Student Affairs.

SMU contracts with multiple agencies that require a criminal background and drug screening for students to be able to participate in rotations at their sites. In response to these requirements, student criminal background check and drug screenings are conducted within a standardized process through the Office of Student Affairs. Criminal background checks are completed for all students as a condition of student admission. Drug screenings are conducted for students from the DPM, DPT, MPA and OT programs as required by their assigned rotation agency sites. Both a criminal background check and drug screen are required upon admission for students attending all nursing programs with the exception of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program. Information and compliance guidelines for the SMU student criminal background and drug screening process are outlined below. 

A criminal background check must be completed by each SMU student as a condition of admission. By contract, in order to participate in rotations, SMU’s clinical agency partners require that each student complete a criminal background check. Current statute of limitation: If students maintain continuous enrollment, they generally will not be required to repeat a background check screen unless a clinical site specifically requires an updated report.

A drug screen is required by many of SMU’s clinical agency partners. Students will be assigned a LabCorp location to complete their drug screen. It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED students go to their assigned location. However, students can complete their drug screen at any LabCorp or Quest Diagnostics location as long as the facility is contracted with CastleBranch. If going to an alternate location, students must call the drug test location in advance to ensure they are contracted with CastleBranch. 

All newly admitted nursing students are required to complete a drug screen. Only students participating in the DNP or CM post professional nursing programs may possibly be exempted from this additional requirement. All other students (DPM, DPT, MPA, OTD, MOT) must complete a drug screen upon advance notification from their program clinical faculty/staff or program chair. Currently, if students maintain continuous enrollment, they will not be asked to repeat a drug screen by the majority of clinical agencies. Some agencies, however, may establish different timeframes for their drug screening and it is possible that some students will be required to be screened more than one time.

Please use the below links to sign-up for your background check and/or drug screen.  You will need to sign-in to your existing Castlebranch account or create a new Castlebranch account to proceed:

Background Check and Drug Screen

Background Check Only

Drug Screen Only (10 Panel)

About one-third of students are worried about having sufficient quantities of affordable, nutritious food. Our food pantries allow students access to healthy and nourishing food that promotes health and well-being, so that all students can successfully focus on their studies.

Food Pantry Hours

• Fresno: Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Fresno Campus, 1791 E. Fir Ave.
• Oakland: Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Please complete the pantry intake form at least one hour before you plan to visit.
• Sacramento: By appointment; contact Robyn Heise.
• San Francisco Peninsula: Please fill out this form 24 hours prior to expected pickup. All orders are held in room 300 until the end of the week.

Samuel Merritt University has partnered with local Bay Area properties to offer students affordable housing close to the SMU Oakland campus. This collaboration provides our students with unique opportunities to enjoy premium accommodations at reduced rates, making their experience in the Bay Area even more rewarding. 

Arthaus Properties

To explore the available options and find your perfect fit, contact the ArtHaus Properties team at live@arthaus.mov. Make sure you mention you are a student to receive the SMU discounted rate.

Ninth | 685 9th St., Oakland, CA Distance to SMU Oakland Campus (525 12th Street):  •Car 3 min  •Bus -- min  •Bike 4 min  •Walk 10 min
Jack London | 233 Broadway, Oakland, CA Distance to SMU Oakland Campus (525 12th Street):  •Car 5 min  •Bus 9 min  •Bike 7 min  •Walk 14 min
Grand | 220 Grand Ave., Oakland, CA Distance to SMU Oakland Campus (525 12th Street):  •Car 7 min  •Bus 13 min  •Bike 10 min  •Walk 27 min
Hannah Park | 2850 Hannah St., Oakland, CA Distance to SMU Oakland Campus (525 12th Street):  •Car 10 min •Bus 21 min  •Bike 15 min  •Walk 42 min
Yerba Buena | 1035 Yerba Buena., Emeryville, CA Distance to SMU Oakland Campus (525 12th Street):  •Car 10 min  •Bus 19 min  •Bike 17 min  •Walk 46 min