The initial proposal to establish a medical school was put forward by Lord Kitchner on his last visit to Sudan in 1912 after his death in June 1916 an appeal for fund raising to fulfill his wish was started on 1923.
On 29th February 1924 Kitchner medical school was opened by Sir Lee Stack, then Governor-General of the Sudan and Sirdar of the Egyptian army.
In September 1951 the school was linked administratively to Khartoum University College. After independence in 1956 Khartoum University College was upgraded to Khartoum University, the medical school became a Faculty of Medicine and started offering the M.B.B.S. Degree.
Up to 1933 the duration of teaching programme was 4 years, in 1939 after the establishment of a Faculty of Science in Gordon Memorial School the study duration for the Diploma became 6 years. In its initial phase teaching in Kitchner School was executed by expatriate staff in the Sudan Medical Services & Welcome Laboratory Staff.
In 1951 after joining Khartoum University College the academic departments were established. Full time teaching staff was recruited and Sudanese staff were chosen for postgraduate studies in UK to join the staff later. It was not until April 1963 that the first Sudanese Dean, the late Professor Mansour Ali Haseeb, was appointed Dean Faculty …. see the list of Sudanese Deans
Over the years the Faculty expanded to include 14 academic departments. The students intake was 7 candidates/year in 1924 that increased progressively, the average annual intake was 40, 150 & 200 in the period 1951-69, 1969-73, 1973-1990 respectively. The annual intake now is about 350/year. The number of national teaching staff increased steadily by 1965 almost all staff were nationals. The total number of fulltime staff is now 201 supported by a large number of part-time teachers from the ministry of health.
Although postgraduate training was started by a Diploma program in Obstetrics and Gynaecology started in the Faculty in 1953 it was not until 1977 that a medical postgraduate studies Board was established to offer postgraduate Masters & later MD & clinical MD Degree in different specialties including basic sciences. To date the Board is offering programmes in 13 specialties with full recognition by the Sudan Medical Council. A number of postgraduate degrees are recognized by the Royal College in UK.