The UC-Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program is a five-year program that provides 16 students each year the opportunity to simultaneously earn a master’s degree in health and medical sciences from the school of public health and a medical doctorate from UCSF.
Earlier this year, UC Berkeley set a 3 percent budget reduction target for all campus professional schools as a means to address the university’s $150 million structural deficit, according to the report. In response to a “budget call letter” UC Berkeley administrators sent in February, the school of public health drafted a list of options to generate revenue and cut costs. Two options — shutting down the program or moving it to UCSF completely — are being seriously considered, a spokesperson for the school of public health told The Daily Californian.
However, students and faculty of the UC-Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program say it actually brings UC-Berkeley revenue.
“We actually bring money to the campus, and so if they close us, they are going to lose at least $2 million,” said associate professor at the school of public health and director of the JMP Masters of Science program Coco Auerswald, according to the report. “Out of [a large] deficit, this isn’t to be ignored.”
Students of the medical program have already begun protesting the potential closure and have launched a website and petition to save it. As of the evening of April 20, the petition had 858 signatures.
The medical school program generated approximately $2.4 million in funds during the 2015-16 fiscal year from tuition, faculty full-time equivalents and state funds, according to the report. The school also received $1.2 million for the UC Office of the President’s allocation of state funds independent of campus tuition that year. However, the program receives only a small portion of those funds. In the 2015 fiscal year, the program received $1.4 million, while it costs $1.9 million per year to run, resulting in a net loss of about $500,000 per year.
For the school of public health, the 3 percent budget reduction represents more than $1 million, excluding research contracts and grants. The budget cuts will take effect July 1.
The school has engaged in discussions with university administrators to find a different financial solution for the program.
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