MEDPEP

MEDPEP is a medical preparation and education pipeline program designed to support low-income Latino and other underrepresented minority (URM) students through their community college experience and transition to four-year universities and health professional programs. MEDPEP's program components include personal, academic, and leadership development; conference and research participation; and peer mentoring support.

MEDPEP is working to remedy the current underrepresentation of minority groups in the health professions and to achieve adequate health care access and work force diversity in California. 

MEDPEP's Vision:

• Increase low-income, first-generation college students’ access to higher education
• Increase low-income, first-generation college students’ retention in higher education
• Increase transfer rates from community colleges to four year-universities
• Develop student leadership
• Increase the number of Latino and other URMs completing degrees in the sciences and graduating from health professional programs
• Increase the number of health professionals serving underserved communities

Since its inception in 2002, MEDPEP has delivered its support services directly to students and their families. With the help of partnerships with community colleges, MEDPEP has secured over $3 million in funding from state and federal agencies and from private foundations for programs at several Latino- and URM-serving institutions, including Cerritos College in southeast Los Angeles and Porterville College in central California. MEDPEP also furnishes resources for underserved communities and provides them with information about pathways to, and opportunities in, the health professions.

MEDPEP is administered by the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture (CESLAC) at UCLA Health, a leading research center in California providing reliable data on Latino health.