St James's School of Medicine
- Rank:
- Address: St Vincent and the Grenadines
- Country: St Vincent & Grenadines
- International Office Contact name: Ryne Haberkorn Supervisor Admissions Joe Chavez Director of Enrolment and Registrar Services
- International Office Contact Email: rhaberkorn@mail.sjsm.org (all enquiries) jchavez@mail.sjsm.org
- International Office Contact Telephone: +18473759133 (Joe Chavez)
- Accommodation Office Contact Email:
- Accommodation Office Contact Phone:
- Tuition Fee Range: $123,250 for 5 years
- Scholarships:
There are scholarships available - one of them up to 100%. Please refer to the School's website Scholarships at SJMS
- Additional Info:
CONTRACT IS GLOBAL
Please go through SJMS website for detailed information on the School and course they offer. It is a detailed website with a lot of information https://www.sjsm.org/
WEBINAR TRAINING FOR C2C COUNSELLORS
Ryne Haberkorn, Supervisor of Admissions, held a webinar for C2C Counsellors on 2nd April. Please click the link below if you would like to watch a recording
Google Drive with brochures and additional information can be found here:
Google Drive with brochures and additional information
Testimonials
General vidoes
Campus and Island
St. Vincent Island Walkthrough
Podcast Playlist
SJSM Med School Minutes Podcast
Background
Undergraduate medical degrees in USA are called MD (medical doctorate). In the UK this is a postgraduate medical qualification, the medical degree in the UK is called MBChB (this is latin and stands for Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery).
St James School of Medicine (SJMS) follows the US medical system and awards students with an MD.
Students are taught "Pre Med" and "Basic Sciences" in the Caribbean Islands of Anguila and St Vincent. Note that from September 2025 the course will only be taught on St Vincent in their new purpose built building. Students then apply to do their clinical studies in the USA at a variety of hospitals. SJMS has good links with a wide variety of hospitals across the USA and will assist students with their applications.
To be registered as a doctor in the US you have to pass the "United States Medical Licensing Examinations". (USMLE). There are 3 sets of exams with USMLE that students take at different stages during their degree course.
For further information on USMLE please click here and watch the short video which explains everything https://www.usmle.org
If students wants to practice medicine in other countries they would have to take the necessary medical licensing examinations for that country such as PLAB for the UK or Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examinations (MCCQE)
SJMS MEDICAL DEGREE COURSE STRUCTURE
Premedical Sciences - 4 semesters (16 months)
Intake September only. Applications can be made 1.5 years in advance.
Pre Med takes 4 semesters or 16 months to complete. There are no vacations during this period. These are foundation science courses to prepare students for the Basic Sciences. 1-2 online courses per semester and all other courses are in-person. Each semester will also include a course in environmental science.
At the end of the Pre Med portion of the program, students take a cumulative exam to continue in the MD track. If students do not meet the requisite score, they can continue in the Basic Sciences track but not the MD track. Students will be given another opportunity to enter the MD track at the end of the 4th semester of Basic Sciences (MD4)
Basic Sciences - 5 semesters (20 months)
Basic Sciences is covered in 5 semesters taking 20 months. There are 4-5 courses per semester.
Students who are enrolled in the 5-year integrated MD program will receive a Bachelors degree in Health Sciences with a distinction in Environmental Sciences. The BSc degree is awarded after 32 months (4 semesters/16 months premed + 4 semesters/16 months of Basic Sciences).
In 5th semester (aka Basic Science Review Course (BSRC)), you review all topics from previous semester and prepare for the stage 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE)
Clinical Sciences (Rotations) - 20 months (80 weeks)
If you pass USMLE Step 1, you move on to core rotations which take 48 weeks (year 3) and 32 weeks of elective rotations. .
A total of 6 mandatory core rotations must be done at a core affiliate hospital (Jackson Park, Insight Hospital & Medical Center, South Texas Health Systems, Appalachian Regional). Each core rotation will have a NBME core subject exam as part of the grade.
Towards the end of the core rotations students register for and take the NBME Clinical Comp. All students must pass this aond only once passed can they be certified for USMLE Stage 2 exam which is on Clinical Knowledge.
The Elective Rotations last 32 weeks with 4 weeks per elective. Elective rotations can be anything and taken basically anywhere (although SJSM need to approve any new sites). Electives should be focused towards what type of specialty/residency the student wants to go to.
Residency
After finishing Medical School with the MD the new doctor starts "residency" if they want to remain in the USA medical system.
They need to apply for residency during their 4th year of training (core rotations period) via the National Residency Match Program (NRMP) if they are staying in the USA or the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) if they want to train in Canada.
Students are interviewed for residency programs. Residency programs are based on specialties—most common are Family Medicine and Internal Medicine, but can range widely.
