The Shantou University Medical College (SUMC) passed the preliminary examination in the appraisal of Project 211 in December 1996, and has joined the ranks of the key state projects. In June 1998, the Academic Degrees Committee under the State Council authorized the disciplines of Pathology and Pathophysiology to award doctorate degrees, and the Ministry of Education approved specially appointed professor positions for the two disciplines in 1999. In March 2001, SUMC established the post-doctoral research mobile station in basic medicine. In February 2002, Pathology and Pathophysiology were appraised as key programs at the national level. As a subsidiary of China's Preventive Medical Science Institute, SUMC offers 7-year training programs for clinical medicine, which became a highly recognized specialty at the Guangdong provincial level. In 2003, SUMC passed the integrated examination of Project 211. The school has made rapid progress on all fronts and now has five affiliated hospitals, namely The First Affiliated Hospital, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Affiliated Tumor Hospital, Mental Health Center, and The Joint Shantou International Eye Center, a collaboration between Shantou University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The school has about 2,500 faculty and staff members; the affiliated hospitals have about 1,800 sick beds, and the number of students now total approximately 2,000. SUMC also has two associated hospitals. With 1,200 beds, Yuebei People’s Hospital in Shaoguan became one of the associated hospitals of SUMC in 2004. In 2006, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital also became another associated hospital of SUMC, named the Associated Southern China Hospital of Shantou University Medical College. The hospital is one of the largest hospitals in southern China and has 2,000 beds. It was also named by Hong Kong citizens as the most reliable hospital in mainland China.

SUMC is consistently among the first choice for top students in Guangdong Province. Since 1998, the marks for the enrollment of SUMC have exceeded the requirements of major Chinese universities, and only students whose first choice of enrollment is the Medical College are granted acceptance. SUMC now offers a 7-year program in Clinical Medicine, and Clinical Medicine at the undergraduate level, including the specialties of Medical Imaging Specialization and Mental Health Specialization.The students have achieved success at various types of national and provincial competitions. Every year, some outstanding students in their junior years are selected to obtain valuable work experience in either Hong Kong or Japan, while other top students are recommended for graduate programs in Australia. The average pass-rate of CET 4 (the College English Test) has surpassed the average rate of the key universities in China for six consecutive years. SUMC is the first to pursue a "systems integrated" teaching method, creating a computerized multi-media platform for learning and adopting English as the medium of instruction. In terms of scientific research, SUMC has continued to make exciting breakthroughs every year, and some important scientific research papers have been published in well-known academic journals such as Nature and The Lancet.