clinical forensic medicine (1 year)
- Forensic psychiatry (1 to 2 years)
Lowest accepted score by city
- Medina: 2026 76.3%, 2025 74.7%
- Riyadh: 2026 78.1%, 2025 75.2%
- Dammam: 2026 78.6%, 2025 73.5%
- Jeddah: 2026 80.0%, 2025 77.4%
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