UC Postbaccalaureate Consortium receives renewed funding

The UC Postbaccalaureate Consortium has received renewed funding to continue assisting students from educationally and economically disadvantaged backgrounds in gaining admission to medical school.

The three-year award of $500,000 comes from The California Wellness Foundation. It will help underrepresented students interested in the medical field prepare for the Medical College Admissions test (MCAT) and provide enrollment in upper division science courses during the academic year either at a UC campus or UC Extension. Students will also receive guidance throughout the medical school application process.

“We are so proud of our entire UC Postbaccalaureate Consortium team, who put every effort into writing this grant and leading the communication with the funders,” said Charlene K. Green, director of admissions for UC Davis School of Medicine and grant co-Principal Investigator. “This funding renewal recognizes the value of this program and the importance of supporting underrepresented students, who are committed to practicing in underserved communities of California.”

Formed as a partnership of postbaccalaureate premedical programs at the Schools of Medicine at UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Los Angeles, and UC San Francisco, the UC Postbaccalaureate Consortium’s mission is to increase the number of physicians practicing in underserved regions of California. They do this by assisting capable and dedicated students from disadvantaged backgrounds in gaining admission to medical school.

“The students in our programs have faced many barriers in their pursuit of medicine. Too often this notion of a strong applicant to medical school is tied with privileged access to resources, which has historically excluded many from this path,” said Cassidy Kays, coordinator for the UC Postbaccalaureate Consortium. “Our group has worked collectively to shift this narrative by providing access to resources for students and reminding them that they do belong here. Most importantly, that our state's communities need future doctors just like them here."

Since its inception in 1991, the UC Postbaccalaureate Consortium has worked with over 1,400 students. Across all programs, over 90% of participating students have successfully been offered admission to medical schools across the U.S. within the past decade.

For specific questions about the UC Postbaccalaureate Consortium, contact the coordinator at pbcentraladmin@ucdavis.edu