College Campus

The Medical College Campus on the southern outskirts of Vellore city is a 200-acre wooded site at the foot of College Hill. Built in 1932, it remains, as originally envisaged, a residential community where students and staff can study and reside in serene and beautiful surroundings.

The central college chapel opens on to a sunken garden and connects with the Women’s Hostel and various classrooms through peaceful stone corridors. Interspersed among the tall trees and winding roads are other hostels, administrative, teaching and research facilities, staff residences, guest houses, playing fields and more.

With birdsong in the morning, the buzz of classes through the day, the sound of music and games, vespers on a Sunday evening and the silence of the night stars - the College Campus has been a cherished home to generations of students and faculty for over 80 years.

Life on Campus

The majority of students live in the hostels (MBBS and BSc Nursing programmes are fully residential; others allow day scholars). The Bagayam campus has the Women’s and Men’s Hostels for MBBS students, the Fitch Hostel for Allied Health women students, the Dorothy Joske Hostel for Allied Health men students and the Modale International Hostel for elective / visitor-observer students from overseas.

The founder, Dr. Ida Scudder, shared a large part of her life with her students, and this was one of the key factors in ensuring both their academic success, their spiritual growth and commitment to service. This gurukul type of education is followed even today, to the extent possible. A foster parenting system has been developed whereby every student is welcomed by one of the staff families as an adopted member. These relationships often outlive the student days.

The number of students at CMC Vellore is relatively small in comparison with other medical educational institutions. Here, student life is not all academics. Students are encouraged to manage all aspects of their respective hostels, under the guidance of a resident warden and a senior warden. This includes managing budgets for the mess and various activities and projects as well as organising events such as the annual hostel day entertainment and various competitions within each hostel.

They develop a variety of social, cultural and religious activities, and the history and traditions of the institution add to the richness of the experience. Students participate in the Sunday evening worship services in the college and hospital chapels, in class prayers and Bible studies.

Different batches of students are taken to outstation locations for weekend retreats by the Chaplaincy Department. Students put up plays, musicals and special events periodically, with the help of staff members. The staff also take the stage occasionally with a highly entertaining Staff Entertainment.

There are facilities for various games and athletics on the campuses, in addition to a gymnasium on College Campus. Apart from the medical libraries, the Chaplaincy Department maintains libraries on campus and anyone can borrow religious and general books and magazines.

Women’s Hostel

The Women’s Hostel, that was opened in 1932, is steeped in history and was one of the earliest buildings built in the College Campus.

Our Founder, Dr. Ida Scudder took personal interest in the planning and the design of the building, aiming to provide its residents a beautiful experience. Located in the verdant College Campus, the hostel has, not for anything, been christened ‘Paradise on earth’. Generations of young women have found their personal and collective voices within its hallowed space.

The hostel has been modified over the years to suit the needs of modernity; however, it still exudes a warm and friendly ambience. The Women’s Hostel is run by the Women’s Hostel Association. Facilities include a gymnasium - a gift from the alumni of the batch of 1985 - a lower and upper common room.

The men's hostel, built much later, in the year 1953, to accommodate male medical students, is run by the Men's Hostel Association. It is across the road from the Main Campus.

Extracurricular activities

The activities, organized by the Students’ Association with elected governing bodies, range from social service to sports and games to music, cultural events and religious activities. An intercollegiate festival called Pegasus is organized every year, in July, with participation by students from various colleges across the country.

A large playground for athletics, football, hockey and cricket is located at one end of the campus. There are two state-of-the-art outdoor basketball courts and basketball continues to be the one of the most popular games in the campus.

Volleyball courts, indoor shuttle courts and two tennis courts are also available. Annual sports and games are conducted by the college for students and staff in addition to an annual intercollegiate games festival and several friendly staff student matches.

The Republic Day Marathon has become a hugely popular event attended by participants from all sections of the Institution and well-wishers from outside. The proceeds from the marathon go towards a charitable cause identified for the year.