University of California San Diego Medical Center Program

Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Analyst Verified · May 5, 2026

University of California San Diego Medical Center Program

University of California San Diego Medical Center Program is a residency program specializing in Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, located in San Diego, California, directed by Perrie Pardee, M.D. and coordinated by Heejin Kim.. International Medical Graduates interested in this program may contact the program coordinator directly at hek017@health.ucsd.edu or (619) 471-0434. IMGPrep analysts have verified and compiled this program’s IMG acceptance rate, USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 score requirements, Visa Sponsorship Policy, graduation year cutoff, and ECFMG certificate requirements — available to IMGPrep subscribers.

Program Identity & Fit

UCSD Med-Peds is a university-based, academic combined residency built across county safety-net (UCSD Hillcrest), VA, tertiary/quaternary (Jacobs Medical Center, Sulpizio CVC), and free-standing children's hospital (Rady) sites, giving residents a true 50/50 adult-pediatric continuity experience with explicit training in health equity for underserved, immigrant, LGBTQIA+, gender-affirming, and cross-border (Tijuana) populations. The program is structured around required rotations addressing HIV care, substance use disorder, child immigrant health, and gender medicine, reflecting a deliberate mission around care of marginalized and medically complex patients rather than generic diversity language. Research and global health are supported but not mandatory beyond a protected PGY3 block, and the program has a flexible elective structure allowing residents to tailor training toward primary care, hospital medicine, fellowship subspecialization, or global/advocacy work. Graduate outcomes are genuinely mixed—large numbers into med-peds primary care (often FQHC or underserved settings) and combined hospitalist roles, alongside a steady stream into competitive fellowships (cardiology, GI, allergy/immunology, palliative care, pediatric subspecialties) and academic hospitalist positions.

Who it fits

An applicant whose ERAS narrative centers on longitudinal commitment to underserved, immigrant, or marginalized populations across the lifespan, seeking broad primary-care-oriented training with the flexibility to pursue hospital medicine, global health, or fellowship afterward.

Research intensity

Moderate - protected PGY3 research time and elective flexibility exist, with research encouraged and resources available through UCSD's research infrastructure, but it is not positioned as central to the program's identity.

Career orientation

Mixed - Primary Care, Community Practice, Fellowship

Important

The program uses ERAS program signaling as part of holistic review, and requires specific letters (one from an Internal Medicine chair/clerkship director, one from pediatric/med-peds faculty attesting to clinical skills in pediatrics, plus one additional clinical letter).

Choose Specialty / Choose Another Program

Internal Medicine/Pediatrics

Deadline

Accreditation Status N/A

SCORE

USMLE STEP 1

USMLE STEP 2

SCORE NOTES

VISA POLICY

VISA

GRADUATION CUT OFF

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE

ECFMG CERTIFICATE

PROGRAM MISSION STATEMENT

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CURRENT RESIDENTS