Why this matters
Chula Vista is the biggest city in California without a public university offering bachelor’s degrees.
It may soon be possible for students to earn a bachelor’s degree in public health in the South Bay.
Southwestern College and UC San Diego on Friday announced they had signed an intent to create a joint Bachelor of Science program in public health at Southwestern’s Chula Vista campus.
The program will place UCSD faculty at Southwestern to teach upper-division coursework, allowing students to remain in the South Bay to complete their degree even after transferring to UCSD.
Assemblymember David Alvarez, D-San Diego, secured $5 million in state funding to support the program. Public health is a broad major that can land students in career fields such as dentistry, epidemiology, policy-making, and health education and research.
Health care is among the fastest-growing sectors in the county, according to the San Diego Workforce Partnership.
Southwestern Superintendent and President Mark Sanchez said the program will streamline students to high-demand careers.
“This partnership with UC San Diego ensures our students have access to the skills and credentials needed to thrive in the public health workforce, while strengthening the economic vitality of our region,” Sanchez said in a statement.
This program is the first of its kind and is limited to students only pursuing a bachelor’s degree in public health. It’s also part of the larger effort to build a university in Chula Vista.
Chula Vista is the biggest city in California without a public university offering baccalaureate programs. Alvarez’s office has referred to the area as a “college desert,” pointing to the close to 600,000 residents in South County who are without access to these degrees.
Southwestern has other partnerships with four-year universities, including San Diego State, Cal State San Marcos and Arizona State University, that offer students the chance to earn certain bachelor’s degrees through online coursework or at the Chula Vista campus.
UCSD instructors are expected to begin teaching at Southwestern by the 2026 fall semester.
Type of Content
Brief: An account of a public government proceeding, written and edited by the San Diego Documenters.
