Shantou University Medical College (SUMC), located on the eastern coast of China, is an important part of Shantou University (STU), a public university jointly funded by the Chinese government and Li Ka Shing Foundation. SUMC is dedicated to producing qualified medical professionals, providing quality healthcare services and undertaking innovative research projects. Guided by its core values of innovation, dedication and exemplary professionalism, SUMC has made impressive progress in medical curriculum reforms, scientific research, professional training, international collaboration and exchange over the past decades.
At present, SUMC has over 200 full-time faculty members, among whom 85% hold doctorate and/or Master’s degrees and 46.6% have international experience either by studying or working abroad. There are 2,679 students enrolled in the medical programs at SUMC, including 1,454 undergraduate students, 1,028 master students and 97 doctorate students. SUMC has five affiliated hospitals and five associated partner hospitals to service eastern and northern Guangdong, the Pearl River Delta as well as Hainan and provide clinical training to medical students.
Following the successful implementation of the “elite classes”, SUMC launched the international program in Clinical Medicine (MBBS) in 2010 with approval of the Ministry of Education of China. The program is for international students who have a general interest in China and have the ambition to become an outstanding international clinician capable of practicing medicine in different countries around the world. The admitted international students join our top Chinese students in the “elite classes”. SUMC is committed to providing international students with quality medical education experiences that enable them to become competent physicians with solid medical knowledge, adequate clinical skills and professionalism. In 2013, SUMC passed the Ministry of Education’s national inspection of foreign student programs in medical schools, and we were encouraged to increase enrollment as our five year program was well recognized.
The five-year curriculum includes basic courses in the first year, system-based basic & clinical courses, skill training courses and elective courses in the second and third years, clinical courses in the fourth year, clinical internship and elective courses in the fifth year. Courses are taught in English by qualified basic science and clinical faculties, with established international textbooks and publications are as references for the students. The program effectively integrates basic medical science with advanced clinical training.
International Assessment System
To assess student performance, we use internationally accepted assessment instruments such as Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), Teaching Objective Structured Clinical Examination (TOSCE), and United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). SUMC is the first and the only medical school in China that adopts USMLE exams to assess student performance. The pass rates of our students from the “elite classes” have achieved a pass rate of over 95% in the USMLE Step 1 for four consecutive years since 2012.
