UCSF Undergraduate Programs: Opportunities and Pathways

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a renowned public land-grant research university dedicated entirely to health science and life science. While UCSF is primarily a graduate-level institution, it offers various programs and opportunities for undergraduate students to engage with its world-class research and educational environment. This article explores these pathways, including summer research programs and courses, providing valuable information for undergraduates interested in UCSF.

UCSF: A Focus on Graduate Studies

It's important to note that UCSF does not offer traditional undergraduate degree programs like a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science. As stated by the user "UCSF is unique compared to many universities in that it is a graduate-level institution focused on health sciences; it does not offer undergraduate programs." The University of California, San Francisco, is renowned for its programs in fields such as medicine, nursing, dentistry, and pharmacy. Therefore, if you're interested in pursuing an undergraduate degree, you'll want to look into other University of California campuses, such as UC Berkeley or UCLA, which offer a broad range of undergraduate programs.

However, UCSF provides alternative avenues for undergraduates to gain experience and exposure to the health sciences.

Summer Student Research Program

One significant opportunity for undergraduates is the Summer Student Research Program. For over 40 years, the Summer Student Research Program has placed talented high school and college students from diverse backgrounds into local clinics and basic science labs to participate in active biomedical research projects. Formerly affiliated with CHORI, now fully integrated with the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, this summer program provides a one-on-one mentorship with health care providers and researchers, along with access to unique workshops, seminars, trainings, simulations, and networking opportunities. The program culminates in a formal research symposium in which each student presents their project findings to the scientific community, many of which continue on as future grants, publications, and advances in healthcare. The overall goal of the program is to stimulate interest in health sciences for under-represented students, arming them with professional skills and confidence, thereby improving their likelihood of success in STEM careers.

Eligibility Criteria

To be considered for admittance into the program, prospective students must meet specific criteria. High school students in their junior or senior year, with at least one completed year in math and biology OR Undergraduate students currently enrolled in an undergraduate program.Students must be 16 years of age or older by June 1st of year of programStudents with background considered under-represented in the sciences (individuals from racial/ethnic groups typically underrepresented in the sciences, individuals with disabilities, first-generation college students, individuals who reside with families who are low income or otherwise considered disadvantaged. Detailed descriptions are present in the Frequently Asked Questions page).

Read also: UCF Application Strategies

Program Structure and Expectations

The program lasts 9 weeks, and typically spans early June to early August. These projects will vary greatly based on the mentor assigned to you.Participate in a research program based on a structured curriculum for 9 weeks.Attend weekly seminars and meetings presented by MD's and PhD's from UCSF or other regional healthcare systems with other CHORI summer students.A weekly intra-program journal club, wherein students read and subsequently discuss a scientific paper.Fun social activities curated by program leadership.Present research findings at a one-day Research Symposium on the last day of the program (typically the 1st Friday in August).

Programmatic Expectations:Attendance at all weekly seminars and meetings.Active, engaged learning and participation with activities provided by your individual mentor.A personal statement due early in the summer.A research abstract also due early in the summer.A full, detailed research proposal due later in the summer.A final, polished research presentation - either verbal, or in poster format - due at the end of the summer.

Stipends and Location

All admitted, eligible students will receive a stipend. Summer stipends range from $3000-$4300, varying by student status and granting agency. All programming will be in-person for the entire duration of the summer.

Designing Clinical Research Course

UCSF offers a five-week program focused on lectures, approaches to reviewing scientific literature, and sessions for students to connect with one another. Students are enrolled in an online version of the Designing Clinical Research course at UCSF for the 5 weeks. The purpose of the course is to train students to evaluate the scientific literature and to design clinical and translational research studies. The program runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays from July 14 through August 15.

Course Objectives

Designing Clinical Research (Epidemiology 150.03) is focused on teaching students to understand how to design a feasible, high-quality clinical research study. The course takes place in July and August and includes eight lectures (75 minutes each) and eight small-group sessions (90 minutes each). Critical appraisal of the medical literature. Experiential training in research design.

Mentoring and Collaboration

Each student will be paired with a UCSF trainee in the DCR course. UCSF trainees are required to come to the course with one or more research questions, formatted as "Does a characteristic, exposure or risk factor increase risk for or cause a disease or health condition in a certain group of people?" UCSF trainees are required to complete a protocol for a research study as the product of the course. Collaborate with the UCSF trainee to search the medical literature and contact faculty and other experts to obtain information needed to complete the protocol.

Eligibility and Application

Currently enrolled second (sophomore) through fourth-year (senior) pre-health disciplines and students from other disciplines at accredited two- and four-year universities are welcome to apply. Students from current California State University (for example SFSU, CSU East Bay, SJSU) campuses as well as accredited city/community/junior colleges are especially encouraged to apply. Students should be sophomore through seniors in the fall quarter/semester immediately preceding the application period. A GPA of 3.5 or higher with strong writing and quantitative (math) skills is preferred. All students may apply, but if the GPA is less than 3.5 a description about the applicant's strengths must be included in the Candidate Essay. Students must commit to attend all classes at UCSF in July and August, complete all reading and written assignments and participate in small groups. Vacation time or time off may not be taken throughout the run of the program.

