UCSC Extension Community

Are you considering medical school and seeking a clear, supportive path forward?

Join the University of California, Santa Cruz, for a free online informational session to learn more about our Summer 2026 Premed Postbacc Cohort Programs. This session is designed for students and graduates who are serious about pursuing a career in health care and want expert guidance through the medical school preparation and application process.

During this session, you’ll learn how the UCSC Premed Postbacc Program provides a structured, cohort-based experience—offered in Silicon Valley and Marina on the Central Coast—to help students strengthen their academic foundation, prepare for medical school, and apply with confidence.

March Slugs & Steins with Dean P.K. Agarwal

Artificial intelligence has reignited an old debate: are we approaching mass technological unemployment, or simply the next phase of economic evolution? Public discourse swings between dystopian predictions of human obsolescence and confident assurances that “new jobs will replace old ones.”

This online discussion with the UC Santa Cruz alumni steps back from speculation and examines evidence.

UCSC Silicon Valley Extension Dean PK Agarwal will draw on economic history and disruptive change, going back to the wheel and the printing press to electrification, computers, and the internet. to explore how societies have repeatedly confronted disruptive change. These are the moments when existing skills, institutions, and expectations no longer matched the pace of innovation.

The goal is not to predict the future, but to provide a framework for thinking about it—what AI may automate, what it may amplify, and why the real disruption may be the speed of adaptation rather than the disappearance of work itself. The talk concludes with implications for higher education, workforce development, and how individuals can remain resilient in an age where intelligence is no longer exclusively human.

Questions?
Please contact University Events at specialevents@ucsc.edu.

Lead the next wave of innovation in life sciences and data.
As biotechnology and data analytics converge, the demand for professionals who can interpret complex biological data and drive discovery continues to grow. Learn how experts in bioinformatics use computational tools, programming, and molecular biology to transform raw data into scientific and medical insights.