California Medicine Scholars Program

Building a Diverse Primary Care Physician Workforce

Established in 2022, the Region X California Medicine Scholars Program (CMSP) at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine is a pathway program for community college students to explore premedical opportunities that are not traditionally provided in community college.

As a scholar in the Region X CMSP, you will work with a supportive network of individuals – fellow community college students from San Diego and Imperial Valley counties, medical students, residents and faculty – with similar backgrounds and a shared passion for improving the health of our communities.

Throughout the program, medical students will guide you through activities focused on skills development (e.g., learning to suture or administer first-aid), mentorship and community building. You will also be provided resources to improve academic success and aid in transferring to a four-year institution.

“I am excited to be a student-leader for the California Medicine Scholars Program because I want to give back to other students like me. When I was in community college, I found a program for students from disadvantaged backgrounds who wanted to pursue STEM fields. The program helped me transfer to UC San Diego and led me to attend medical school here. It’s been really rewarding to see the excitement in our new scholars when they hear stories from physicians and medical students who share similar experiences and backgrounds.” – Kevin Gilbert, MD, former co-assistant program director