Website Privacy Policy

Welcome to the UC San Diego School of Medicine website. This website is operated and managed by the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. We take protecting your privacy seriously. Please read the full policy to understand how UC San Diego School of Medicine uses and protects information collected through this website.

Introduction

UC San Diego School of Medicine owns and operates a public-facing website, medschool.ucsd.edu (hereafter referred to as the "Website").

The Website allows patients and other members of the public to view health-related information, learn about our medical programs, and arrange for health care and other services.

This Privacy Policy applies to the Website. It describes how UC San Diego School of Medicine collects and uses the personal information you provide on the Website as well as other information that is collected from your use of the Website. It also describes the choices available to you regarding our use of your personal information and how you can update your preferences.

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, personal information means collected information that could be used to identify you or any other individual. Information that has been stripped of details that could be used to identify an individual, either by UC San Diego School of Medicine or others, is no longer personal information and is not covered by the terms of this Privacy Policy.

What does this Website Privacy Policy cover?

This Privacy Policy covers how UC San Diego School of Medicine collects, uses, and shares Website user data.

This Privacy Policy does not cover the use and disclosure of protected health information (PHI) as defined under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). UC San Diego School of Medicine maintains a separate Notice of Privacy Practices (click here to view the Notice of Privacy Practices) pursuant to HIPAA that applies to PHI that we collect from individuals.

FERPA Notice

UC San Diego School of Medicine complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which generally prohibits the release of student education records without student permission. FERPA does permit the release of public or "directory information" about students, unless the student has requested that their directory information be suppressed. For more details on how UC San Diego School of Medicine complies with FERPA, or for information about suppressing the release of "directory information," please refer to the UC San Diego policy, Disclosure of Information from Student Records.

Security

We take reasonable measures to protect your personal information from loss, theft, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. Nevertheless, transmission over the Internet, online digital storage, and websites are not completely secure, and we cannot guarantee the security of your information collected through the Website. If the Website collects personal information, UCSD requires the use of the industry standard security protocol known as Transport Layer Security (TLS) to encrypt that information during transmission.

Changes to this Policy

The Website Privacy Policy is effective as of September 26, 2022, and it may be amended thereafter without notice. New versions of this Policy are effective when they are posted at this URL. Unless specified in an updated version, use of the information that we collect will be subject to the version of the Policy that was in effect at the time the information was collected. We reserve the right, at our discretion, to change, modify, add, or remove portions of these terms at any time. Your continued use of the Website after any update to this Privacy Policy will constitute your acceptance of the changes.

Collecting, using, and disclosing personal information

Except as outlined in this Website Privacy Policy, we do not collect any personally identifiable information about visitors to the Website. The policies, sources, uses, and disclosures of information are outlined in sections 1 through 6 below:

1. Information collection, use, and disclosure

We, and our vendors, may collect the following personal information from you:

  • Contact information, such as name, email address, mailing address, and phone number
  • Preference information, such as the types of emails you would like to receive from us
  • Health or medical information, such as health symptoms, health conditions, health providers, and medications
  • Your device location
  • Pages you visited on the Website
  • Any webpage on another site that referred you to the Website
  • Data about your web browsing history through cookies (see "Cookies, web beacons, and other similar technologies," below)
  • Web browser type used
  • Search terms
  • Your IP address or other unique identifiers
  • Date, time, and duration that you visited the Website
  • Other internet tags and navigational data

We may use and disclose this information for the following purposes:

  • To send you requested service information
  • To send you electronic communications, such as digital newsletters, text messages, and emails
  • To process applications as part of an admissions process
  • To improve the UC San Diego School of Medicine website user experience and marketing efforts
  • To conduct internal quality improvement and troubleshooting
  • To remove personal details, such as name and email address, from collected information so it can't be used to identify you
  • To respond to requests, questions, and comments, and provide other types of user support
  • To comply with a law or legal process that requires us to disclose this information to authorities that may request this information
  • To prevent physical harm or financial loss, or in connection with an investigation of suspected or actual illegal activity
  • With vendors, consultants, and other service providers who need access to this information to carry out work or perform services on our behalf
  • With respect to analytics and statistical information, to perform data analytics regarding usage of the Website and inform advertisers about the nature of our user base
  • When you provide us with personal information about dependents and family members, we will use this information only for the specific reason for which it was provided
  • For any other purpose with your consent or at your discretion

