School History
The CUNY School of Medicine shares City College of New York’s original mission to offer an affordable education to a broad student population.
The Center for Biomedical Education was established in 1973 to address longstanding challenges of attracting physicians to primary care specialties and the geographic areas of greatest need. High-achieving high school graduates were admitted to an accelerated five-year curriculum that integrated the requirements for a baccalaureate degree with the content of traditional preclinical medical education. Successful students were subsequently matched to partner accredited medical schools for the clinical (clerkship) training and conferral of the MD degree. In 1978, the Center for Biomedical Education was renamed the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education (SDSBE).
In 2016, SDSBE transformed its existing structure into a fully accredited medical school and was named the CUNY School of Medicine (CUNY Medicine). The School educates a highly talented cohort of students in its seven-year BS/MD program and is nationally recognized for opening pathways into medical education for students from across New York City and beyond, particularly those who have not always had clear or direct access to the medical profession.
Since our founding, our BS/MD program has graduated ~2,500 students of whom 97% received the MD degree. Among members of the three graduating classes since CUNY Medicine was established, 99% matched to residency programs.
CUNY Medicine also offers a physician assistant (PA) program – founded at the School in 1978 – which provides its students increased access to physician assistant education. The PA program was founded in 1970 as a joint project of the Harlem Hospital Center and the Columbia University School of Public Health to train individuals with prior healthcare experience to practice primary care in communities of greatest need. Our Program is one of the oldest in the country, founded only five years after the birth of the profession. In 2016, the program transitioned to a graduate program leading to the Master of Science degree. The PA program remains committed to increasing the number of physician assistants trained to serve communities that have experienced longstanding shortages of medical professionals, with particular attention to candidates whose backgrounds are less commonly represented in the field.
The CUNY School of Medicine remains steadfast in its founding mission to open pathways into medical education for talented individuals whose experiences and perspectives have long strengthened the practice of medicine. Our students are trained to understand the broader factors that shape health and healthcare, and to improve care wherever gaps persist. As New York City’s medical school, we recognize that the city is at its strongest when CUNY School of Medicine is at its most vital—producing doctors the doctors New York needs and New Yorkers want to see.