Samuel Merritt College

Infobox_University
name = Samuel Merritt College
established =1909
type =Private
city =Oakland
state =California
country = United States
website = [http://www.samuelmerritt.edu www.samuelmerritt.edu]

Samuel Merritt College, founded in 1909 as a hospital school of nursing, is a fully accredited health sciences institution located in Oakland, California. Samuel Merritt offers undergraduate degrees in nursing and graduate degrees in nursing, physical therapy, physician assistant, and occupational therapy. The baccalaureate nursing program is offered cooperatively with Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga. Samuel Merritt College is an affiliate of the Sutter Health Network and Alta Bates Summit Medical Center.

Samuel Merritt is the only provider of physical and occupational therapists and physician assistants and is the largest source of nurses in the greater East Bay. Because of Samuel Merritt's reputation for delivering quality education, its graduates are intensely recruited, and have one of the highest rates of employment within one year of graduation. Their passing scores on licensure and certification exams exceed national rates.

History

Samuel Merritt College was founded in 1909 through the legacy of Dr. Samuel Merritt. Drawn by the excitement of California in the 1850s, Dr. Merritt left his Maine home to seek his fortune in the west. He settled in Oakland, and as a dedicated physician, architect, ship builder, and civic planner his influence was etched on the history of the city. Dr. Merritt left plans for a hospital to be built in his name after his death. His dream was realized in 1909 when Samuel Merritt College and Samuel Merritt Hospital opened their doors.

In recent years, Samuel Merritt has increased its enrollment from 146 to over 700 graduate and undergraduate students and added new programs in the health sciences. Samuel Merritt's students represent all ages, ethnicities, and geographical locations.

The Intercollegiate Nursing Program with Saint Mary's was established in 1981. [ [http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/about/mission_history/history_college/ Saint Mary's College of California, History of the College] , accessed May 24, 2007] Samuel Merritt College established the entry-level Master of Physical Therapy in 1990, the Master of Occupational Therapy in 1992. The College also offers a Master of Science in Nursing three advanced nursing specialties: Case Management, Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), and Nurse Anesthesia (CRNA). In 2005, the department of Physical Therapy graduated its first Doctor of Physical Therapy class.

With initiation of the Master Physician Assistant program in 1999, the first entry-level graduate program for physician assistants in California, and the establishment of the California School of Podiatric Medicine at in 2002, Samuel Merritt College has fostered a growing reputation for undergraduate and graduate education in the health sciences.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.samuelmerritt.edu Samuel Merritt College]