Founded in 1810, the Yale School of Medicine is a world-renowned center for biomedical research, education and advanced health care.Among its divisions are one of the nation's oldest schools of public health and the internationally recognized Child Study Center, founded in 1911. Its Yale Cancer Center is one of 41 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute, and the school was one of the first 12 institutions to launch the Clinical and Translational Science Awards program in 2006. Its 33 academic departments include 10 in the basic sciences, 18 in clinical fields, and 5 in public health.Affiliated institutions include the 1,541-bed Yale-New Haven Hospital—flagship of the Yale New Haven Health System and one of the largest hospitals in the United States since acquisition of the Saint Raphael campus—and the Connecticut Mental Health Center, Pierce Laboratory, and VA Connecticut Healthcare System in nearby West Haven.The School of Medicine consistently ranks among the handful of leading recipients of research funding from the National Institutes of Health and other organizations supporting the biomedical sciences, and belongs to medical organizations including the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC).The school's unique curriculum, known as the Yale system of medical education, promotes teaching in small seminar, conference and tutorial settings, and requires student self-evaluation, independent thinking and investigation.Since 1839, Yale has required that each student complete a thesis based on original research prior to graduation. Graduates of the school have gone on to significant leadership positions in virtually every medical field, as well as many non-medical areas.