Dean for Medical Education 

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Maria Savoia is dean for medical education in the School of Medicine at UC San Diego, where she has programmatic responsibility for admissions, financial aid, diversity and community partnerships, and student affairs, plus undergraduate, graduate and continuing medical education, and alumni relations.

After receiving a BA from Wellesley College and her MD from Harvard Medical School, Dr. Savoia completed her residency training in internal medicine and fellowship training in infectious diseases at UC San Diego School of Medicine. She served as co-director of the Medicine Core Clerkship and as assistant chief and acting chief of medicine at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. She was vice chair of the Department of Medicine until she joined the Dean’s Office as associate dean for curriculum and student affairs in 1990. She became vice dean for education in 2004, and dean in 2010.

In addition to working full-time in the above areas, Dr. Savoia is involved in infectious disease and education research and maintains her clinical practice with the Infectious Disease Division of the UC San Diego Department of Medicine. She has served as national chair of the Group on Student Affairs of the Association of American Medical Colleges, chair of the Gold Humanism Honorary Society’s National Advisory Council, chair of the American Medical Association’s Governing Council of the Section on Medical Schools, and has been on advisory board to the National Board of Medical Examiners. She currently is chair of the board of directors of the National Residency Matching Program.

Dr. Savoia is also a site visitor of the Liaison Commission on Medical Education, the accrediting body for medical schools.