Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science has received preliminary accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education to establish an independent medical doctorate program.
Up to now, medical students at Charles R. Drew University complete their training in a joint program with the University of California, Los Angeles. Students spent two years at Charles Drew University and two years at UCLA and graduate with a medical degree through the joint program.
Deborah Prothrow-Stith, dean of the College of Medicine at Charles Drew, stated that “opening a medical school here on the CDU campus has been a longstanding dream of this community and now is a critical time to step up. The COVID-19 pandemic and its continuing disproportionate impact on Black and Brown communities highlighted the enduring health disparities by race in America. CDU, with its 56-year history of training diverse physicians, nurses, and physician assistants, is prepared for this next step of operating its accredited MD program. It is time for CDU to do more of what it does well – training diverse physician leaders who understand social justice and are experts at serving under-resourced communities.”
University officials will begin accepting applications for the first medical school class exclusively at Charles Drew in November. The university hopes to have an entering class of 60 students begin studying for their medical degrees in the summer of 2023.