Students submit and rank where they want to do their residency after their interviews. (i.e. where they want to go and/or which interviews went best). NRMP Match day is the 3rd Friday of every March. If the hospital you want rank's you and you ranked them, you match! Residency starts in the June following Match Day in March.
If students don’t match, they have to wait until the following year and go through the residency application process again.
TUITION FEES & LIVING COSTS
See attached brochure on total fees for the 5 year course include Pre Med Sciences. It is approximately $143,000. Students should budget for $1500 per month for living costs.
HOW TO APPLY
Please go to the document download section below and download a copy of the application form. This form needs to be completed along with the following documents:
1. Copy of all education certificates
2. Copy of all education marksheets
3. A personal statement/essay (see document section for guidelines)
4. Copy of passport information page
5. Copy of any English language qualification if available (see below)
6. CV with no gaps. All dates marked with month and year
The application form and above documents should be emailed to rhaberkorn@mail.sjsm.org
APPLICATION FEE
There is a section in the application form asking for credit card details. This might be for an application fee. I am waiting for clarification on this.
APPLICATION PROCESS
If the application is of sufficient merit the student will be asked to complete a recorded interview through an interview with "My Interview" - My Interview. This is pre recorded and students will have 10 questions and 4 minutes to answer the questions.
It is important that the student prepares well for this interview as they need to see that the student is committed to studying medicine.
APPLICATION DEADLINES
Admission is still open for September 24 for Pre-Med
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Pre Med - Academic
SJSM has not given a definitive guide to entry requirements. They don't just look at academic grades when deciding whether to offer admission. However students need to have good academic grades if they are going to cope with the academic demands of a medical degree. They must also have studied sciences to High School Diploma level ie the final year of their schooling.
As a very rough guide I suggest for the 12th standard the student should have scored above 70% in science subjects and/or maths.
A level equivalent I would suggest a minimum of BBB in science subjects
You as Counsellors know what are good grades in your own country so use this as a guide.
Basic Sciences - Academic
A bachelors degree in a biological science based with a good grade. If the student does not have a science based degree but has sciences at high school they can be consider for Pre-Med entry.
Probably best to make an enquiry first with SJSM before submitting an application.
English language
There is no requirement for a SELT (secure english language test). However very good English is mandatory as there is no doubt they will struggle on the course if their English is not of a very high level.
I would suggest you think of an IELTS equivalent of 7.5 which is what most UK medical schools would look for.
VISA
St Vincent
No prior visa is required for entry to St Vincent. The student will be given admission letters and guidance from SJMS on what documents to take with them when they travel to St Vincent. Importantly they MUST HAVE A RETURN AIRLINE TICKET WITH THE RETURN WITHIN 90 DAYS.
Once they are on the island the school will submit their documents to the local government and a visa will be granted that allows them to study at the school. (Personal note - this is quite common in the Caribbean as the same happens in the Cayman Islands - you arrive as a tourist and then change status on island)
USA Student visa
A US visa will be required for entering the USA for clinical training. Students must be made aware that there is NO GUARANTEE that a USA visa will be granted to allow them to do rotations in the USA. A waiver document will be sent to them making this clear before they join. However on the postive side SJSM has never had a visa refusal from the USA for its students. Students who do get refused could look to Canada for rotation training.
ACCOMMODATION AND LIVING COSTS
Students are advised to arrive 1 - 2 weeks before the start of their course to look for accommodaiton. SJMS has a list of properties available for students to rent. Students will need to budget $400 - $800 per month for accommodation. A similar amount for food. As a guide students should think about $1000-$1500 per month for food and accommoddation.
HEALTH INSURANCE
SJSM will send students details of 3 different insurance companies that they shoudl take out health insurance with. As a guide it will cost $300 - $500 per year.
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Please be aware that SJSM were fined $1.2million last year by the Federal Trade Commission in the USA for not keeping their website up to date with latest results of their students. This task was handled by an external company and was not a deliberate attempt by SJSM to provide misleading information.
SJSM is a listed in the world directory of medical schools and is an accredited medical school recognised in the USA.
INDIAN MEDICAL COUNCIL
As per the IMC (Indian Medical Council) Act, 1956, all students who acquire a medical qualification from countries outside India are required to clear the FMGE (Foreign Medical Graduate Examination) in order to practice in India. The Exam is conducted by the National Board for Examination (NBE) twice (i.e. in June and December) every year. More information on this essential step for medical Indian graduates returning back to India can be found here.
- Commission(%): US$4000
- Commission(Additional Information):
Commission paid in 2 instalments:
1. $2500 on enrolement
2. $1500 when they enter MD1 after 16 months of Pre-Med studies are completed.