Introduction

History

UCSD, one of the ten campuses which make up the University of California system, marked its fortieth anniversary during the 2000–2001 academic year. The other campuses of the University of California are located in Berkeley, Davis, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Riverside, Los Angeles, Irvine, and Merced. Each campus has its own distinct academic and social character, and each offers programs and facilities which set it off from the others.

As a member of the ten-campus family of the University of California, UCSD is a university in scale and scope. Graduate and undergraduate programs, offered in a wide range of disciplines, lead to the bachelor's, master's, M.D., and Ph.D. degrees. UCSD's Scripps Institution of Ocean-ography is internationally renowned, and UCSD's School of Medicine has won national acclaim for excellence. UCSD's Graduate School of Intern-ational Relations and Pacific Studies is the only school of international affairs in the UC system. The UCSD School of Pharmacy is scheduled to open in 2002. At both the undergraduate and graduate levels, UCSD's curricula and programs have been highly ranked in recent surveys of American higher education.

UCSD enrolled its first undergraduates in 1964. Nevertheless, the campus can trace its origins in this area as far back as the late 1800s. At that time, zoologists on the Berkeley campus, seeking a suitable location for a marine field station, found La Jolla a very desirable site. The facility they established became a part of the University of California in 1912 and was eventually named the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. In the late 1950s, when the Regents of the University of California decided to situate a general campus in the San Diego region, the Scripps Institution formed the nucleus of the new campus.

Today UCSD is recognized throughout the academic world for its faculty and for its graduate and undergraduate programs. The history of its growth may help to explain how, in some four decades, UCSD has been able to match institutions which were founded a century or more ago.

The faculty of UCSD now includes five Nobel laureates (four of whom hold joint appointments with the nearby Salk Institute); four recipients of the National Medal of Science; one winner of the Pulitzer Prize; sixty-six members of the National Academy of Sciences; seventy Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; fourteen Fellows of the American Philosophical Society; eight fellows of the Econometric Society; fifteen members of the National Academy of Engineering; six members of the International Academy of Astronautics; fourteen members of the Institute of Medicine; and two members of the National Academy of Education.

UCSD houses a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the best-known honor society for the liberal arts and sciences in America. The campus is one of 255 four-year institutions selected for this distinction since the society was founded in 1776, and more than 200 current faculty and staff are members.

In addition, UCSD is officially accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

University and Community

There are certain facts about UCSD to consider in making your choice. Among them are:

• UCSD, a four-year undergraduate campus, is also a full-fledged graduate and research institution. UCSD faculty and scholars are continually involved in research and developmental projects that put this campus on the cutting edge of science, technology, and the arts and humanities.
• San Diego has become one of America's major centers for high-technology electronics and biomedical industries. Students concentrating on sciences or engineering are actively sought by these industries to fill summer jobs and career positions. Off-campus internships also are available to UCSD students in all fields of study, with opportunities to serve at local television stations, in charity organizations, and in local, state, and federal government agencies as well as in a diverse array of local businesses.
• UCSD is recognized nationally as a major center for the arts and humanities, including music and theater.
• Undergraduates are offered opportunities to participate in certain research projects conducted by UCSD faculty. A number of UCSD undergraduates have developed computer skills that have led to their employment by leading computer manufacturers, and still others have gone on to form their own software enterprises as a direct result of their UCSD training.
• UCSD's unique small-college structure encourages undergraduates to play a more active role in student government, social life, and athletics than is generally open to them in other major universities. Opportunities for involvement in student governance are especially strong as there are student governing bodies at the campus-wide level as well as within the five individual colleges.
• UCSD fields twenty-three men's and women's intercollegiate athletic teams. Campus athletic facilities include the Recreational and Intramural Athletic Center (RIMAC), two gymnasiums, two swimming pools (one twenty-five yard, one fifty-meter), and numerous tennis and handball courts. The university's recreational and intramural athletic programs are among the most varied and extensive in the nation today.
  