Application Materials

Please collect the following documents in order before completing the online application and submit as a single PDF document. Only PDF versions will be accepted. (Please do not submit secured or password-protected PDFs. Transcripts from other institutions: Unofficial copies are preferred/encouraged. Applicant Essay: DO NOT EXCEED two pages or 600 words. Letter of Recommendation: Send the link to the Recommendation Form above once you submit your application. Please send them the blank form. Do not fill any part of it in for them. (This will cause duplicate submissions). The recommender has a deadline of Mar 11. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO SEND THE FORM TO YOUR RECOMMENDER WITH ENOUGH LEAD TIME TO MAKE THE MAR 11 DEADLINE. The letter must be from a faculty or staff member of a learning institution (high school counselor, college counselor or instructor, professor or assistant professor graduate student, etc.) familiar with your educational experience and potential. ONLY ONE LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION IS ALLOWED PER APPLICANT. Subsequent recommendations will not be taken into account.

Program Details

We will select around 20 undergraduate students for this summer program. These students will take part in a course offered to UCSF health professional students and residents. Students will also participate separately in two meetings with UCSF faculty to help them process the experience, monitor their progress and problem-solve issues or challenges that may arise.

Eligibility Clarifications

I am a student at an accredited two-year institution (such as junior, city or community college) or I am transferring to a four-year institution this fall. Am I eligible? Yes. Starting in 2024, sophomore students at an accredited two-year institution are eligible. I graduated from an accredited two- or four-year institution in a period prior to spring of the current year or I am currently in a post-baccalaureate program. Am I eligible? Only students currently enrolled in an accredited two- or four-year institution including those graduating in spring of the current year are eligible. I am not a US citizen or legal resident attending college in the United States, or I am a foreign student studying in another country. Am I eligible to apply? My current grade point average (GPA) is less than 3.5. Am I ineligible to apply? If your GPA is less than 3.5 and you feel you would be a strong candidate for this program, we encourage you to apply. In your Candidate Essay be sure to describe any obstacles or barriers you have encountered that should be taken into consideration. Will there be any stipend paid? We offer a $2000 stipend for each student. Can I take vacation or time off during the program? When will I know if I have been selected for the program? Will course credit be offered? How will I meet the UCSF trainee that I will be working with?

Location and Resources

The lectures and small-group sessions for the course will be held at UCSF at the Mission Bay campus in San Francisco. All other meetings will also be at either of these campuses. This is currently planned to be in-person but may be virtual depending on the situation with COVID-19 at that time. Please note that undergraduate students must complete all reading assignments. What are the course requirements for undergraduate students? Is housing provided? No, unfortunately, housing is not provided by the program. San Francisco is a very expensive city, and UCSF has very little of its own housing. In addition to this, UCSF runs year-round (July 1-June 30), meaning there are never any breaks in which UCSF housing has room for summer students the way many other schools do. We do set up a housing forum once the year’s class has been selected. If I have further questions, whom should I contact?

Other Opportunities

UCSF offers a multitude of programs, institutes, and research centers that will help you connect with the peers and mentors that will help you build your unique career path. Distinction in Yearlong Research is available to UCSF learners who pursue rigorous research or scholarship projects that span 12 contiguous months. Intramural and extramural grants are available to support living expenses and some include project, travel, education, and loan interest expenses. The UC Berkeley - UCSF Joint Medical Program (JMP) is a five-year graduate program. Students spend their pre-clerkship years at UC Berkeley, engaging in a leading-edge integrated Problem Based Learning medical curriculum, while simultaneously earning a Master's Degree in the Health and Medical Sciences at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health.

UCSF's Historical Context and Expansion

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF or UC San Francisco) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. UCSF was founded as Toland Medical College in 1864. In 1873, it became affiliated with the University of California as its medical department. In the same year, it incorporated the California College of Pharmacy and in 1881 it established a dentistry school. Its facilities were located in both Berkeley and San Francisco.[12] In 1964, the school gained full administrative independence as a campus of the UC system, headed by its own chancellor, and in 1970 it gained its current name.

Early Affiliations and Growth

The University of California was founded on March 23, 1868, with the enacting of its Organic Act. Section 8 of the Organic Act authorized the Board of Regents to affiliate the University of California with independent self-sustaining professional colleges.[18][19] In 1870, Toland Medical School began to negotiate an affiliation with the new public university.[20] Meanwhile, some faculty of Toland Medical School elected to reopen the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific, which would later become Stanford University School of Medicine.[21] Negotiations between Toland and UC were complicated by Toland's demand that the medical school continue to bear his name, an issue on which he finally conceded. In March 1873, the trustees of Toland Medical College transferred it to the Regents of the University of California, and it became The Medical Department of the University of California.[20] At the same time, the University of California also negotiated the incorporation of the California College of Pharmacy, the first pharmacy school in the West, established in 1872 by the California Pharmaceutical Society. The Pharmacy College was affiliated in June 1873, and together the Medical College and the Pharmacy College came to be known as the "Affiliated Colleges".

