Charles R Drew University Of Medicine And Science

Charles R Drew University Of Medicine And Science International Student Insurance

The Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU), located in Los Angeles, California, was established in 1966. It’s a private, historically black, nonprofit graduate school founded in response to poor access to health care in the Watts region of the city. The school formally opened in 1970, and in 1973, Governor Ronald Reagan signed a bill providing it with funding and support. The school’s namesake is Dr. Charles R. Drew, an African-American physician known for his work in blood preservation. It offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in three schools: the Mervyn M. Dymally School of Nursing, the College of Medicine, and the College of Science and Health. 

The school enrolls about 700 students and counting each year, the vast majority of them graduate students. The university admits only 28 medical students each year.

On Campus

In addition to medical education, CDU is also home to a number of research initiatives in fields like cancer health disparities, tobacco use, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, cardiometabolic research, mental health and health services/policy research, and hypertension. It receives grants from organizations like the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense. CDU partners with the Ross University School of Medicine in Barbados in medical education.

Its outreach programs include the OASIS Clinic, which provides free HIV testing; and the SPECTRUM Community Services, a mental health and psychosocial support service center that offers support to HIV/AIDS patients in south Los Angeles. It also offers culturally appropriate outpatient substance abuse treatment, case management, peer support, and HIV/AIDS treatment education.

Notable Alumni

Notable CDU faculty include Dr. Patricia Bath, the first-ever black female doctor to receive a medical patent, and Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith, the first female Commissioner of Public Health for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.