# St. Matthew's University

St. Matthew's University (SMU) is a private for-profit offshore medical school 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.

## History

SMU was founded in Belize in 1997 by Dr. Michael Harris and other medical doctors. In 2001, the board of directors changed the university's administration. In 2002, the school moved to the Cayman Islands under interim president Dr. B. D. Owens. Dr. Michael Harris was named president in 2003 and the Medical University gained full accreditation.
The School of Veterinary Medicine was established in 2005 under the direction of Dr. Scott Harris, DVM . The school was acquired by Greenwich, Connecticut-based Equinox Capital in conjunction with Chicago-based Prairie Capital in 2005.

## Accreditation and recognition
### School of Medicine

SMU is chartered by the government of the Cayman Islands. and 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). The School of Medicine has been accredited since 2001 with accreditation extending until June 30, 2025. 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.
St. Matthew's University School of Medicine is approved by the New York State Education Department (NYSED) to allow students to complete more than 12 weeks of clinical clerkships in New York State. SMU is one of eight Caribbean medical schools so approved by NYSED.
St. Matthew's University School of Medicine is licensed by the Florida Department of Education's Commission for Independent Education (CIE) for the purpose of providing clinical rotations in Florida. SMU is one of seven Caribbean medical schools so approved by the CIE (St. George's University School of Medicine, Ross University School of Medicine, American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Saba University School of Medicine, American University of Antigua College of Medicine, Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE) School of Medicine, Medical University of the Americas).
SMU School of Medicine students who are either American citizens or permanent residents can participate in the Federal Direct Student Loan Program.

#### Medical School curriculum

The MD program at SMU is a ten-semester course of study that consists of three 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 rural hospitals in United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom.

#### Licensure restrictions

In the United States, the medical board of Kansas restricts St. Matthew's University graduates from obtaining licensure.
In the United Kingdom, the General Medical Council has listed St. Matthew's University as an institution whose graduates from the Belize campus (closed in 2002) are ineligible for licensure. Graduates from the current Cayman Islands campus are eligible for licensure.

## Student loan debt

The US Department of Education reports that the median student loan debt of Americans who attended the school was $247,074 in 2022. Default rate as of 2019 was reportes as N/A.

### Residence Hall

The Residence Hall is a two-story former tourist hotel building in the 7-mile (11 km) beach area that has been repurposed for student housing. New students arriving on the island are encouraged to live in the St. Matthew's University Residence Hall during their first semester. The facility is located 2.3 miles (3.7 km) from campus, with a total of 80 single rooms (220 sq ft (20 m$^2$)), 29 standard suites (280 sq ft (26 m$^2$)) and 8 deluxe suites (320 sq ft (30 m$^2$)) and one study room. The rent for a small room is $4,245–4,800 (USD) for almost 4 months, with high-speed internet provided.

### 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 to qualify to take the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE). 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. The PAVE program is recognized in 39 states currently, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
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. 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.
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. The incoming class size is limited to 35 students and the faculty to student ratio is 1:5.
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).
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. 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.
SMUSVM has clinical year programs with Purdue University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Minnesota, North Carolina State University, Oklahoma State University, and University of Illinois.

### Academic outcomes

According to the US Department of Education, 63.64% of U.S. medical students (7 out of 11) completed the MD program on time in 2023.
Pass rates of its students and graduates on the United States Medical Licensing Examinations (USMLE) in calendar year 2023 were as follows:
Step 1 – Basic Science: 100%
Step 2 – Clinical Knowledge (CK): 93.33%
Step 2 – Clinical Skills (CS) discontinued as of Jan. 26, 2021
For reference, the pass rates among the top 110 ranked American medical schools as reported by U.S. News Best Medical Schools rankings in 2019 were as follows:
Step 1 – Basic Science: 96.3%
Step 2 – Clinical Knowledge: 96.6%

## Notable alumni

* Kehinde Aladefa, Nigerian Olympic athlete
* Daaron McField, former Canadian Football League player