Relocation and Expansion

Initially, the three Affiliated Colleges were located at different sites around San Francisco, but near the end of the 19th Century interest in bringing them together grew. To make this possible, San Francisco Mayor Adolph Sutro donated 13 acres in Parnassus Heights at the base of Mount Parnassus (now known as Mount Sutro). The new site, overlooking Golden Gate Park, opened in the fall of 1898, with the construction of the new Affiliated Colleges buildings. Until 1906, the faculty of the medical school had provided care at the City-County Hospital (named San Francisco General Hospital from 1915 to 2016 and Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (SFGH) since 2016), but the medical school still did not have a teaching hospital of its own. Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, more than 40,000 people were relocated to a makeshift tent city in Golden Gate Park and were treated by the faculty of the Affiliated Colleges. This brought the Affiliated Colleges, which until then were located on the western outskirts of the city, in contact with significant population numbers.

Growth and Independence

The schools continued to grow in numbers and reputation in the following years. One notable event was the incorporation of the Hooper Foundation for Medical Research in 1914, a medical research institute second only to the Rockefeller Institute. This addition bolstered the prestige of the Parnassus site during the long-running dispute over whether the schools should consolidate at Parnassus or in Berkeley. The final decision came in 1949 when the Regents of the University of California designated the Parnassus campus as the UC Medical Center in San Francisco. During this era, a number of research institutes were established, and many new facilities were added, such as the 225-bed UC Hospital (1917), the Clinics Building (1934), the Langley Porter Clinic (1942) and the Herbert C. Moffitt Hospital (1955). In 1958, the addition of the Guy S. With medical education again concentrated in San Francisco, the UC Medical Center gained more independence and autonomy from the Berkeley campus during the 1950s and 1960s. The deans of the Affiliated Colleges reported directly to the UC president at Berkeley for several decades. In 1954, an administrative advisory committee chaired by the dean of the School of Medicine was created to run the campus. In 1958, the Medical Center got its own chief campus officer with the title of provost.

Modern UCSF

The 1970s saw a dramatic expansion of UCSF, both in its medical capacities and as a research institute. The increase in researchers, physicians and students brought a need for additional space. Due to the space constraints of the Parnassus Heights campus, UCSF started looking into expanding into other areas of the city. The university opened UCSF Laurel Heights in 1985 in the Laurel Heights neighborhood. On the western side of the city, the university acquired Mount Zion Hospital in 1990, which became the second major clinical site and since 1999 has hosted the first comprehensive cancer center in Northern California.

A pivotal moment in UCSF history was the deal between Vice Chancellor Bruce Spaulding and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown for the development of the Mission Bay campus in 1999. The Mission Bay neighborhood was occupied by old warehouses and rail yards. Initially, the campus consisted of 29.2 acres donated by the Catellus Development Corporation and 13.2 acres donated by the City and County of San Francisco. A later addition of a 14.5-acre parcel brought the total campus area to about 57 acres.[34] The Mission Bay expansion was overseen by a one-year chancellorship of surgeon Haile Debas. The Mission Bay Campus doubled the university's research and provided new opportunities for biomedical discovery and student training.

Campus Locations

UCSF has multiple campus locations, each with its own unique focus and facilities.

Parnassus Heights

The Parnassus Heights campus was the site of the Affiliated Colleges, which later evolved into the present-day institution. At the time, the site was in the remote and uninhabited western part of San Francisco, but its medical facilities became vital in saving lives when 40,000 people were hosted in the nearby Golden Gate Park after the 1906 earthquake.

Parnassus serves as the main campus of the university and includes administration offices, numerous research labs, the 682-patient bed UCSF Medical Center, the Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, the Mulberry Student Union, and the UCSF Library.[47] Additionally, the Schools of Dentistry, Pharmacy, Medicine, Nursing are also located at Parnassus. It also houses the UCSF neurology outpatient practice that serves as a referral center for most of northern California and Reno, Nevada. UCSF's Beckman Vision Center is also located at the Parnassus campus. It is a center for the diagnosis, treatment, and research of all areas of eye care, including vision correction surgery.

Mission Bay

UCSF's Mission Bay Campus, also located in San Francisco, is the largest ongoing biomedical construction project in the world.[48] The 43-acre (17 ha) Mission Bay campus, opened in 2003 with construction still ongoing, contains additional research space and facilities to foster biotechnology and life sciences companies. It will double the size of UCSF's research enterprise over the next 10 years. Also located on the Mission Bay campus, the Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Hall was designed by César Pelli and opened in February 2004. Byers Hall serves as the headquarters for the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), a cooperative effort between the UC campuses at San Francisco, Berkeley, and Santa Cruz. Additionally, the William J. Rutter Center, designed along with the adjacent 600-space parking structure by Ricardo Legorreta, opened in October 2005 and contains a fitness and recreation center, swimming pools, student services, and conference facilities. And a fourth research building, designed by Rafael Viñoly and named the Helen Diller Family Cancer Research Building, opened in June 2009.

Mount Zion

The Mount Zion Campus contains UCSF's NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, its Women's Health Center, th…

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