Is Southern Medical University 985 or 2 1 1? Not 985 University, not 2 1 1 University. According to official website of Southern Medical University, school profile: Southern Medical University, formerly known as the First Military Medical University of the People's Liberation Army, was founded in 195 1, 1979 and was identified as a national key university. In August 2004, it was transferred to Guangdong Province as a whole and renamed Southern Medical University. It is the first batch of five provincial-level high-level universities in China and the only medical college in the first batch of ministries and commissions.