The Doctors Academy (DA) is a challenging school-within-a school program at Sunnyside
High School for students interested
in health professional careers. The program provides extended academic, personal,
and career counseling as well as test preparation.
The Doctors Academy includes: Summer school enrichment programs; rigorous accelerated classes with an emphasis on math, science and writing; weekly tutorial support from current CSU Fresno pre-med students; Saturday academies and workshops; special counseling and support services; parent empowerment workshops; medical or health practitioner mentors; clinical placement in medical, science or health settings; special consideration for scholarship at CSU Fresno and consideration for early admission to the UCSF School of Medicine.
In addition, the UCSF Fresno Pharmacy Education Program has collaborated with the UCSF Fresno Latino Center for Medical Education and Research (LaCMER) in bringing a pharmacy education program that includes pharmacy job shadowing and mentoring opportunities to Doctors Academy students. Through this partnership, the UCSF School of Pharmacy is offering an Early Conditional Admissions Program (ECAP) to two students graduating from the Doctors Academy (DA) program. DA students interested in pursuing a career in pharmacy must apply for consideration for the ECAP program. If selected, the students will continue to prepare for pharmacy school by graduating from a four-year college or university, achieve a 3.5 (or higher) GPA in science courses, meet all the admission requirements for the School of Pharmacy, and demonstrate strong communication skills. DA seniors who are interested in applying can pick up an application from the DA senior teacher or DA program coordinator. To learn more about the UCSF School of Pharmacy and its programs, visit their website at pharmacy.ucsf.edu
Admissions and Student Eligibility
Middle school students from the Fresno Unified School District or from a
Fresno County school who are from an economically or educationally disadvantaged
background may be eligible to apply to the DA. Applications
are accepted once a year from October through December. Admission guidelines
are as follows:
Involved Parents
For more information regarding the Doctors Academy program, contact Diana Cantu, Academic Program Coordinator at dcantu@fresno.ucsf.edu or at (559) 241-7670.