West China Medical Center

The West China Medical Center of Sichuan University (), formerly West China University of Medical Sciences (WCUMS), is located in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, and is administered by the Ministry of Education. The Center was founded in 1914 and it merged with Sichuan University in 2000. West China Hospital is consistently ranked in the top 3 in China for medicine. It is one of the 8 key medical universities under the direct control of Ministry of Education of China.
History.
In 1910, five Christian missionary groups from the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States founded the private university, West China Union College (). Dr. O.L. Kilborn, Dr. R.G. Kilborn, and Dr. William Reginald Morse played key roles in its formation. The university's medical school was founded in 1914 and taught basic medicine and clinical medicine, biomedicine and stomatology. Three years later the school became the first to teach dentistry in China. In 1924 women were admitted to the college as a whole. Helen Yoh was the first woman to graduate medical school.
On September 23, 1933 West China Union University was registered with the Provincial Board of Education. In 1941 the East-West Cultural Agency, a foreign exchange student program for distinguished scholars and staff members, was created with the University of Cambridge and Oxford University.
In 1951 the school was renamed to West China University and then to Sichuan Medical College in 1953. In 1985 the school changed its name to West China University of Medical Sciences (WCUMS; ). It merged with Sichuan University in 2000 and became the West China Medical Center of Sichuan University.
Overview.
West China Medical Center of Sichuan University is situated in Chengdu, in the downtown area on the banks of Jin River. As one of the top five medical schools in China, the Center consists of five colleges:
The Center offers bachelor, masters and doctorate degrees. Of more than 3,000 students, about one half of the students are in the bachelor's program and the rest are in the advanced programs.
According to China's University and College Admission System, in 2012 the Center was an A level rated school and the only Cochrane Center or "evidence based medical center" in Asia. It is one of only 15 of such centers in the world. The Implementation of the project has won a national prize from the Ministry of Education.
Partnerships.
West China Medical Center of Sichuan University is a member of the Institute for International Medical Education (IIME), INCLEN (International Clinical Epidemiology Network) and International Network of universities.
West China Medical Center of Sichuan University has cooperative agreements with 150 universities from 43 countries and regions such as the US, the UK, Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, Germany, Finland, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia. This includes University of Washington, UCLA, University of Michigan and 10 other universities from the US, Glasgow University and 2 others from the UK, and Waseda University, Hiroshima University and University of Yamanashi from Japan.
Recognition.
West China Medical Center of Sichuan University is listed in the World Directory of Medical schools published by WHO, The International Medical Education Directory (IMED), Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) and the Foundation of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER).
Affiliated hospitals.
West China Medical Center of Sichuan University has four affiliated hospitals.