The College began its 5-year Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) program in the academic year 2000-2001 (1420 -1421 H). Producing physicians with a strong foundation in basic and clinical sciences was, and remains, the aim of the College. Accordingly, the program curriculum continues to focus on instilling skills of lifelong and Self-Directed Learning (SDL) using specific tools such as medical informatics, Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM), clinical problem solving, and self-awareness.

The program has strong community-orientation that inspires students to use social empathy in patient care. It stresses the role of research and evidence in clinical practice, thus enabling students to acquire lifelong skills necessary for the caring and competent practice of medicine. Furthermore, the medical education program endeavors to:

• Meet the national needs for qualified Saudi physicians, and improve physician to patient ratio according to the strategic plan of Health Education of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

• Fulfill the current and future needs of specialties job market in the KSA.

• Reduce the country's dependence on expatriate physicians and achieve self-sufficiency in this sector.

• Build the concept of health promotion rather than a curative approach to health problems.

  The College pioneered the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and Community-Oriented Medical Education (COME) approach in the KSA by implementing an integrated curriculum with emphasis on research, and Evidence-Based Medicine. These innovative educational strategies utilize equally innovative assessment methods such as progress tests and garner a proactive approach towards promoting interdisciplinary health sciences research among the faculty, interns and students. Consequently, the College has earned the status of a leader in the medical education in the KSA, in a relatively short period.