New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the accreditation for the CUNY School of Medicine in July.
“This new school is another step toward making medical care more available for all New Yorkers,” Cuomo said.
The school, located at the City College of New York, will open next year.
The idea developed after CUNY faced two choices—either close down the Sophie Davis Biomedical program or open a new one. CUNY officials decided to do the latter to expand Sophie Davis in partnership with St. Barnabas Health System, located in the Bronx.
“CUNY and City College will award a MD degree for the first time in its nearly 170 year history,” CUNY Chancellor James Milliken said.
The new school addresses the growing demand of physicians in underserved communities. In addition, it increases employment, research and learning opportunities for students and faculty members at the new school.
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education, a part of the Department of Education, approved the new school on June 10.
Seventy students will be the first to join the college, while a campaign to raise $20 million in interest-free loans for those students is underway.
Damola Ajibola, a senior at CCNY, was deterred from pursuing his dream to be a physician because of the high cost of medical education. He feared forgoing his dream and settle as a physician’s assistant.
Although, in spite of the competitive admission process, Ajibola believed the new school would renew confidence in his dream.
“Being able to be given the chance to attend an affordable medical school and receive a quality education is a deal of a lifetime,” Donovan Burton, a student at York College, said.
“I am looking forward to the launch of this school. I still have two more years of my undergraduate studies left and I’ll start applying in three years or so. I will be able to see application requirements, tuition, costs and all that by the time I am ready to apply. The opening of this school is definitely exciting and hopefully affordable,” Burton said.
Students, like graduate Anais Cardenas, are excited about the new school as it opens new possibilities for them.
“I got excited because I thought it might be cheaper than most med schools,” Cardenas said.
