SHSU-School of Medicine, an independent medical institution was established on January 7, 1980. SHSU-SOM offers a four-year (40 calendar months) academic program leading to the Doctor of Medicine degree (M.D.), and is taught on a trimester (four months) schedule. The curriculum of the University’s Doctor of Medicine degree program encompasses a comprehensive course of Basic Sciences, Pre-clinical, bridging curriculum and Clinical Sciences that is four (4) academic years. The trimester period commences in January, May, and September of each year. A student may elect to enter in any one of the three (3) trimesters. The five trimesters of the Basic Science program is an integrated presentation of the following: Basic medical sciences include Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Behavioral Sciences, Pharmacology, and Pathology. Pre- clinical didactics include General Introduction to Medicine and Physical Diagnosis. Didactic lectures in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Obstetrics/Gynecology and Surgery. A bridging curriculum is introduced for integration of Basic Sciences into Clinical Sciences. The Clinical Science program consist of four (4) trimesters and is committed to broad exposure in the major clinical disciplines of Internal Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Psychiatry. The Bridging Curriculum consists of series of problem solving exercises and clinical case studies, some in small groups settings, intertwined with the Basic Sciences and Introduction to clinical sciences. Students will apply acquired basic science knowledge to pre- clinical science topics using critical decision making techniques.