UCSF Fresno is accepting applications for the San Joaquin Valley Cohort of the California Medicine Scholars Program until Oct. 31. 

The program intends to diversify the medical field by providing a pathway for California community college students to attend medical school.

For the SJV Cohort, students must be studying at a community college in the Central Valley with the intent to transfer to Fresno State next fall.

Other requirements are a cumulative transfer GPA minimum of 3.30, 22 transferable units from certain lower division courses, an unofficial transcript, a letter of recommendation, and a personal statement.

According to the director of the program, Emy Lopez Phillips, they want to admit 50 applicants for this year’s cohort. There will be more cohorts in the coming years for those students who don’t currently meet the requirements.

They generally expect applicants to be in their first or second year of community college, but they’re also open for students at further stages of their community college career.

“We are open to students who maybe have been at the community college three or four years, and they have all these units, and they haven’t transferred yet because they maybe just didn’t know what they wanted to do,” Phillps said. “Whatever the situation might be, as long as they have the minimum eligibility units that we’re looking for in the application, they can apply.”

According to the program’s flyer, benefits of being part of the program include priority registration for fall 2023 at Fresno State, many opportunities for networking, and MCAT test preparation, among other things.

Once students get to Fresno State, they’d be part of the Health Career Opportunity Program (HCOP), which focuses on “giving these students experiences in the world of medicine,” Phillips said.

Students interested in the program can find the list of requirements and the application here.