The SRJC MESA Community College Program

MESA was born out of the Civil Rights Movement in 1970 through a partnership between UC Berkeley and Oakland Technical High School to address racial disparities in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). The MESA Statewide Office serves students across their educational pathway through three complementary segments: MESA Pre-College, MESA Community College, and MESA University level programs. MESA's overarching mission is to increase the number of STEM-degree professionals, delivering California's future STEM workforce.

Since 1991, the MESA Community College Program has served first-generation, low-income students who seek to transfer to four-year universities to earn calculus-based STEM bachelor's degrees. 

Begun in 1999, the SRJC MESA Community College serves an average of 150 STEM transfer students each year.  As an integrated academic and student services program, the MESA Community College Program at SRJC provides critical services and resources that focus on maximizing students' academic performance, reducing unnecessary units, and shortening a student's time to transfer and a STEM career.  By design, MESA is the Guided Pathways for underserved STEM students.  The program's objectives and outcomes align with the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office Vision for Success. With academic assistance, peer and professional mentoring, transfer advising, career development workshops, and access to summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) and internships, MESA provides a bridge to workforce development in higher education, while helping the state and nation reduce equity, achievement, and opportunity disparities.

The MESA Community College program strives to assure a streamlined system of services.  Some of the student services MESA provides include: 

  • Community building through a MESA Student Study Center
  • Academic support via drop-in tutoring, peer coaching, and Academic Excellence Workshop study groups
  • Assistance in transferring from Santa Rosa Junior College to a four-year college or university
  • Counseling and academic course planning
  • Career preview and professional development opportunities, guest speaker presentations, internships and fellowships

The Santa Rosa Junior College MESA Program is a collaborative effort supported by the MESA Statewide Office at the University of California Office of the President, the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, the Sonoma County Junior College District, and local industry sponsors.