Yerevan State Medical University


Yerevan State Medical University after Mkhitar Heratsi , is the leading medical university in Armenia. It is located in the capital Yerevan.

History

On 31 January 1920, during the First Republic of Armenia, the People's University of Armenia opened in Alexandropol, with the presence of prime minister Alexander Khatisian and minister of culture and public education Nikol Aghbalian. In October of the same year, a decision was passed by then-minister of education Gevorg Ghazarian to establish the faculty of medicine in the university. However, due to political circumstances, the plan was never fulfilled. Armenia became a republic in December 1920.
In 1920, the medical faculty of Yerevan was founded by the government of Armenia.
On 25 May 1989 Yerevan State Medical University was named after the 12th-century Armenian physician Mkhitar Heratsi.

Campuses and hospitals

Medical University's campus is located in the center of the city, Koryun street. It is home to the following buildings:
Two hospitals operate under the jurisdiction of the Yerevan Medical University, where students get real-life experience. The Heratsi Hospital Complex No.1 is located near the university complex, while the Muratsan Hospital Complex is located in Erebuni District of Yerevan city.

Organization and Administration

The management of the Yerevan State Medical University is carried out by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia and the Charter of the University, on the basis of self-governance, in conjunction with the principles of sole management and collegiality.
The university's governing bodies are the Council, the Rector, the Scientific Council, and the Rectorate. The council is composed of 32 members and is formed of the University professors, students, representatives of the Armenian government, the Ministry of Education and Science. The primary objectives of the University Council are the selection of the university rector, the university's development as well as the major directions of international cooperation, with the rector's presentation. The Board also debates and approves the University budget.
Currently, YSMU has seven faculties: School of Medicine,School of Pediatrics, School of Dentistry, School of Pharmacology, School of Military Medicine, School of Public Health, School of Postgraduate and Continuing Education. The chair of each faculty is the dean; the faculty committees manage each of them. The dean reports to the vice-Rector, who in turn reports to the rector. The current rector is Armen Muradyan, and the Chair of the Board is Armen Ashotyan.

Academics

Faculties and admission

As of 2018, Yerevan State Medical University is home to the following 6 faculties:
The University accepts applicants who have secondary, secondary vocational education with Armenian and foreign citizenship. There is no age limitation. Applicants should sit for written entrance exams in physics, chemistry and biology. They have a right to choose 2 out the 3 stated subjects. The results of admission examinations are confirmed by the decision of the Admissions Committee.
Foreign students should give a qualification exam and submit the results with other required documents to the university.

Programs

The duration of the continuous and integrated educational program for bachelor's degree is six years in general medicine and military medical faculties and five years in the dental faculty. The duration of the Bachelor's Qualification Education Program is four years in the Faculty of Pharmacy.
Master's degree is offered in the following specializations:
The duration of the master's degree program in "Medical Work," "Medical Work in the Armed Forces" is for two years; in "Public Health and Public Health" is 1,5 years, and is one year in Pharmacy.
For further specialization, the student has the following options for Post-Graduate studies: internship, clinical residency and continuous vocational training. The duration of the internship is 11 months and is carried out in "General Practice Physician," "Stomatologist" and "Pharmacy" according to relevant programs. Graduates of Yerevan State Medical University are provided with an opportunity to skip internship and specialize in clinical residency programs.

Research

Foundation's faculty has 689 employees with a scientific degree, including 165 doctors of sciences, 524 candidates. As of December 2016, 28 post-graduate students and 96 applicants implement research activities in the fund.

Cooperation and International Relations

Yerevan State Medical University has a membership in many international organizations, such as:
It is also included into international educational and scientific program such as Tacis-Tempus and World Bank. Cooperation agreements have been signed and reviewed between YSMU and various well-known medical universities in the CIS, Europe, Central Asia and the US, including:
A significant number of students have completed short-term and long-term internships abroad, which considerably promote the education of leaders in this period of globalization and internationalization.

Libraries

YSMU University Library is one of the most extensive libraries in Armenia and comprises over 65,000 textbooks and professional literature. There is a collection of research and academic materials of the medical library. The textbooks and professional literature are replenished by works authored by the university faculty and manuals, which are obtained from different countries.
There is also an online library comprising study materials, tests, and questionnaire, which are available to both students and interested people.

Yerevan State Basic Medical College

The Yerevan State Basic Medical College is an intermediate technical college opened in 1996, operating under the administration of the Yerevan State Medical University. The college provides 2-year study programs in 5 fields:

Students

More than 7000 future doctors currently study in the University. 24% of these students are international students from 26 countries all over the world. These countries include the United States, Russia, Germany, India, Israel, Canada, Iran, Iraq, Georgia, Great Britain, Greece, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Syria, Singapore, Australia, Poland, Sweden, China, France, Jordan, Cyprus, Lebanon and Sri Lanka.
Tuition fees are different for different degrees. University students have a unique opportunity to receive different nominal scholarships. Some of the famous nominal scholarships are named after Mkhitar Herati, Ruben Sevak, Albert Mayrapetyan. There are also scholarships given by the Armenian Youth Foundation, Turpanjian Family, Aegean Family, and the Armenian Community for Armenian Students Foundation.

Faculty and staff

The university has more than 1100 professors. They are responsible for lecturing classes, advising both graduate and undergraduate students, as well as conducting original research. 171 of the lecturers are doctors of sciences, 504 - science candidates. Seven academicians of the RA NAS perform scientific and pedagogical work at the University. This powerful scientific potential has a serious role in the development of medicine and related sciences in Armenia.

Honorary Doctors of Yerevan State Medical University

YSMU's «University Honorary Doctor Award» was conferred to very remarkable and distinguished people.
Many ASSR Health ministers were graduates of YSMU: Simeon Lazarev, Babken Astvatsatryan, Stepan Chshmarityan, Armenak Khrimlyan, Zakhari Narimanov, Emil Gabrielyan, Artashes Aznauryan. The Ministry of Healthcare of RA has had ten ministers who graduated YSMU: Mihran Nazaretyan ; Ara Babloyan ; Gagik Stamboltsyan, Hayk Nikogosyan ; Ararat Mkrtchyan; Norayr Davidyan ; Harutyun Kushkyan ; Derenik Dumanyan ; Armen Muradyan, Levon Altunyan. Former RA Minister of Education and Science Armen Ashotyan is also YSMU alumni. Current RA Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Hrachya Rostomyan has been a student of YSMU from 1998 to 2006.