Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar

Weill Cornell Medical College main building in Qatar, designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki

The Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) was established on April 9, 2001, when Cornell University signed an agreement with the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development to bring a branch of its medical school to Education City, Qatar, near the capital of Doha. It is the first American medical school outside of the United States and is part of Education City, Qatar, a group of branch campuses from American universities.

The medical college maintains the same standards for admission and education as the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, but offers both undergraduate and graduate courses of study, each with separate admission: a two-year non-degree pre-medical program followed by a four-year M.D. program. The pre-medical program opened in the fall of 2002, and was apparently the first coeducational institute of higher education in Qatar [1]. The medical program opened September 2004 and the first degrees were granted in 2008.

Premedical Program

The premedical program in WCMC-Q is a non-degree two year accelerated program which covers all of the required credits for the Medical College. During the first year students take the core sciences: biology, physics, and chemistry, along with an English and calculus course. Second year involves physics, neuroscience, medical ethics, immunology, organic chemistry, psychology, and human genetics.

All premed students applying for the Medical College are required to take the MCAT exam with satisfactory results prior to admission to the Medical program.

Medical Program

The medical program in WCMC-Q follows the same structure of education as the Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University in New York City, composed of four years of education, with the first and second years being primarily academic, and the third and fourth years being mainly in the hospital. The primary teaching hospitals for WCMC-Q students are Hamad Medical Corporation, and Sidra Medical and Research Center, a massive hospital under construction to be focused primarily upon obstetrics and pediatrics. All teaching faculty are brought from the main campus of the Medical College to maintain a consistent education standard, and the degree awarded is the same degree of the campus in New York.

See also

• Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School (One of American medical school outside of the United States)

External links

• Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar
• Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City
• Qatar Campus
• Qatar Foundation: WCMC-Q
• Cornell News Release