Major Fields of Study

UCSD offers a wide variety of nationally recognized majors in a broad array of fields, summarized in the list below. (For a listing of graduate programs, refer to the section of this catalog titled "Graduate Studies.")

The academic departments of UCSD are listed below. Details and requirements of the various individual courses are found in the "Courses, Curricula, and Programs of Instruction" section of the catalog.

UCSD has limited the number of its academic departments. For example, there is only one Department of Literature. This system has proved especially valuable to undergraduates who choose to avoid overspecialization early in their studies.

A number of special, individually oriented programs use the combined resources of two or more departments. Among these are Chemical Engineering, Chinese Studies, Classical Studies, Computing and the Arts, Critical Gender Studies, Earth Sciences, Environmental Systems, Human Development, German Studies, Italian Studies, Japanese Studies, Judaic Studies, Latin American Studies, Study of Religion, Russian and Soviet Studies, the Teacher Education Program, Third World Studies, and Urban Studies and Planning.

Engineering students may choose from a number of majors in the Department of Bio-engineering (BE), the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) or the Department of Struc-tural Engineering. All five departments seek to educate the engineer of tomorrow, with increased emphasis on computer methods and systems science.

Undergraduates interested in premedicine and prelaw majors should note that a variety of departments can serve their needs. For premed students, the common choices are biology, chemistry, psychology, and bioengineering. However, more and more students are electing double majors or are combining nontraditional majors with science majors. For prelaw students, nearly any undergraduate major will qualify a student for admission to a law school.

Should you need help in deciding on a major, many UCSD professionals are available to aid you. Among them are the academic advisers in the provosts' offices of the various colleges, faculty members, and departmental advisers (who can help you to select an appropriate curriculum). Additional specialists in the Career Services Center and in Psychological and Counseling Services are available to help you appraise your personal aptitudes.

Summer Session

UCSD offers a Summer Session consisting of courses selected from the regular undergraduate curriculum and taught by UCSD faculty. In addition, Summer Session provides special educational opportunities not easily available during other quarters.

The Summer Session Program is open to UCSD students, students of other colleges and universities, qualified high school seniors, and the general public. Credit courses for selected professionals, such as teachers and engineers, are also offered.

Summer Session catalogs and registration forms are available in mid-March of each year. UCSD students may enroll via WebReg, http://studentlink.ucsd.edu. For free copies write to UCSD Summer Session, 9500 Gilman Dr., Dept. 0179, La Jolla, CA 92093-0179; or call (858) 534-4364; or send email to: summer@ucsd.edu. For up-to-date information the Web site address is http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/summer

What UCSD Does Not Offer

Although the range and variety of programs offered at UCSD are very wide, there are certain disciplines which are not available on this campus. In some instances, the absence of a particular program reflects the academic philosophy of the UCSD campus and its faculty. In others, the absence of a curriculum is temporary, awaiting the availability of funds, personnel, or facilities before a program can be offered. In still others, programs have not been included which would, in the university's judgment, unnecessarily duplicate comparable offerings on other UC campuses or at other institutions.

Among undergraduate majors currently not available at UCSD are:

1. Business
2. Oceanography. Although UCSD does not offer an undergraduate major in oceanography, some marine science courses are offered in the Division of Biology. Students planning to pursue oceanography at the graduate level may select from a large number of undergraduate courses in the physical, biological, and earth sciences to build a firm foundation for later graduate work. Graduate-level work in oceanography is offered by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which is part of UCSD.
3. Nursing.
4. Industrial Arts.
5. Journalism. Although no major in journalism is offered, the Department of Literature offers a major in writing that can emphasize journalistic writing, and the development of writing skills is stressed in many disciplines. Many courses offered in the humanities and social sciences will provide the kind of broad-based preparation needed by practicing journalists. Several student newspapers are published on campus, providing ample "laboratory" opportunities for students to practice journalism.
6. Geography.
7. Physical Education. Note: UCSD does not offer athletic scholarships, and there is no intercollegiate football team at UCSD.

