Current Status of the Medical Education Program
To meet the healthcare needs of the patient population of the San Joaquin Valley, it is UC Merced’s long-term goal to develop an independent medical school. However, launching a medical school requires substantial time, financial support, faculty development, and a strong foundation of clinical partnerships for student rotations. Starting off as a regional campus of UCSF School of Medicine (SOM) allows UC Merced to immediately start training the future physicians that the San Joaquin Valley needs. In the meantime, as a regional campus of UCSF SOM, UC Merced will gain expertise in medical education, begin hiring expert medical education faculty, build clinical partnerships, and start laying the foundation to someday increase the class size and become an independent medical school.
The Future of Medical Education at UC Merced
The SJV PRIME+ BS/MD pathway will have approximately 12-15 new students per year, with the inaugural class of students on track to begin their medical education training through UCSF’s SOM at UC Merced in 2027. Students will study with outstanding medical education faculty, be mentored by compassionate physician role models, and study topics such as anatomy and physiology in our new medical education building. Our first class of SJV PRIME+ doctors will graduate in 2031! We aspire that our students and graduates will become skillful, humane, dedicated physicians to improve the health of patients, families, and communities in the San Joaquin Valley.
