The West China School of Medicine was originally founded as a private medical school, known as West China Union College (). It became a public university after the foundation of the PRC, being renamed to Sichuan Medical College in 1953 and West China University of Medical Science (WCUMS) in 1985. It was established in 1910 by five Christian missionary groups from the U.S., UK and Canada, with offered courses in stomatology, biomedicine, basic medicine and clinical medicine. By the 1990s, It had become one of the most reputable Chinese medical institutions at home and abroad.