About CHSU

About California Health Sciences University

California Health Sciences University (CHSU) is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission. Founded in 2012 by the Assemi family, CHSU offers a local option for medical school and seeks to help remedy the shortage of health care providers in the Central Valley. CHSU is currently accepting applications for its Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) program and Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences (MSBS) program.

CHSU students and faculty enjoy an affordable cost of living and plentiful health care career opportunities in the Central Valley. CHSU makes student achievement the highest priority through multiple teaching modalities, innovative curricula, and support services for academics, wellness, leadership, and careers.

Florence T. Dunn serves as the University’s founding President. Under her leadership the University has earned tremendous community support and collaborates with educational and healthcare leaders throughout the region and state.

“We are proud to collaborate with Fresno State, Fresno Pacific University, Clovis Community College and other universities in Central California for interdisciplinary research and education. CHSU has also partnered with local physicians, pharmacists, and institutions throughout the Central Valley – Community Medical Centers, Kaiser Permanente, Valley Children’s Hospital, Adventist Health system, United Health Centers, and Camarena Health to name a few – to provide students with diverse clinical education and experiences,” President Dunn says.

The CHSU Campus

The California Health Sciences University campus is in beautiful Clovis, California. Administrative offices and the Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences program are at 120 N. Clovis Avenue. The College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Simulation Center are at 2500 Alluvial Avenue.

With gorgeous views of the Sierra Nevada mountains, the three-story College of Osteopathic Medicine building opened in 2020 and incorporates innovative technology throughout. The facility features large classrooms, an Osteopathic Skills lab, a library, plentiful private and collaborative study spaces, a spacious student lounge with Teaching Kitchen, and a Simulation Center.

The Simulation Center includes an inpatient area that resembles a hospital environment and an outpatient area that is like a clinic or doctor’s office. The innovative Simulation Center was meticulously planned to maximize interactive learning. CHSU’s 110-acre campus site provides plenty of space for decades of expansion. The campus could ultimately approach 2,000 students and nearly 300 faculty and staff. Further development of the campus will occur in multiple phases, as new programs and colleges are added for postgraduate health education.

About the CHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine (CHSU-COM)

The CHSU Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program is accredited by the American Osteopathic Association Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA), the only accrediting agency for pre-doctoral osteopathic medical education recognized by the United States Department of Education.

The CHSU-COM welcomed its inaugural class of medical students in July 2020, and it celebrated 66 graduates in May 2024. The inaugural class of 2024 had a 100% residency match rate, with 34% matching in the Central Valley and 65% matching in primary care specialties. CHSU medical students represent our diverse region, with over 30% being from the Valley and over 80% from California. CHSU-COM’s approved class size is 150 students, enabling the college to have approximately 600 medical students enrolled at any time.

John Graneto, DO, MEd, serves as Dean of the CHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine and VP of Health Affairs. Prior to joining CHSU, Dr. Graneto served as Associate Dean and Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at the Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine. He received his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, and his Master of Education (Health) at the University of Cincinnati.

The CHSU-COM offers a four-year Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) program where students spend the first two years learning from a modified two-pass systems-based curricular model in an active learning environment to improve knowledge, retention, and performance. This model integrates realistic patient scenarios with scientific principles, problem solving skills, active learning, and clinical practice. Medical knowledge, osteopathic manipulative medicine, clinical skills, nutrition as medicine and patient-centered care are components of this unique curricular model.

In years three and four, COM students gain hands-on experience through their clinical clerkships based at regional hospitals, clinics, and health care facilities with qualified local health care providers in the community. Students rotate through 4- to 8-week clerkships in areas including: family medicine, internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, behavioral medicine, emergency medicine and more.

About the CHSU College of Biosciences and Health Professions (CBHP)

The Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences (MSBS) program graduated its inaugural cohort in May 2024 from the CHSU College of Biosciences and Health Professions. The MSBS program offers two tracks to help students strengthen their academic credentials and critical thinking skills before pursuing a healthcare profession career.

The 1-year, non-thesis track MSBS curriculum is 30 Credits and provides clinically relevant, biomedical science courses at the graduate level to help boost students’ academic credentials and increase the competitiveness of their application to medical or other healthcare professional schools. The 1-year non-thesis track offers evening and weekend academic schedule to offer flexibility for working students.

The 2-year, thesis track is 50 Credits. After completing the 1-year MSBS track (30 credits), the second-year thesis track includes 20 credits of training and experience in bench research. The thesis track can help students be competitive in education, research, pharmaceuticals and biotech industries, and government careers.

About the Former CHSU College of Pharmacy (COP)

The College of Pharmacy (COP) was the first school to open in 2014 based on the need for pharmacists in the Central Valley at that time. A total of 325 Doctor of Pharmacy degrees were awarded to CHSU graduates between 2018-2024. CHSU is proud that over 60% are practicing in the Central Valley based on board licensing information and the university continues to support its alumni.

CHSU’s 4-year Doctor of Pharmacy program had its preaccreditation status withdrawn in 2021 by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education after 3 of the 25 standards still needed to be met. The COP remained open with ACPE candidate status from 2021-2024. With candidate status, students in the program were able to graduate, apply for residencies, take their licensing exams, and become pharmacists. CHSU suspended plans to open a new, 3-year Doctor of Pharmacy program in 2022 based on the job outlook and decreasing pharmacy school applications nationally.

The COP teach out was complete and the program was closed in July 2024 after the final graduating class of 2024 completed it pharmacy education at CHSU.

Inquiries regarding the COP can be directed to Dr. Sree Pattipati or Dr. Allen Keshishian Namagerdi.