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For the similarly named community college in Oakland, which offers an AS in Nursing, see Merritt College.

Samuel Merritt University (SMU) is a private non-profit health sciences university that has served the community for over 114 years. Founded as a nursing school in 1909, SMU has since expanded into a health sciences university, including three colleges - College of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, and College of Podiatric Medicine and has grown to include programs in occupational and physical therapy, physician assistant, and podiatric medicine. SMU's main campus is located in Oakland, but it also has campus facilities in Sacramento, San Mateo and Fresno. The University is ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the best graduate programs in health sciences and was named Best in the U.S. by Intelligent.com.

History
Samuel Merritt University (then Samuel Merritt College) was founded in 1909 through the legacy of Dr. Samuel Merritt, and has grown from 146 nursing students to over 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students in a variety of health sciences disciplines.

In 1981, Samuel Merritt became a college and initiated a four-year baccalaureate nursing program in cooperation with Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga. Samuel Merritt College established the entry-level Master of Physical Therapy in 1990 and the Master of Occupational Therapy in 1992. Samuel Merritt also offers a Master of Science in Nursing in three advanced nursing specialties; Case Management (MSN-CM), Family Nurse Practitioner (MSN-FNP), and Nurse Anesthesia (CRNA). In 2005, the department of Physical Therapy graduated its first Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) class.

The University launched a Master Physician Assistant program in 1999, the first entry-way graduate program for physician assistants in California, and in 2002 the California College of Podiatric Medicine, now the College of Podiatric Medicine, merged with SMU.

In 2023, SMU added three new programs: Master of Social Work, Bachelors in Kinesiology, and a Master of Science in Nursing-Clinical Leadership Education.

Programs
SMU is a university dedicated to health sciences with 20 programs, including three at the undergraduate level in nursing and kinesiology. Podiatric medicine, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and advanced nursing specialities are all offered at the doctoral level while the physician assistant program is offered at the master's level. The university's average graduation rate is 95 percent, student scores on licensure pass rates are 90 percent or above the national average for first-time test takers in six programs, and almost all its graduates become gainfully employed by the healthcare industry shortly after graduation.

Accreditation
The university is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) and individual degree programs are accredited by their corresponding accreditation bodies.