SUNY Downstate Medical Center

[EduCativ]

Formally known as The State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn-but better known to our patients and Brooklyn neighbors as SUNY Downstate Medical Center-we are older than the Brooklyn Bridge. We trace our roots back to 1860, when a school of medicine was founded at the Long Island College Hospital. The new college’s faculty revolutionized medical education in this country by bringing the teaching of medicine to the hospital bedside, thus rejecting the idea that physicians should be trained exclusively in university lecture halls.

Today, SUNY Downstate is one of the nation's leading urban medical centers. SUNY Downstate comprises a College of Medicine, College of Health Related Professions, College of Nursing, School of Graduate Studies, School of Public Health, and University Hospital of Brooklyn.

The quality of our education, research, and patient care programs was confirmed with the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Medicine to Dr. Robert Furchgott, a member of our School of Graduate Studies faculty since 1956. Dr. Furchgott's identification of nitric oxide as a signalling molecule important in vascular health has revolutionized care for heart, stroke, impotence, and other diseases.

As the only academic medical center in Brooklyn, we serve a large population – over 2.3 million people – and one that is among the most diverse in the world. We are also an engine of opportunity for students interested in pursuing careers in health care. Many of our students are the first in their families to attend college.

More physicians who practice medicine in New York City received their training at our College of Medicine than any other medical center in the country. Nationally, our medical school ranks seventh in the number of graduates who are now engaged in academic medicine. Here in Brooklyn, our impact is even greater. We have trained nearly half of all doctors practicing in a number of specialty areas.

Our College of Health Related Professions and College of Nursing also play a unique role in the borough and the city.

We have the oldest midwifery program in the country, and we recently made history again by establishing a joint program between the two colleges that trains midwives who are not nurses. The College of Nursing is particularly proud of its role in educating minority students. Approximately three-fourths of the students are minority-group members, and many are recent immigrants.

University Hospital of Brooklyn is the borough's only hospital located at an academic medical center. As such, it offers the most advanced and comprehensive care in Brooklyn. Many of its physicians are regularly rated among the best in New York City. Some are known throughout the world.

SUNY Downstate Medical Center enters the new century with a renewed dedication to serving the people of Brooklyn through its three-fold mission of education, research, and patient care.

Our mission is:

• To provide outstanding education of physicians, scientists, nurses and other healthcare professionals.
• To advance knowledge through cutting edge research and translate it into practice.
• To care for and improve the lives of our globally diverse communities.
• To foster an environment that embraces cultural diversity.

SUNY Downstate will be nationally recognized for improving people's lives by providing excellent education for healthcare professionals, advancing research in biomedical science, health care and public health, and delivering the highest quality, patient-centered care.

The Division of Student Affairs advocates for student success and empowers students to grow as professionals, as well as individuals, by providing a wide range of support services. We work with students across all five schools and colleges to explore ways to enhance the entire student experience and to develop solutions to issues and concerns, both individual and collective. With a Students First approach, the office serves as the student mentor, advocate and voice from the admissions process to matriculation to graduation.

It is the mission of the Financial Aid Office to provide information and access to funding for students in the pursuit of an education and degree. The office is committed to both a consistent and equitable approach to the awarding of federal, state, institutional and private need-based financial aid sources.

The primary mission of the Office of Institutional Research is to act as the information clearinghouse for SUNY Downstate Medical Center. The IR office strives to provide reliable, relevant and timely information gathered from internal and external sources concerning the university to assist the five colleges and the university community to utilize in their strategic decision-making for institution planning and effectiveness.

The Student Center is the focal point of social, cultural and recreational activities that take place on campus, providing rooms for meetings and small lounges for reading and relaxing. All SUNY Downstate students are automatically members of the Student Center. Spouses and children may be included, call the Student Center for more information.

The Student Counseling Service at Downstate is part of the Student Health Service and provides free and confidential counseling and psychological services to all matriculating Downstate Medical students (College of Medicine, Nursing, Health Related Professions, School of Graduate Studies and the Masters of Public Health Program).

View full university