UCR/UCLA Biomedical Sciences

Mission Statement

To prepare graduates for distinguished medical careers in service to the people of California with emphasis upon the needs of the underserved, inland, and rural populations.

Diversity Activities

  • FastStart (www.faststart.ucr.edu) is an intensive five-week summer residential learning experience designed for incoming UCR freshmen who aspire to medical and other science based careers. The program’s goal is to increase the number of disadvantaged students who pursue such careers and to provide the academic and social support needed to help students persist and succeed in their higher education goals.  This five-week intensive program provides instruction in Math, Biology, and Chemistry, the important building blocks of a science curriculum. It also includes workshops in study skills, campus resources, ethics, and other enrichment opportunities. Perhaps most importantly, FastStart students receive critical mentoring from student staff, who provide academic and adjustment guidance.   (Grants from the California Wellness Foundation and other generous donors make it possible for qualified students to attend FastStart at no personal cost.) 
  • The goal of the UC Riverside Medical Scholars Program (MSP) (www.msp.ucr.edu) is to increase the diversity of UC Riverside students who are successful in achieving their academic and career goals.  All students at UCR are eligible to apply.  Admission requires an application and interview.  There are no academic criteria for acceptance; applicants are screened on the basis of their commitment to the goals of the program, community service, interest in helping the underserved populations of the Inland Empire and California, and interest in a graduate or professional career in a health-related field.

    The MSP is a community of highly motivated and talented students interested in careers in the health sciences who support each other's goals of completing their undergraduate degrees and enrolling in medical school, an allied health discipline, graduate school, and other postgraduate programs in the health sciences.

    Students in the Medical Scholars Program remain in the program throughout their undergraduate training and may participate in internships, paid summer research experiences, seminars on health care, dinners with faculty and physicians, and intensive review programs for exams such as the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) and the Graduate Record Exam (GRE).  Scholars participate in a variety of academic enrichment activities throughout the academic year designed to enhance their educational experiences and help prepare them for a future career in medicine or an allied health discipline. 
  • The Dean’s Medical Mission Committee acts as an advisory panel for the Dean of the Division of Biomedical Sciences and offers suggestions on how to increase our diversity and to achieve our mission.    This committee, composed of UCR faculty and staff, along with members of the community, works to increase and improve the Division’s diversity programs. 

Future Diversity Activities

We are committed to continuing the activities listed above, and being open and receptive to discovering and implementing additional strategies for fostering diversity as a mark of educational excellence.

Contacts