Earn Your MD in Five Years via the Premed to MD Program

SHU offers uniquely integrative and innovative student-centered programs

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics states that a typical MD degree requires four years of undergraduate school, four years of medical school, and for specialization, three to eight years of further study—a total of eight to 15 years.

At St. Helen University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, students can earn the basic MD in five years, via a rigorous and thorough pre-med course which provides the required foundation for the MD program, without the general education courses and course-hour requirements that a typical Bachelor’s Degree necessitates.

Our five-year Pre-med to MD bridging program has been uniquely developed for students who performed exceptionally in the sciences, and also for those who already possess allied health qualifications. The benefit is that students have an alternative route to medical school that guarantees a sound foundation throughout the remaining four years of their medical studies.

Secondly, because it is SHU’s mandate to ensure that it is linked with the community, another unique program benefit is that students gain early clinical involvement starting during the pre-clinical years.

“Our entire curriculum is organized so that students understand the relationship between health and development,” Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Richard Van West Charles said. “So you can expect that on a continual basis, our faculty and students will be actively involved in research, and the provision of information and advice, so that we play a part in helping to achieve a good health status for all communities.”

As a result, SHU students receive early, guaranteed, hands-on clinical experiences at health centers and hospitals island-wide. After graduation, students can choose to specialize in a variety of fields, for example, anesthesiology, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, cardiology, dermatology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, pathology, radiology, surgery, and the list goes on.