Creation of the Medical Institution of Geneva College

Unconvinced by Dr. Hudson’s argument, the majority of the trustees voted to establish the Medical Institution of Geneva College in 1834. It was founded as a department within Geneva College whose faculty served “at the pleasure of the trustees” but could only be appointed or removed by a majority vote of the current faculty. On March 27, 1835, the New York State government officially recognized the institution and passed an act of legislation that gave Geneva College the legal authority to grant medical diplomas. 

According to the medical department's first circular published in 1835, students paid no more than $100 to attend a full course of lectures, and room and board could be obtained for between $1.50 and $2.00 a week. To meet graduation requirements students had to complete two full courses of lectures, study under a “respectable practitioner of medicine”, acquire an adequate knowledge of the Latin language and of natural philosophy, and complete a thesis that was evaluated by the Dean of the Medical Faculty (who at the time was Dr. Edward Cutbush). Finally, students had to pay a one-time graduation fee of $20 that went towards helping fund the expansion of the medical library for future students.