The Colleges of UCSD

UCSD undergraduates enjoy the benefits of a great university without the disadvantages of bigness found in many of today's mega-universities. The master plan conceived by UCSD's planners borrowed from the Oxford and Cambridge concept to provide a family of colleges, each with its own special academic and social flavor. UCSD's students thus gain a sense of belonging through affiliation with one of the campus's semiautonomous colleges.

Currently there are five colleges: Revelle, John Muir, Thurgood Marshall, Earl Warren, and Eleanor Roosevelt. A sixth college is scheduled to open in Fall 2002. Each college is independent, yet all are interrelated: all university academic and support facilities are available to all students, regardless of their college affiliation.

Each college is designed to accommodate up to 2,500–3,000 students. Each has its own residence halls, commons (which include dining facilities and meeting rooms), and classrooms. Each college has its own educational philosophies and traditions, its own set of general-education requirements, and its own administrative and advising staff. The objective is to give students and faculty the advantages of a small, liberal arts college combined with the best features of a major university.

Students applying to UCSD should select a college in order of their preference.

Details regarding the individual colleges are given in the "Choosing a College at UCSD" section of the catalog.

Recreation at UCSD

UCSD's undergraduate colleges are situated on a parklike site high on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean at La Jolla. La Jolla has some of the finest beaches and coves, art galleries, and other attractions in the nation.

Much of UCSD's recreational and social life centers on the waterfront, with surfing, SCUBA diving, and beach activities among the favorite diversions of UCSD students. Throughout the area, students find a variety of amusements, ranging from the small-town atmosphere of waterfront Del Mar southward to the open-air markets of Tijuana and the primitive wilderness of Mexico's Baja California peninsula.

The city of San Diego, some twelve miles south of the campus, offers a wide range of recreational opportunities, including Old Town (California's birthplace), Sea World on Mission Bay, and the world-famous San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park. A year-round calendar of major league sporting events is offered in the city's Sports Arena and in San Diego Qualcomm Stadium, home of the Padres and the Chargers.

There are numerous theaters in San Diego, including the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park, site of the National Shakespeare Festival every summer. A year-round program of contemporary and classical professional theater may be enjoyed in the Old Globe and the adjacent Cassius Carter Centre Stage, and special summer theater fare is featured on the park's outdoor Festival Stage.

On-campus entertainment includes a year-round series of movies and cultural programs, dances, chamber music, and rock-band concerts sponsored by the University Events Office. The Department of Theatre and Dance presents plays in both the 500-seat Mandell Weiss Theatre and the 500-seat Forum Theatre. The Department of Visual Arts offers a continuing series of art shows in the Mandeville Art Gallery and displays of student art in other campus galleries.

Informal meeting places on campus are hubs of student activity throughout the day and evening, among them the Muir Rathskeller, Marshall College Mountain View Lounge, and the Price Center.

Mountains, Deserts, and Beaches

Many Southern Californians enjoy the out-of-doors year-round. The San Diego metropolitan area enjoys the most comfortable climate in the United States, twelve months of the year.

Fishing opportunities are plentiful offshore in kelp beds west of La Jolla and surrounding the Coronado Islands in Mexican waters. Bass and trout fishing are available in nearby lakes. An hour's drive to the east, the Laguna Mountains provide pleasure during all seasons for campers and hikers. Beyond the Lagunas lies the vast Anza-Borrego Desert with its breathtaking display of wildflowers every spring.

The peninsula of Baja California, one of the world's last great wilderness areas, stretches for 900 miles southward from the international gateway at Tijuana. The peninsula—a mecca for lovers of unspoiled beaches and untouched mountains and deserts—is the site every year of the grueling Baja cross-country auto race.

Sports at UCSD

Through its intercollegiate athletic and intramural programs, UCSD provides its students with one of the more extensive and competitive sports programs in the United States. UCSD fields twenty-three intercollegiate athletic teams along with several club sports teams, while the intramural program provides for student competition in a wide variety of sports in three categories of play: men, women, and coed.

Intramural sports are highly popular with UCSD students. An estimated 60 percent of all students take part in one or more of the more than 1,500 teams involved in various sports during the course of the academic year.

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