UC Berkeley–UCSF Joint Medical Program

The UC Berkeley–UCSF Joint Medical Program (JMP) is a selective joint medical education program operated within the University of California system by the UC Berkeley School of Public Health and the UCSF School of Medicine. Its defining structure is a two-campus pathway: students complete the early, pre-clerkship portion of their medical education in Berkeley while earning a Master of Science in Health and Medical Sciences, then move to the University of California, San Francisco, to complete clinical training and receive the Doctor of Medicine degree. The program is designed for students who want medical education to extend beyond conventional biomedical instruction into public health, health systems, social medicine, and community change. During the Berkeley phase, students participate in a learner-led curriculum built around inquiry and problem-based learning. Medical sciences are introduced through patient cases rather than being treated solely as a sequence of isolated disciplinary courses. This approach is intended to develop clinical reasoning, communication, collaboration, independence, and habits of lifelong learning. The Berkeley curriculum has several interconnected components. Foundational Medical Sciences covers biomedical subjects such as physiology, biochemistry, pathology, histology, and pharmacology, together with social and behavioral sciences. The Clinical Skills curriculum introduces patient-care skills, interprofessional teamwork, health-care environments, and the social structures that influence health and treatment. Students also receive opportunities for clinical placements in Bay Area settings. The program describes antiracism, social justice, systems thinking, and change-making as recurring themes across these areas of study. The master's degree adds a scholarly and public-health dimension to the medical pathway. Students receive structured mentorship for an individual master's project, take foundational courses in public health and health systems, and select additional Berkeley courses that support their project and professional interests. The stated educational purpose is to prepare physicians who can examine how institutions, policies, social conditions, and dominant assumptions shape health outcomes, and who can participate in efforts to improve those systems. After approximately two and a half years in Berkeley, students transfer across the San Francisco Bay to UCSF. They complete the latter portion of medical school through clinical clerkships alongside students in UCSF's traditional medical program. This phase corresponds to the later portions of UCSF's broader Bridges medical curriculum and leads to the MD degree. Students may also encounter additional opportunities through PRIME-US, a UCSF-linked program focused on urban underserved communities. Admission is conducted through the UCSF School of Medicine's normal American Medical College Application Service process. Applicants indicate their interest in the JMP on the UCSF secondary application and provide additional program-specific materials, including short essays. UCSF uses the primary application, secondary application, and recommendation letters in determining interview invitations, with interview decisions made on a rolling basis. The program's entering class is described as consisting of 16 students per year. As an educational program rather than a commercial company, the JMP does not sell consumer products or operate as a separately listed entity. Its principal offering is an integrated MD and MS educational pathway that links medical training with public-health scholarship, inquiry-based learning, clinical experience, and a stated commitment to addressing inequity in health care.

The UC Berkeley–UCSF Joint Medical Program is a University of California collaboration linking two institutions with different but complementary educational roles. UC Berkeley contributes the early medical education environment through its School of Public Health, while UCSF contributes the medical school infrastructure and later clinical training through its School of Medicine. The resulting pathway differs from a conventional medical degree in that students undertake substantial graduate study and scholarly inquiry before entering the clinical years. The program's educational model places the Berkeley phase at the center of its identity. Students spend roughly the first two and a half years in Berkeley, where they work toward an MS in Health and Medical Sciences while completing foundational medical science and clinical-skills education. Rather than organizing all basic science instruction as traditional lecture-based courses, the program uses learner-led, problem-based learning. Patient cases serve as integrating points for biomedical, behavioral, and social material, with students expected to develop questions, collaborate with peers, and build their own understanding under faculty guidance. The master's curriculum provides a second layer of training. Students are assigned mentorship for a master's project and complete core work in public health and health systems. They can also draw on Berkeley's wider course offerings to develop projects and interests related to health care delivery, structural conditions, social justice, systems improvement, and other areas relevant to medical practice. The program presents this work as preparation for physicians who can interpret evidence, question established assumptions, understand institutional forces, and lead or support changes affecting communities. Clinical education begins early through the program's Clinical Skills curriculum and Bay Area placements. These experiences introduce students to patient interaction, interprofessional practice, health-care settings, and the social forces that influence treatment and outcomes. The curriculum incorporates themes of antiracist care and connects clinical learning with graduate-level study of subjects such as structural competency, critical race theory, motivational interviewing, and systems improvement. The final stage takes place at UCSF. After the Berkeley pre-clerkship period, students move to San Francisco to undertake clinical clerkships with students from UCSF's traditional medical program. The latter two and a half years are described as corresponding to later portions of UCSF's Bridges curriculum. Successful completion results in the UCSF medical degree, while the Berkeley phase provides the MS credential. The program's admissions process is integrated with UCSF's medical-school admissions system. Applicants apply to UCSF through AMCAS and then identify the JMP on the UCSF secondary application. Additional JMP-specific essays and application materials help the program assess candidates whose interests and learning preferences align with its model. The entering cohort is limited to 16 students per year, reinforcing the program's small-group and mentorship-oriented format. Across its development, the JMP has retained a distinctive educational purpose: to combine rigorous medical preparation with public-health analysis and the capacity to examine health inequities. Its current curriculum explicitly frames antiracism and change-making as cross-cutting themes. The program therefore functions both as a route to medical licensure through the MD degree and as a graduate learning environment for students interested in improving health systems, care delivery, and community well-being.

A small, inquiry-driven joint medical education pathway emphasizing public health, systems thinking, antiracism, social justice, community health, and learner independence.

• Graduate degree

  Master of Science in Health and Medical Sciences

  The Berkeley-based master's component runs alongside the early medical curriculum. It combines mentorship for an individual scholarly project with foundational study in public health and health systems. Students may select additional University of California, Berkeley coursework related to their project and professional goals. The program uses this degree to connect clinical education with systems thinking, collaborative practice, critical inquiry, and the examination of social and institutional influences on health.

• Medical education

  Foundational Medical Sciences curriculum

  The foundational sciences component uses learner-led, small-group problem-based learning. Students study subjects including physiology, biochemistry, pathology, histology, pharmacology, and social and behavioral sciences through patient cases and guided inquiry. The approach is intended to build medical knowledge together with clinical reasoning, communication, teamwork, independence, and a durable habit of asking and investigating questions.

• Clinical medical education

  Clinical Skills curriculum and Bay Area placements

  The Clinical Skills curriculum introduces students to core doctoring abilities, patient-care environments, interprofessional teamwork, and the social structures that affect health care. Instruction is connected with clinical placements in Bay Area clinics and incorporates principles of antiracist care. Students can also use Berkeley's broad graduate course offerings to study areas such as structural competency, critical race theory, motivational interviewing, and systems improvement.

• Medical degree training

  UCSF clinical clerkships

  Following approximately two and a half years in Berkeley, JMP students complete the remainder of their medical education at UCSF. They undertake clinical clerkships with students in UCSF's traditional medical program. This stage corresponds to later portions of the UCSF Bridges curriculum and completes the requirements for the Doctor of Medicine degree.

• Community-focused medical education

  PRIME-US opportunities

  PRIME-US provides an additional joint opportunity associated with UCSF for students seeking experience with urban underserved communities. It complements the JMP's wider emphasis on public health, health inequities, community health, and socially responsive medical practice.

1. 1UC Berkeley–UCSF Joint Medical Programen.wikipedia.org
2. 2UC Berkeley–UCSF Joint Medical Program official websitejmp.berkeley.edu