Explore Graduate and Professional School

Where to Start: Career Center

The Career Coaching team can assist you in exploring and applying to professional and graduate school, including law and health programs. Students can make advising appointments through Handshake.

For resources on applying to pre-health and pre-medical programs, please see the Healthbeat page.

Academic Departments

Academic advisors and faculty can provide students with guidance if students are interested in pursuing graduate degrees in related fields, and may be able to recommend programs to apply to. For questions about individual programs, prospective students should reach out directly to the programs they are applying to.

Undergraduate Research Hub

The Undergraduate Research Hub (URH) is designed to help students prepare for education beyond a bachelor's degree. The URH empowers undergraduates seeking to become integrated in the UC San Diego research community with the skills to be successful in a post-baccalaureate career. Their website provides information about student success programs that can strengthen students’ applications to graduate and professional school, including the Faculty Mentor Program and the McNair Scholars Program.

Before applying to a graduate or professional program, you should consider the following questions.

  • Do you have a clear purpose and goal for attending graduate school?
    • What are your long- and short-term goals?
    • Is attending graduate school necessary for you to achieve these goals?
    • What are the benefits of not going to graduate school?
    • How will a graduate degree enhance your career path?
    • Are you using graduate school to postpone making a career decision or as the automatic ‘next step’?
  • Have you researched all aspects of attending graduate school?
    • What are the different kinds of programs in your field and which will most benefit your goals?
    • What mentors do you have available? 
    • What are the time and financial investments necessary for graduate or professional degree? How will those affect you? 
    • Do you see yourself succeeding in a graduate or professional program?

Resources