Medical University of South Carolina

The Medical University of South Carolina opened in Charleston, South Carolina in 1824 as a small private college for the training of physicians. It is one of the oldest continually operating schools of medicine in the United States and the oldest in the Deep South. The school's main building was designed by Charleston architect Albert W. Todd.The school has expanded into a state university with a medical center and six colleges for the education of health professionals, biomedical scientists and other health care personnel. It also operates as a center for research and has a public hospital.CollegesCollege of MedicineHistoryThe College of Medicine began in 1823 with the incorporation of the Medical College of South Carolina, a private institution of the Medical Society of South Carolina. Seven Charleston physicians formed the initial faculty with 30 students enrolled in 1824. The first graduation was on April 4, 1825. With the exception of the American Civil War, the college has served continuously to the present, even when there was a total enrollment of two students. At the time of Dr. Robert Wilson’s appointment as Dean of the College of Medicine in 1908, Abraham Flexner was beginning his survey of the Medical College. Flexner’s survey resulted in the report titled Medical Education in the United States and Canada. It was highly critical of the Medical College and its poor facilities, lack of full-time faculty, lack of equipment, and lack of money. Recognizing that the college did not meet national requirements, Dr. Wilson determined that the only way to save the college from closure was to transfer it to state ownership in order to have access to state appropriations. The state took over formal control of the college in 1913.