David Geffen adds $46 million to landmark medical scholarships program

UCLA has received an additional $46 million gift from longtime supporter and legendary entertainment visionary David Geffen, a reinvestment that brings the amount of the David Geffen Medical Scholarship Fund to $146 million. The latest gift will enable 120 more students at theDavid Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA to benefit from the fund, bringing the total number of students expected to receive awards to 414 over a 10-year period.The full-ride scholarships, consisting of full tuition and a living stipend, have helped UCLA attract a broader array of exceptional medical school candidates. The number of applications increased more than 50 percent between 2013 and 2018, when the school received an all-time high of more than 14,000. Nearly one of every four U.S. medical school applicants applies to UCLA.“Mr. Geffen’s groundbreaking contributions have inspired others across the nation to assist more students with the cost of their medical education,” UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said. “His support has made it possible for UCLA to lead the way.”Reducing debt enables graduates to pursue additional paths of study that help them become leaders in their fields or devote themselves fully to patient care. That is significant in California, where physician shortages are a growing challenge. Seventy-three percent of 2019 Geffen Scholar graduates are pursuing residency training in California, and 63 percent of all Geffen Scholar graduates are training in California.The first group...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news