Southern Illinois University School of Medicine was established in 1970 to assist the people of central and southern Illinois in meeting their health-care needs. SIU has focused on training caring physicians and is internationally recognized for its innovative teaching and testing techniques. Each of the four classes comprises 72 students. First-year students spend their year in Carbondale. Nearly 860 SIU graduates are now practicing in Illinois. SIU is a national leader in the percentage of graduates who enter primary care. SIU has approximately 325 resident physicians training in 17 medical specialty areas. It also awards masters and doctoral degrees in pharmacology, physiology, and biochemistry and molecular biology. Other degrees are a master’s of science in physician assistant studies, a combined MD-JD degree and a combined MD-MPH degree. The School also offers a Physician Assistant degree. SIU has more than 300 teaching physicians in family medicine, internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry and surgery. The School of Medicine, its outpatient clinics SIU HealthCare, and its teaching hospitals, Memorial Medical Center and St. John’s Hospital, make Springfield an expanding academic medical center with considerable clinical, educational and research expertise. It has 25 building locations.