Salary, Benefits and Housing
UCSD Residents and Fellows are unionized under the House Staff Association. This union negotiates a new contract every 3 years. Details included here reflect the most recent negotiations.
Please visit UCSD’s Office of Graduate Medical Education (OGME) House Officer webpage for additional information, including links to the most current salary scale, House Staff Benefits, and additional resources available to UCSD House Staff.
Please note that annual salary increases are determined in 3-year increments as part of the contract review.
The housing stipend, historically distributed in two lump sums throughout the year, was absorbed by an updated salary scale in the most recent contract (2022). The updated salary scale reflected increases from the previous contract in both the annual wage and the amount added into the wage to reflect the cost of housing in San Diego.
To illustrate the absorption of the housing stipend into the salary scale and a typical annual increase for the same PGY level:
2021-22 PGY 1 salary ($64, 362) + 2021-22 Housing stipend ($6,000) = $70,362
2022-23 PGY 1 Salary = $76,297
2023-24 PGY 1 Salary = $80,388
Please note that UCSD House Staff is paid monthly (on the first of each month for the preceding month’s work).
Education
The UCSD Pathology Department provides an annual educational stipend. PGY 1 Residents receive $1,500 and PGY 2-4 receive a $300 annual deposit. These funds do not expire until the end of training and will accumulate if not used. These funds are accessible via reimbursement for any items that are related to your graduate medical education (e.g., personal texts, laptops, tablets).
UCSD provides House Staff members with an additional educational stipend of $750 annually. This amount is negotiated as part of the House Staff contract and is typically paid in a lump sum in October. This stipend is distributed via payroll and is, therefore, taxed.
Travel
The UCSD Pathology Department is happy to fund up to two trips* per academic year for Residents who are presenting work at national conferences. These funds are extraneous to your educational funds. Eligible expenses include meeting registration, poster printing, flight, hotel, ground transportation and meals (if not included in registration).
*Please note that the ACGME and American Board of Pathology (ABP) limit educational days to 5 per academic year. Therefore, days away from training (weekdays) must be limited to 5 and cannot be rolled over to the following year.
License and Step 3 Fees
UCSD Medical Center covers the expense of applying for and maintaining your California Medical License, including the Post-Graduate Training License (PTL) and the transition to Physician & Surgeon’s License (PSL), within the time that the licenses are required for your training position. Fees associated with applying are reimbursed through the Graduate Medical Education Office. Licensing fees, including Step/Level 3 fees, are typically required to be submitted for reimbursement within 30 days of incurring the fee or being issued the license. It is the trainee's responsibility to read OGME communication regarding that year’s processes and to meet licensing and reimbursement request deadlines.