University of California San Diego Medical Center Program

Surgery-General Analyst Verified · Sep 30, 2026

University of California San Diego Medical Center Program

University of California San Diego Medical Center Program is a residency program specializing in Surgery-General, located in La Jolla, California, directed by Jennifer Berumen, MD and coordinated by Lupita Nuno. The program accepts applications through October 15, 2027 and holds an accreditation status of Continued. International Medical Graduates interested in this program may contact the program coordinator directly at gnuno@health.ucsd.edu or (858) 657-7025. 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

UC San Diego's General Surgery Residency is an academic, university-based program built around a large, tertiary/quaternary referral system spanning Hillcrest's Level 1 trauma and burn center, Jacobs Medical Center, the VA San Diego Healthcare System, Rady Children's, and Kaiser Zion, giving residents exposure across trauma, transplant, oncology, vascular, and pediatric surgery. Research is deeply embedded, with an optional two-year research fellowship after PGY2 or PGY3 explicitly framed as developing "future surgeon-scientists," backed by an active departmental research enterprise (basic/translational labs in oncology, transplant, and inflammation science) and an annual research symposium. The Center for the Future of Surgery provides an unusually extensive simulation and robotics curriculum (weekly skills labs, bootcamps, robotic surgery training) supporting technical development from intern boot camp onward. Graduate outcomes emphasize fellowship placement at top-tier programs, and the program's combined intern/PGY1 structure with VA and community-site rotations signals a value on residents oriented toward academic surgical careers and subspecialty fellowship training.

Who it fits

An applicant with demonstrated bench or translational research experience and fellowship-oriented subspecialty interest (oncology, transplant, vascular, or MIS) who seeks a structured academic pathway with a dedicated research year toward becoming a surgeon-scientist.

Research intensity

Strong - a dedicated two-year research fellowship track, extensive faculty research teams, and an annual symposium indicate research is actively expected and structurally supported, though not universally mandatory.

Career orientation

Mixed - Fellowship, Academic Medicine

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Surgery-General

Deadline 10/15/2027

351 days left

Accreditation Status Continued

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