2. Cookies, web beacons and other similar technologies

The Website may partner with third parties, including FullStory, Meta (Facebook Pixel), and Google (Google Analytics), to use cookies, web beacons, and other storage technologies to collect or receive information from the Website and elsewhere on the internet and use that information as part of targeted advertising or remarketing. These companies collect information from across the internet and are not controlled or managed by UCSD. You can opt out of having your browsing data collected by these companies by managing your ad preferences or privacy settings on these companies' websites.

"Cookies" are small data files stored by your web browser on your computer. Cookies may allow a website to recognize a user's device, record user preferences, track the pages a user clicks on while visiting the website, and identify the website visited immediately beforehand. Most web browsers accept cookies by default, but you may be able to adjust your browser settings to remove or reject cookies if you do not want your web browsing activity tracked. There are tools available to manage cookies and similar data collection technologies that collect information related to your use of the Website. You can learn more from the FTC.

We are not responsible for third party opt-out mechanisms. Please note that if you delete your cookies or upgrade your browser after having opted out, you will need to opt out again. In addition, if you use multiple browsers or devices, you will need to opt out on each browser or device. You can use the Website without enabling cookies in your browser, but please note that blocking cookies may affect the availability and functionality of the Website and other websites. Disabling cookies may also invalidate opt outs that use cookies to recognize devices that have opted out.

"Web Beacons" (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) are small electronic files that permit us, for example, to count visitors to the Website who have visited those pages or opened an email from us. Web beacons are also used for other related Website statistics, such as recording the popularity of certain Website content and verifying system and server integrity.

We may combine certain automatically collected information with other information we obtain about you, which may include data we obtain from third parties. Please note that we or third parties may collect personal information about your online activities over time and across different devices and online properties when you use the Website.

For more information on how these third parties use data collected through the Website or to learn how to opt out of these analytics tracking services, please visit these websites at the following links:

Google Analytics

google.com/policies/privacy/partners/

To opt out of Google Analytics cookies:

google.com/settings/ads and tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/.

Facebook Pixel and Custom Audience:

facebook.com/help/568137493302217

You may opt out of Facebook Custom Audience by logging into your Facebook account and changing your privacy or advertising settings according to Facebook's opt-out instructions. You may also use your Facebook account settings to unlink your Facebook account from the Website.

Other Networks

For EU users, visit Your Online Choices to learn how to opt out of having your data used for online behavioral advertising by European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (EDAA) member companies.

3. Opt out

If you make a request to receive information (for example, additional information about one of our programs) through the Website by providing an email address or mobile phone number, you may request to discontinue receiving similar messages in the future. Materials sent to you by email or text message contain information on how to opt out.

4. Data retention

We retain your personal information for the time period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, including to meet our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

5. Links to external sites

This Privacy Policy applies only to this Website. The Website may contain links to external websites. This Privacy Policy does not apply to these websites, and UC San Diego School of Medicine is not responsible for the privacy policies or practices on websites that may be accessed through these external links. When following a link to another website, you are responsible for reading that website's privacy policy and making sure that you accept it and can abide by it.

Links within the Website to external websites do not represent endorsement by the University of California or its affiliates.

6. Children's Privacy

The Website is not intended for children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information on line from individuals under the age of 13. If we become aware that we have obtained personal information from an individual under the age of 13, we will delete such information in accordance with applicable law.

Contact us

If you have questions about the Website Privacy Policy, please contact the UC San Diego Health Sciences Office of Compliance and Privacy at hscomply@ucsd.edu.

The Website Privacy Statement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California.