Universidad
de Ciencias Médicas (Medical Sciences University) is a private medical school in Costa Rica. It was originally founded in 1976 by surgeon and investigator Dr.
Andrés Vesalio Guzmán Calleja. UCIMED and the University of Costa Rica (UCR) are the only
two medical schools with national accreditation. The school has a
6-year program after which the student earns a license and doctorate in Medicine & Surgery, Costa Rica's equivalent of an M.D. Rotations in class A hospitals guarantees an excellent educational opportunity. Additionally, UCIMED is known to be the nation's medical school which ships more students to the exterior, particularly the
United States. Recently UCIMED successfully signed an agreement with Kaplan, Inc. to prepare medical students for the USMLE and the Costa Rican state exam. The school also teaches Pharmacology, Nutrition and Physical
Therapy.