$5M in State Funding to Support UC San Diego Bachelor of Science Program in South County

This proposed pilot program will allow qualified community college students at Southwestern College to transfer to the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at UC San Diego to complete a Bachelor of Science in Public Health degree. Transfer students would take their UC San Diego classes at Southwestern College, leveraging the resources of both the university and college and bringing the City of Chula Vista closer to realizing its goal of establishing baccalaureate degrees in this region. This degree program will be the fifth offered in Chula Vista following previous agreements with San Diego State University and CSU San Marcos.

"At UC San Diego, we're committed to serving the needs of California students," said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. "This funding approval enables us to take a significant leap forward in expanding educational opportunities, fostering innovation, and deepening our roots in the South Bay. By aligning our academic and research endeavors with regional needs, we're poised to make an even greater impact and solidify our role as a driving force for progress in California."

The program is in response to Assemblymember Alvarez’s budget request from last year (California Budget Act of 2024 -SB 108) which asked the University of California, California State University, and California Community Colleges to “create partnerships to expand higher education opportunities in areas of the state that have been historically underserved by higher education.”

The South Bay is home to almost 500,000 people as of 2022, but Southwestern College is the only California public institution of higher education in the area. In pursuit of academic accessibility, the collaborative University Now Initiative identified the academic programs needed to meet the workforce demand of the region. The new pilot program at UC San Diego was developed as part of this initiative.

“This $5 million investment, thanks to Assemblymember David Alvarez, is a game-changer for our students and our region,” said Dr. Mark Sanchez, Superintendent/President of Southwestern College. “Expanding UC San Diego’s public health degree at Southwestern College means our graduates can earn a world-class University of California degree without ever leaving South County, a community at the forefront of public health research. This partnership speaks volumes about the quality of education at Southwestern College and the strength of our university partnerships.”

UC San Diego will supplement Southwestern College’s lower division courses with upper-division public health coursework. Rather than commuting from South Bay to the UC San Diego campus in La Jolla, which can be difficult for many students in the region, all UC San Diego coursework will take place at the Southwestern College campus. Students will also receive a range of support services from UC San Diego, including academic advising, career counseling and health services, to ensure that learners have the resources they need to succeed.

"This investment from the State of California is supporting a partnership between UC San Diego and Southwestern College that exemplifies how community-rooted education can transform lives. By expanding access to public health education degrees in San Diego County, we are offering more than a degree — we are cultivating future public health professionals who reflect and uplift the communities they serve,” said Cheryl A.M. Anderson, Ph.D., M.P.H., dean of the UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science and inaugural Hood Family Endowed Dean’s Chair in Public Health.

Due to the state funding appropriated, students could enroll in the Bachelor of Science in Public Health degree program and UC San Diego faculty could begin teaching at Southwestern College as soon as fall 2026.