Over a Decade of Commitment to Excellence
UDO&M is a higher education institution founded on January 12th 1966, by a select group of professors and management professionals led by Dr. José Rafael Abinader. At first, it was only located in the capital of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo. It now has modern campuses in seven other locations around the country: Santiago, Moca, La Romana, Puerto Plata, San José de Ocoa, Santo Domingo Este and Santo Domingo Oeste. UDO&M is the largest private University in the country with a student body of more than 50,000.
The institutional history of the University begins at a time when there was political turmoil and uncertainty in the Dominican Republic. The country was in urgent need of professionals who could use its newly introduced economic model especially in its new and growing private sector. The University began by offering academic programs and courses in Accounting, Administration, Economics, Marketing, Sales and Computer Science, at first as Associate Degrees, and later as Bachelor Degrees. The first class was composed of only 18 students, but the academic excellence demonstrated from the very beginning caused a rapid growth and institutional development.
In 2002, the University forged an alliance with Harvard Medical School through its international branch, Harvard Medical International (that later became Partners Harvard Medical International-PHMI). The idea was that both UDO&M and PHMI would work together to provide a platform with the facilities, curriculum, community projects and research never before seen in the Dominican Republic. From the very beginning, one of O&Med’s purposes has been to offer students the possibility of being part of an institution with academic excellence and great values and train the best prepared doctors that will ultimately contribute to alleviate health care issues in the country and the region.
The agreement between UDO&M and PHMI has been to meticulously evolve and assess all areas of the Medical School (O&Med) together including the academic, financial and structural components of the endeavor. The process of formulating an academic curriculum that would meet the medical education standards of a 21st century-globalized medicine, the training of the human resources necessary to develop such curriculum, and the modern facilities needed to implement it, took around ten years of relentless work, preparation and dedication of a specialized group of professionals from both UDO&M and PHMI. In 2013, O&Med opened its doors to its first class of medical students.
Today, UDO&M is a key institution in the field of Higher Education in our nation. It is executing its Strategic Plan with six main components and in the process of becoming an international center for higher education and research. Its favorable reception throughout the years reflects the University's high quality teaching, seriousness and unwavering commitment to higher education, in order to keep being “A great project for a great country”. Our Medical School, O&Med, is another proof of our commitment to aid in the positive development of the Dominican Republic.