University of the Pacific plans to open a new School of Medicine in Stockton, California, with the goal of training physicians for underserved regions of the state, including the Central Valley, Central Coast and Eastern Sierra.

The university announced May 28 that its Board of Regents approved the project earlier this month. The school is expected to welcome its first class in fall 2030, pending accreditation approval.

The Stockton-based university said the M.D.-granting program is intended to address physician shortages in areas that fall below recommended primary care physician-to-population ratios. California’s existing 13 M.D.-granting medical schools are concentrated in Southern California, the Bay Area and the Sacramento region.
Pacific already operates the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, the Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and the School of Health Sciences. The addition of a medical school would make it one of a small number of U.S. universities with schools of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and health sciences.

A key component of the plan is a clinical partnership with Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton. Under the agreement, third- and fourth-year medical students would complete clinical rotations at St. Joseph’s and other regional hospitals.

“The new School of Medicine aligns perfectly with our mission,” Pacific president Christopher Callahan said in a statement. “We are not only ready, willing and able to tackle the dangerous and growing problem of the severe lack of physicians, but we believe it is our duty and responsibility.”

According to the university, a feasibility study estimated that establishing a self-sustaining medical school will require approximately $150 million. Planned investments include a 100,000-square-foot medical education facility, simulation laboratories and other equipment. Pacific said it has already secured more than $25 million in donor support and has launched a public fundraising campaign.

State and federal lawmakers are also pursuing public funding for the project. The university plans to begin a national search for the school’s founding dean this summer.

The school is expected to grow to approximately 400 students by 2037, according to the university.

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