St. George’s University is an international institution of higher education in Grenada, West Indies, founded in 1976 as an independent School of Medicine. The University broadened its mission in the following years to offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in veterinary medicine, public health, science, business, and liberal studies. Many St. George’s students come from Canada — over 700 Canadian students currently study at the university, alongside many permanent and visiting Canadian faculty. They join students and faculty from 140 countries in the 43 academic programs offered at St. George’s.
Internationally accredited programs
The university’s programs are marked by a strong network of affiliations with educational institutions worldwide, located in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland. St. George’s has been honored with numerous accreditations and approvals from international institutions and governing bodies including, in 2011, accreditation from the AVMA Council on Education for its School of Veterinary Medicine. The 12-year-old St. George’s Master of Public Health program is accredited by the U.S. Council on Education for Public Health, only the fifth institution outside the U.S. to receive this distinction.
Successful alumni
Over 9,000 of St. George’s MD graduates have practiced in over 45 countries in every medical specialty and subspecialty around the globe.
St. George’s graduates excel in all qualifying examinations. In 2010, the first-time pass rate for St. George’s U.S. and Canadian medical students on the USMLE Step 1 Exam was 94%, topping the overall rate of 92 % for all U.S. and Canadian medical schools.
Medical school curriculum
St. George’s University provides a wide range of entry options and an extensive foundation for students with varied academic qualifications in the three-year premedical and four-year MD programs that lead to your Doctor of Medicine degree. Students may enter St. George’s seven-year Bachelor of Science/Doctor of Medicine program after high school through programs such as those offered through affiliations with the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Caldwell College. However, most students from North America who hold a bachelor’s degree with the appropriate premedical courses enter directly into the four-year medical program.
Most medical students will begin their study on Grenada’s True Blue campus. However, the Keith B. Taylor Global Scholars Program provides students with an opportunity to spend the first year of the four-year medical program in Newcastle, United Kingdom, on the Northumbria University campus. Immersed in the U.K. culture, students follow a program identical to the first-year program offered in Grenada, further encouraging their international experience.
The clinical sciences take place in the final two years. Students are placed at one of over 60 clinical centres and affiliated hospitals in the United States and the United Kingdom, All of which are done on services with approved postgraduate training programs.
Dual-degree options
Students may choose to advance their knowledge in specific areas of medical study with dual-degree programs offered within the School of Medicine: in public health (MD/MPH), in the life sciences (MD/MSc), or in business administration or international business (MD/MBA).
Grenada campus
The stunning True Blue campus is the heart of the university. This $250+ million state-of-the-art university community is located on the southwestern corner of Grenada, on a peninsula overlooking the Caribbean Sea. The wireless-enhanced campus has recently seen the construction of more than 65 new buildings, including a library, anatomy labs, dormitories, lecture halls, and a research institute. In addition, all students have access to the 17,000-square-foot student centre, which houses a cafeteria, food court, offices for student organizations, a fitness centre, lockers, showers, and many more amenities.
The campus houses over 2,000 students. Free bus transportation is available from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. to accommodate those students living off campus in various areas of the island.
Faculty
St. George’s University has more than 1,700 faculty members, with over 400 based in the Basic Sciences part of the curriculum. Each year, more than 400 visiting scholars lecture in the School of Medicine; they come from institutions such as Cambridge University, Georgetown University, and Emory University.
Contact
Information on the university is available at www.sgu.edu, and through YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter at StGeorgesU. Information about St. George’s that might be of particular interest to Canadian students, including videos of enrolled Canadian students, is also available on the university’s website.