The school was established in 1973 as Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education to address the growing need in the United States—especially in inner city areas—for primary care physicians. Sophie Davis accepted students who graduated from high schools throughout New York State and attracted talented New York Cityhigh school graduates of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Sophie Davis prioritizes students that belong to minorities, including those of African-American and Hispanic descent. It had a rigorous course curriculum where approximately 40% of graduates became primary care physicians. Those who choose not to become primary care physicians repaid the school a fee. The Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education was named after Sophie Kesner, who was Leonard Davis's wife; Mr. Davis, a graduate of CCNY, was a major benefactor of the school. Leonard Davis was a donor to the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. Students completed their undergraduate work, and transferred to one of the accompanying medical schools to finish their final two years of medical school, which are primarily medical rotations, before earning their M.D. degree. NYU School of Medicine, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, New York Medical College, Albany Medical College, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Dartmouth Medical School, and Stony Brook School of Medicine were match schools for Sophie Davis graduates. In 2016, Sophie Davis became part of the new CUNY School of Medicine, where students complete their clinical training.
Curriculum
B.S./M.D. (Bachelor of Science/Doctor of Medicine)
First Year Biology of Organisms - Animal Physiology General Physics I English World Civilizations First Year General Chemistry General Physics II United States History Writing for the Sciences Sociomedical Sciences Second Year Bio-Organic Chemistry Genetics Psychology Biostatistics Elective Second Year Molecules to Cells I Health, Medicine, and Society I, II, III Elective Third Year Molecules to Cells II Health, Medicine, and Society IV Philosophy of the Rational Animal Elective Third Year Structure Histology Physiology I Fourth Year Physiology II Medical Pharmacology Patient-Doctor I Health, Medicine, and Society V Fourth Year Neuroscience Neuropsychiatry Host Defense, Immunology, and Pathogenesis Patient-Doctor II Fifth Year Behavioral Medicine System Pathology 1 Introduction to Clinical Medicine I Clinical Decision Making and Evidence-Based Medicine Fifth Year Physical Diagnosis Systemic Pathology 2 Introduction to Clinical Medicine II USMLE Step 1
Location
The school's address is 160 Convent Ave, Harris Hall, Room 107, New York, NY 10031. In 2003 it moved into its permanent home in Townsend Harris Hall, which had been renovated as part of CCNY's Terra Cotta Restoration Project, and to build modern teaching capabilities into its classrooms, seminar rooms, a long-distance conference room, and teaching laboratories.
