St. Matthew’s University (SMU) is a for-profit university located in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands in the Caribbean. SMU has a School of Medicine and a School of Veterinary Medicine, which confer M.D. and D.V.M. degrees, respectively. St. Matthew’s University is owned by R3 Education, Inc.[3]
History
SMU was founded in Belize in 1997 by Grand Forks, North Dakota, native Jeffrey S. Sersland and was named for Sersland’s friend Matthew Uhrich of North Dakota.[4] In 2001, the board of directors changed the university’s administration, with Sersland and his wife removed from their positions on campus. In 2002, the school moved to the Cayman Islands under interim president B.D. Owens.[5] Sersland then formed the Medical University of the Americas – Belize in 2002[4] which closed in 2007[6]
The School of Veterinary Medicine was established in 2005.[7] The school was acquired by Greenwich, Connecticut-based Equinox Capital in conjunction with Chicago-based Prairie Capital in 2005.[8]
Accreditation
School of Medicine
SMU is chartered by the government of the Cayman Islands.[2]
SMU School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Commission of Colleges of Medicine, an accrediting agency listed in the FAIMER Directory of Organizations that Recognize/Accredit Medical Schools (DORA).[9][10] The School of Medicine has been accredited for 14 years with accreditation extending until June 30, 2019. [11] Since 2002 the United States Department of Education’s National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation (NCFMEA) has recognized SMU’s accreditor as using standards that are comparable to the standards used to accredit medical schools in the United States. [12]
St. Matthew’s is approved by the New York State Education Department (NYSED)[13] and the Florida Department of Education’s Commission for Independent Education for the purpose of providing clinical rotations in those states.
The university is listed in the FAIMER International Medical Education Directory (IMED)[2] and in the AVICENNA Directory for medicine.[14]
Medical School curriculum
The MD program at SMU is a 10-semester course of study that consists of 3 semesters per calendar year. Semesters 1-5 are basic science semesters that are completed at the university’s Grand Cayman (Cayman Islands) campus. Semesters 6-10 consist of 72 weeks of clinical training at hospitals in the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom.
Licensure restrictions
In the United States, the medical boards of the following states have listed St. Matthew’s University as an institution whose graduates are ineligible for licensure::
In the United Kingdom, the General Medical Council has listed St. Matthew’s University as an institution whose graduates from the Belize campus are ineligible for licensure. Graduates from the current Cayman Islands campus are eligible for licensure.[19]
As of June 15, 2016, U.S. students, including permanent residents (and international students with a US co-signer) may be eligible for a private student loan program – the EdMed program.[20]
School of Veterinary Medicine
St. Matthew’s University school of Veterinary Medicine (SMUSVM) is listed by the American Veterinary Medical Association, and its graduates qualify for entrance into the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates (ECFVG) or the Program for the Assessment of Veterinary Education Equivalence (PAVE) certification programs.
The PAVE program is a foreign licensing program that allows students the ability to qualify to take the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE).[21] The PAVE qualifying exam is written or online and intended to test the knowledge of students in foreign veterinary schools. It covers material learned in the first three (pre-clinical) years of AVMA-accredited veterinary schools.[22] The PAVE program is recognized in 39 states currently, as well as Australia and New Zealand.[21]
The ECFVG is a program that assesses the overall knowledge of veterinary students from non-AVMA-accredited schools to ensure they have sufficient knowledge to practice veterinary medicine within the United States.[23] The program contains four steps and is recognized by all 50 states to allow those that receive a certificate the ability to practice within those states.[23]
The Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine is Dr. Karen Rosenthal, DVM.[22] Dr. Rosenthal has received awards in her work as an advocate for exotic animals and her dedication toward advancing the field of companion exotic animal medicine. Dr. Rosenthal has received the Oxbow Exotic Mammal Health Award for her work in the field of exotic companion animal medicine on October 24, 2012.
Dr. Rosenthal has also been an associate professor and section chief of special species medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, where she also served as the medical director of University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary hospital; and previously, she was the founding and national director of Avian and Exotic Animal Services for Antech Diagnostics and a staff member for five years on the Avian and Exotic Service at New York City’s Animal Medical Center.[22]
Students at the School of Veterinary Medicine complete their pre-clinical education in 28 months (7 semesters), with three more semesters (12 months) completed in either the United States or Canada as the clinical year.[24] The incoming class size is limited to 35 students and the faculty to student ratio is 1:5.[24]
The requirements for applying to St. Matthew’s University School of Veterinary Medicine are: 8 credits (and lab) of General Biology and General Chemistry, 4 credits (and lab) of Organic Chemistry, 3 credits of Biochemistry, 6 credits of Language Arts (English), 3 credits of College Math or Computer Science, 4 credits of Physics (Recommended), and 6 credits of Social Science (Recommended).[24]
There is a concurrent dual degree program available for students to receive their Master of Business Administration degree from Davenport University, which is offered completely online.[25] Members of the dual degree program receive benefits that include qualification for Title IV federal student aid (for U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens), receiving partnership tuition rates for the entire program, advancing the student’s career with two degrees as a doctor of veterinary medicine and an MBA, and the ability to apply up to 15 transferable graduate credits.[25]
St. Matthew’s University, SVM has clinical year programs with Purdue University,[26] University of Pennsylvania,[27] University of Minnesota,[28] North Carolina State University,[29] Oklahoma State University,[30] and University of Illinois.[31]
Notable alumni
- Kehinde Aladefa, Nigerian Olympic athlete[citation needed]
- Daaron McField, former Canadian Football League player[32]
