In 1855, Illinois physician Elias Samuel Cooper moved to San Francisco in the wake of the California Gold Rush.

In cooperation with the University of the Pacific (also known as California Wesleyan College), Cooper established the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific, the first medical school on the West Coast, in 1858, on Mission Street near 3rd Street in San Francisco.

A new hospital was added in 1989 with 20 new operating rooms, state of the art intensive care and inpatient units, and other technological additions.

In the early years of the 21st century, the School of Medicine underwent rapid construction to further expand teaching and clinical opportunities.

Stanford University partnered with Foothill College in 1971 to form the Primary Care Associate Program (PCAP) which has graduated more than 1,500 PAs.

Today, the Stanford School of Medicine offers a Master of Science in PA Studies program that seeks to train highly qualified clinical PAs who can practice in any area of medicine and also be leaders in community health, research, and medical education.

[12] Admission to the MD program at Stanford is highly competitive: in 2019, 6,894 people applied, 422 were interviewed, and 175 accepted for 90 spots.