The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is the nation’s leading university exclusively dedicated to health. We are home to more than 3,200 students in professional and graduate degree programs and an additional 3,000 residents, fellows, and postdoctoral scholars. Student life extends beyond the classroom and the university offers a comprehensive network of services and resources designed to help students thrive both personally and professionally. Explore a handful of the many ways we support our students on their journey. Additional student and campus resources not listed here are also available.
Student Life & additional UCSF services
Student Life: https://studentlife.ucsf.edu/ and Student Success Center: https://success.ucsf.edu/
Student Life is a campus-wide student service providing inclusive and innovative programs and resources to holistically support UCSF students. Student Life is invested in reciprocal partnerships to enhance the student experience and student success through four pillars: community, advocacy, access and inclusion, and data informed decision making.
Basic Needs for Students: https://basicneeds.ucsf.edu/
Basic Needs connects students to critical on- and off-campus resources and provides educational opportunities for students to take personal responsibility for their wellness. Through a robust model of prevention, intervention, and emergency relief, Basic Needs focuses on services centering around food security, nutritional wellness, housing support and emergency resources.
Family Services: https://campuslifeserviceshome.ucsf.edu/familyservices
Family Services’ mission is to support UCSF faculty, staff, students and trainees in their parenting and caregiving journey. We offer a wealth of services, resources and information to meet the various and diverse needs of UCSF families.
First Generation Support Services: https://firstgen.ucsf.edu/
First Generation Support Services (FGSS) serves the students whose parents/caregivers did not graduate from a four-year college. Approximately 30% of UCSF students identify as First Generation to College (FG2C).
Guardian Scholars Program: https://studentlife.ucsf.edu/Guardianscholars
Guardian Scholars Program (GSP) serves students who have had prior involvement in foster care and provides individual case management, community events, and variety of resources that support the holistic success of graduate and professional students who identify as former foster youth.
International Students & Scholars Office: https://isso.ucsf.edu/
Provides high quality service in the areas supporting the social cultural and immigration needs of the UCSF international community. Services include assisting students obtain or transfer F-1 visas.
Learning Resources Services: https://learn.ucsf.edu/
Learning Resouce Services can help improve your overall approach to academic success through strategies that will enhance your study skills, test performance, and mastery of material.
Office of Career and Professional Development: https://career.ucsf.edu/
A resource for UCSF students adn postdoctoral scholars to learn the professional skills required for career success.
Student Disability Services: https://sds.ucsf.edu/
UCSF has a proud history of welcoming students with all types of disabilities. Student Disability Services (SDS) serves, supports, and empowers UCSF students with disabilities by ensuring equitable access to fully and holistically participate in all areas of the university experience.
Student Financial Services: https://finaid.ucsf.edu/
Student Financial Services provides students and their family with step-by-step guidance through the financial aid process and other financial assistance options.
Student Involvement & Affinity Groups: https://studentlife.ucsf.edu/involvement
Student Life serves to support and enhance the activities undertaken by student organizations at UCSF, facilitate the goals of the student governments, foster the development of student leadership skills and contribute to the growth of a diverse and welcoming community where students feel they belong.
Student Mental Health & Wellbeing Services: https://studentmentalhealth.ucsf.edu/
Student Mental Health and Wellbeing is committed to providing high quality, culturally responsive, holistic mental health care and wellbeing services to assist learners in achieving academic and professional success as well as lifelong health. Students with UC SHIP (student health plan) and other insurance are eligible for services at SMHW. SMHW is a resource for navigating personal concerns, identifying options, reducing stress and solving problems.
Student Rights and Responsibilities: https://studentlife.ucsf.edu/student-rights-responsibilities
As future health care professionals and health science researchers, UCSF students are held to high standards of behavior, particularly in matters of ethics, judgment, and professionalism. Student Rights and Responsibilities receives reports and manages the adjudication of potential violations of the Policy on Student Conduct and Discipline. They also help students understand their rights and responsibilities in alignment with university policies.
Student Veteran and Military Support Services: https://veterans.ucsf.edu/
Student Veteran and Military Support Services provides our veterans and military-affiliated students at UCSF with a supportive community, mentorship opportunities, guidance on educational benefits, and tools to succeed both academically and personally.
Synapse - student newspaper: https://synapse.ucsf.edu/
Synapse plays a vital role of strengthening the widely-dispersed campus community by providing news about UCSF, and in
particular, student life, that cannot be found anywhere else. Students who write for the newspaper also benefit—by learning a variety of skills that will assist them later in their health science careers.
Transportation: https://campuslifeserviceshome.ucsf.edu/transportation
UCSF operates a fleet of free shuttle buses that connect to all campus locations, including Parnassus Heights, Mission Bay, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, Mount Zion and more. Specific shuttles from the Mission Bay and Parnassus campuses also stop at the 16th Street BART station. All shuttles are ADA accessible and equipped with bike racks. See the shuttle routes and time tables.
All students receive a significantly discounted Clipper card as part of their campus fees. Clipper cards are the Bay Area's all-in-one transit card providing unlimited rides on bus, train, lightrail, subway and ferry systems.
Student Late Night Lyft - Late night on campus? Students can ride Lyft from campus to home, a transit hub, or other UCSF campus after hours and UCSF will cover the first $10 of the ride, up to 15 rides per month. Hours are from 8:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Pick-up locations are restricted to UCSF campus locations.
