SJTUSM was formally approved under the“211 Project” as a state key university for full development inNovember, 1997. In July, 2005, Shanghai Jiaotong University andShanghai Second Medical University merged to form the new ShanghaiJiaotong University,  jointly supported by Shanghai MunicipalGovernment and the Ministry of Education. In November, 2010, SJTUSMbecame one of the first ten universities jointly supported by theMinistry of Health and the Ministry of Education. The rich historicbackground of over one hundred years and heroic journey of morethan 50 years have eventually brought about a research-orientedmedical school with all-round development in medical education,clinical services, and scientific research, as well as other socialservices, a medical school with outstanding features and distinctadvantages, a strong faculty, and remarkable academic achievements.In the new round of evaluating disciplines in degree and graduateprograms organized by the Ministry of Education in 2009, clinicalmedicine of SJTUSM ranked first nationally, and the comprehensivestrength of various disciplines belonged to the first echelon ofthe nation's medical schools.

        Education is a matter of fundamentalimportance for generaltions to come, and good teachers constitutethe base of first-class education. SJTUSM has always attached greatimportance to the building of an excellent and well-qualifiedfaculty, and attracted talents of various kinds and createdconditions for them to stay on by such flexible arrangements asallowing experts and scholars to hold positions both in SJTUSM andother institutions, work in SJTUSM for a specified period of timeof a year, lead or conduct SJTUSM research projects through "remotecontrol", pursue targets of their own choice while maintaining aclose tie with SJTUSM, etc. In recent years, SJTUSM hascontinuously pushed forward the strategy of enchancing the strengthof the school through the building of a strong faculty, focused onthe national strategy of attracting genuine talents and improvingacademic environment, intensified the introduction of outstandingdomestic and overseas talents, and made further efforts to gatheroutstanding talents at different levels. At present, SJTUSM boastsa faculty composed of academicians, experts listed in "the TrainingProgram of A Thousand Prospective Leaders" established by theCentral Organization Department, chief scientists headingnational-level “973 Projects”, forum professors under “ChangjiangScholar Program" sponsored by the Ministry of Education, andwinners of grants from the National Outstanding YouthFoundation.

In the more than 50 years since itsfounding, SJTUSM has greatly expanded its scale, from the 2undergraduate programs and 3 3-year vocational programs in itsearly days to the current 8-year program of clinical medicine(courses taught in French), 8-year program of clinical medicine,and 7-year program of oral medicine, as well as 7 undergraduateprograms. At the same time, by following the basic principle ofputting students at the core of all our work, and constantlyrevising the teaching concepts and creating new teaching models,the quality of teaching has also improved greatly, producingfruitful achievements. Over the years, in the practice of medicaleducation, SJTUSM has formed its tradition and style characterizedby emphasizing the close combination of basic knowledge andclinical practice so as to achieve the goal of cultivating studentswith all-round development and creative ability. SJTUSM has underits administration 7 affiliated general hospitals, 5 affiliatedspecial hospitals, and 16 teaching centers for clinical practice,with the total number of officially approved beds reaching 13,249,constituting one of the richest resources for clinical trainingamong all medical  schools in the country.

        SJTUSM offers an excellent environmentfor academic development and enjoys superiority in many disciplinesand areas. Currently SJTUSM has 16 state key disciplines andpromotional disciplines, 3 state key laboratories and engineeringcenters, 6 key laboratories and engineering centers under theMinistry of Education, 4 key laboratories under the Ministry ofPublic Health, 3 WHO cooperative centers, and a number of keydisciplines under the “211 Project.” SJTUSM has produced remarkableresults in scientific research and has all along been a leader inthe number of research programs received, the amount of fundinggranted, and the number of key projects undertaken among medicalschools at home. In the period of the 11th Five-Year Plan alone,SJTUSM received 17 national awards, including State Second-classAwards of Natural Science, State Second-class Awards for Scienceand Technology Advancement, and State Second-class Awards forTechnological Inventions. As the greatest honor for SJTUSM, theformer President of SSMU and Academician Wang Zhen-yi won the StateSupreme Science and Technology Award for the year of 2010. SJTUSMhas been active in carrying out international academic exchanges.In recent years, guided by the strategy of building aninternationalized school, SJTUSM has accelerated the pace ofactively broadening exchange scope and expanding cooperativefields, showing ever greater influence internationally.

        SJTUSM has a beautifulcampus full of vigor and vitality, the newly-constructedwell-equipped teaching center and research building with as well asthe elegant French-style buildings of the former Aurora Universityinterspersing the luxuriant surroundings. A new 65.6-acre campus inMinhang District is also under planning. Following the finetradition of exploring medical sciences to the limits throughdiligence and dedication, SJTUSM will, as always, exert its utmostfor the development of the nation's medical education.