New UC San Diego Bachelor of Science Program Proposed in South County
If funded by the State of California, a collaborative public health degree with Southwestern College would make higher education more accessible in the South Bay.
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On April 22, Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla testified before the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance regarding a proposed pilot program to allow qualified community college students at Southwestern College to transfer to the University of California 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 the city.
If the state appropriates funding in June, UC San Diego faculty could begin teaching at Southwestern College as soon as fall 2026.
“Serving California students is a top priority for UC San Diego,” said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “By aligning our teaching and research with the needs of our binational San Diego region, we’re expanding access to higher education, driving innovation and cementing our presence in the South Bay. This represents a significant step forward for UC San Diego and California and reinforces our longstanding role as a catalyst for progress.”
The proposal, which also includes the opportunity for students to earn certificate programs from UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies to help prepare individuals for the local workforce, is in response to the California Budget Act of 2024 (SB 108) that asks 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.”
“At a time when public health has never been more important, this partnership leverages the strengths of both UC San Diego and Southwestern College. Together, we will create a seamless pathway to public health education that expands the number of skilled, compassionate public health professionals who will serve our region and beyond,” 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.
“This partnership is about more than a degree. We will train future leaders who reflect the communities they serve, and we are investing in a healthier, more resilient future for all.”
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 City of Chula Vista and Southwestern College introduced the University Now Initiative, a collaborative project to identify the academic programs needed to meet the workforce demand of the binational region. The new pilot program at UC San Diego was developed as part of this Initiative.
“This collaboration is a powerful example of what can happen when universities and colleges partner with a shared commitment to expanding access to educational opportunities. By bringing a prestigious UC San Diego degree to our Southwestern College campus, we are removing barriers and opening doors for South County students, who have historically lacked access to baccalaureate degrees. This program will not only transform lives—it will strengthen our community, our workforce, and our region for generations to come,” said Mark Sanchez, Ed.D., Superintendent/President of Southwestern College.
At a time when public health has never been more important, this partnership leverages the strengths of both UC San Diego and Southwestern College. Together, we will create a seamless pathway to public health education that expands the number of skilled, compassionate public health professionals who will serve our region and beyond. This partnership is about more than a degree. We will train future leaders who reflect the communities they serve, and we are investing in a healthier, more resilient future for all.
The Bachelor of Science in Public Health program at UC San Diego launched in fall 2013. As of June 2024, the university has 1,480 public health undergraduate alumni. There are currently more than 800 students enrolled in the bachelor’s program at UC San Diego.
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 is difficult for many students in the region, all UC San Diego coursework will take place at the Southwestern College campus.
One of the main priorities of the program is to create a comparable undergraduate experience for Southwestern College transfer students. Students would 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.
“We want to provide everything that students would have if they were completing their degree at the La Jolla campus, but closer to home,” said John Moore, Ph.D., dean of undergraduate education at UC San Diego, who helped develop the proposal. “These students will be Tritons in every sense of the word."
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