It was an affiliate of the Sutter Health Network and Alta Bates Summit Medical Center until it disaffiliated in January, 2022, becoming a wholly independent institution.

In recent years, Samuel Merritt has increased its enrollment from 146 to over 2,000 graduate and undergraduate students[4] and added new programs in the health sciences.

The Intercollegiate Nursing Program with Saint Mary's College of California was established in 1981.

The university started the Master Physician Assistant program in 1999, the first entry-level graduate program for physician assistants in California,[citation needed] and in 2002 established the California School of Podiatric Medicine.

SMU is a university dedicated to health sciences, including three at the undergraduate level in nursing and kinesiology.