Shantou University Medical College
Shantou University Medical College (SUMC) is an important component of Shantou University, a public university that has received continuous support from Mr. Li Ka-shing and his Foundation since 1981. SUMC is dedicated to cultivating healthcare professionals with sound knowledge, innovation, and compassion; striving to become a high-level teaching and research-oriented college, while also making significant contributions to medical education and healthcare.
Among the 236 full-time faculty members, 70% of them hold doctorate degrees and 45% have overseas training. Currently there are 5,467 students, including 3,519 undergraduates, 1,720 master students, 182 doctorate candidates and 44 international students.
Being committed to student-centered education and the training of medical professionals that can meet international standards, SUMC has pioneered educational reforms. In 2002 SUMC adopted a new "system-based integrated" medical curriculum, focused on nurturing professional humanity, implemented English as the teaching medium for selected small classes, as well as supported students to undergo overseas clinical electives. In China’s Medical License Examination, the pass rates of SUMC medical graduates have been among the top 10% among 160 counterparts for 16 consecutive years. To assess our teaching quality, SUMC has also embarked on preparing the English-stream students to write the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) before their internship. Over the past 12 years, the average pass rate in USMLE Step 1 exam is 87.4%. The two-decade educational reforms at SUMC has earned her many accolades, including 6 national awards for education achievement from the Ministry of Education.
SUMC has made significant strides in scientific research. There are over 10 provincial-level research laboratories, with a recently approved BSL3 laboratory. Research focuses have mainly been in the fields of infectious disease, cancer, cardiovascular medicine and ophthalmology. Over the past years, the quality of scientific publications in SUMC and affiliated hospitals has improved with papers published in top journals including Nature, Science, New England Journal of Medicine, PNAS etc.
SUMC has 6 affiliated hospitals and over 20 off-site teaching hospitals. These hospitals do not only ensure a solid foundation for SUMC’s student education and professional development, but also provide ample opportunities for innovative translational research.
Shantou University Medical College offers several undergraduate courses, including 5-year and 6-year programs in Clinical Medicine, 5-year Clinical Medicine majoring in Optometry Medicine, as well as 4-year programs in Nursing. Similarly, SUMC provides master and doctoral studies and postdoctoral training in multiple disciplines.
SUMC boasts a nationally accredited discipline Pathology and Pathophysiology and a number of provincially recognized disciplines, i.e. Basic Medicine, Clinical Medicine, Pharmacology as well as Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Clinical Medicine has been ranked among ESI's global top 1% for 13 consecutive year, advancing to top 2.43‰ in March 2024.
The undergraduate Clinical Medicine program has been listed in both the national and provincial plans to develop world-class undergraduate courses. The program has also been listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools co-developed by the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) and the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER).