Choosing a College at UCSD

Graduation Requirements in the UCSD Colleges

One of the features which sets UCSD apart from most major universities in the United States is its family of undergraduate colleges: Revelle, John Muir, Thurgood Marshall, Earl Warren, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Sixth.

The division of the campus community into small colleges was patterned after the concept which has served Oxford and Cambridge so successfully for centuries. The planners of the UCSD campus were convinced that students learn more, and find greater fulfillment in their personal lives, when joined academically and socially with a relatively small group of students. At the same time, the advantages of size in a university, including a faculty of international renown, first-rate teaching and research facilities, laboratories, libraries, and other amenities, were to be an important part of the design.

The result was an arrangement which combined the academic advantages of a large research university with the finest features of a small liberal arts college—the UCSD college system. Each of these semi-autonomous undergraduate colleges has its own residence facilities, staff, traditions, general-education requirements, and distinctive educational philosophy. The system was inaugurated with the opening of Revelle College in 1964. In the intervening years, five more colleges—John Muir, Thurgood Marshall, Earl Warren, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Sixth—have been established. Although many American university campuses have a separate college structure, in most cases, these colleges are designed to serve specific disciplines, such as engineering or business administration. At UCSD, however, any undergraduate may select from the full range of majors available. The choice of a college is not based on your major, but on your preferences in terms of the various educational philosophies and environments offered by the colleges.

UCSD’s college system allows undergraduates to choose from among six distinct general- education curricula supplementing their major requirements. These curricula range from a very structured liberal arts program to a program with a broad range of electives. By contrast, most universities offer only one general- education curriculum.

Students must rank the colleges in order of preference when applying for admission. Brief summaries of the various college curricula and philosophies follow. Later in this section, these variations are spelled out in considerable detail, college by college.

Revelle College Educational Philosophy

Revelle College stresses the broad character of general education. A structured liberal arts curriculum establishes a strong educational foundation for any major. All students complete a highly respected core humanities sequence and courses in the arts and social sciences. Students either meet proficiency in a foreign language or complete the fourth quarter of college level instruction. All students also complete sequences in mathematics and science, with separate courses available for science and non-science majors. Throughout the final two years, students concentrate on developing professional competence in an academic discipline.

This curriculum develops three main skills which are essential for a well-rounded education: learning to use the language of scholarship and science, learning how to think creatively, and learning how to learn.

Revelle College is distinguished by its emphasis on academics and student leadership. Its structured and well-rounded curriculum has been acclaimed nationally. Individual academic advising, honors programs, and programs that foster student-faculty interaction, are all hallmarks of UCSD’s first college.

John Muir College Educational Philosophy

John Muir College has established a flexible set of general-education and graduation requirements that ensures breadth and depth of learning and encourages the students of the college to take an active role in their own intellectual development. Students complete four year-long sequences drawn from the social sciences; the natural sciences or mathematics; and two sequences out of the following three areas: the humanities, fine arts, or foreign languages. Many choices are available for each of these year-long sequences. Muir has a one-course U.S. cultural diversity graduation requirement. Students also complete two analytical writing courses. Muir’s requirements accommodate a wide range of interests and aptitudes, and Muir’s academic advisers meet with students on a one-to-one basis. The relative openness and flexibility of its curriculum make Muir College particularly attractive to exceptionally able and well-prepared students with well-defined or developing academic interests.

John Muir College is distinguished by its atmosphere of friendliness and informality and a deep concern for the rights and welfare of others. Concern for one’s fellow students goes well with Muir’s educational philosophy, which stresses individual choice and development. The environment thus created fosters independence and responsibility, and well-rounded students.

Thurgood Marshall College Educational Philosophy

The dedicated focus of Thurgood Marshall College is the active development of the student as scholar and citizen. The college, a small liberal arts and sciences community, is characterized by an open, friendly environment in which students pursue any major in the natural and physical sciences, social sciences, engineering, humanities, and fine arts offered at the university.

The college’s educational philosophy is guided by the belief that, regardless of a student’s major, a broad liberal arts education must include an awareness and understanding of the diversity of cultures that comprise contemporary American society, and the richness that socio-cultural diversity brings to the lives of American people.

Integral to the Marshall experience is the unique, three-quarter core sequence, “Dimensions of Culture—Diversity, Justice, and Imagination.” This interdisciplinary, issues-oriented curricular experience explores both the diversity of American experiences across race, religion, class, and gender, and also the shared resources all Americans draw on when their different identities and interests conflict. Students also choose courses in mathematics or logic, natural/physical sciences, writing, humanities, and fine arts to fulfill general-education requirements.

In addition to the strong academic program, Thurgood Marshall College is proud of its emphasis on the student as citizen. Students are encouraged to integrate educational alternatives and public service opportunities, such as Partners at Learning (PAL), for which they earn academic credit, into their curriculum. Through PAL and other options, such as study abroad, internships, public service and leadership activities, students develop skills learned in the classroom and apply them to real-world experiences. Toward that end, the Student Leadership Program is especially designed to encourage active participation in the governance of the college and in community service.

Thurgood Marshall College’s hallmark is community, where students are encouraged to be active participants in their university education and take advantage of the abundance of opportunities to learn and develop as exemplary scholars and citizensin a multicultural twenty-first century.

Earl Warren College Educational Philosophy

Earl Warren College was founded in 1974 and named in honor of the former governor of California and Chief Justice of the United States. The Warren Court elaborated a doctrine of fairness in such areas as criminal justice, voting rights, legislative districts, employment, housing issues, transportation, and, most famously, education. Justice Warren had a principled commitment to education, opportunity, and hard work. Warren College offers students the benefit of a small campus environment with the resources of a renowned faculty and major research institution. Consistent with Earl Warren’s principles, the college is committed to preparing students for life intellectually, socially, and professionally. The success of each and every Warren student is our goal. Warren students represent all disciplines offered at UCSD. Graduation requirements include a major and two secondary programs of study which encompass academic areas outside of a student’s major.

Eleanor Roosevelt College Educational Philosophy

Eleanor Roosevelt College (ERC) emphasizes a comprehensive general education designed to prepare students to compete successfully in the global and multicultural economy of the twenty-first century. Successful professional people will need to understand their own cultural heritage as well as those of people from other societies with whom they will be interacting in their workplaces and communities.

The perspectives gained at ERC prepare students well for the future, whatever their goals and their major field of study, and whether they plan to go on to graduate school, professional school, or the worlds of science and technology, business, or the arts.

At the core of the curriculum are six courses comprising The Making of the Modern World (MMW). This interdisciplinary sequence was developed by faculty from anthropology, history, literature, political science, and sociology. It teaches students to think historically and analytically, as well as across disciplines, about both Western and non-Western societies, and the ways humans have organized their experience in different places and times.

ERC students receive exposure to natural science, quantitative methods, foreign language, and fine arts, and each selects a geographic region for in-depth study. Interested students are encouraged and assisted in finding ways to study, work, or travel in other countries to expand their horizons.

A friendly and supportive campus community, ERC is also distinguished by its emphasis on helping each individual reach his or her full potential intellectually, and in those skills, contributing to effective participation and leadership.

As Eleanor Roosevelt wrote, “Whether or not they have made the world they live in, the young must learn to be at home in it, to be familiar with it. They must understand its history, its peoples, their customs and ideas and problems and aspirations.” ERC students and graduates find themselves as much “at home” in the world as any of their generation, and more than most!

Sixth College Educational Philosophy

Sixth College challenges students to explore the historical and philosophical connections among culture, art, and technology, and how they energize each other. Students come to understand that innovation in every field draws upon a cultural ground. Sixth explores new technologies to create a learning community that reaches beyond the campus and encourages lifelong learning. Through interdisciplinary and cross-cultural study, Sixth provides an ideal intellectual and artistic framework for a contemporary liberal arts education. Sixth College general-education requirements include a unique three-quarter sequence which emphasizes study across academic disciplines in culture, art, and technology (CAT), including courses to develop computer and information literacy, writing, and communication skills. The flexible nature of our breadth requirements includes requirements across the social sciences, fine arts, humanities, natural sciences, math/ logic, and statistical methods. In addition, students will develop a project for the upper-division practicum to be completed in the junior or senior year.

Sixth will provide opportunities for student collaborations within the university and beyond, inspiring students to address, thoughtfully and actively, the serious needs of our communities.

Sixth College is a proud participant in the new Cal-(IT)² initiative, led by UCSD. As such, the college will take part in, and benefit from, research that guides innovation in telecommunications and information technology, with the goal of revolutionizing how we live, work, and communicate.

College Administration

The provost is a faculty member who acts as chief administrative officer and academic dean. In addition to the provost, each college has a dean of academic advising and a dean of student life.

The academic departments and the college academic advising offices are designated campus units responsible for providing official academic advice and direction to undergraduate students. The college academic advising staff have primary responsibility for providing academic advice and services that assist new and continuing students in developing educational plans and course schedules which are compatible with their interests, academic preparation, and career goals.

The college academic advising offices conduct academic orientation/enrollment programs for all new students and advise continuing students about college general-education and graduation requirements. The advising staff of each college provide general academic and curricular information, clarify academic rules and regulations, review all aspects of academic probation, monitor academic progress, assist students with decision-making strategies, and give information about prerequisites and screening criteria for majors. In conjunction with the academic departments and the Office of the Registrar, the advising offices certify students for graduation and generally facilitate their academic adjustment to the university.

Moreover, college academic advisers are available to counsel students about educational alter- natives; selection of courses and majors; program changes; new academic opportunities; and special programs such as exchange programs, honors programs, outreach programs, etc.

With a central concern for student development, dean’s staff members provide a variety of nonacademic services such as coordinating both educational and social programs; overseeing residential programs; assisting students with decisions and procedures regarding withdrawal from school; coordinating disciplinary procedures, both academic and social; and making referrals to other student services on campus. (See also section on “Student Services and Programs.“)

Whatever the question or concern, the provost and his or her staff stand ready at all times to assist undergraduates.

Phi Beta Kappa

The UCSD chapter of Phi Beta Kappa elects student members on the basis of high scholastic achievement in academic programs emphasizing the liberal arts and sciences. Phi Beta Kappa was founded in 1776 at the College of William and Mary in Virginia and is the oldest, most prestigious, academic honor society in America. See also “Honors” in the index.

Honors

Each college awards honors to outstanding students on the basis of criteria approved by the Academic Senate. These honors are posted on students’ transcripts and noted on their diplomas. For further details, see “Honors” in the index.

Transfer Students

Students transferring to UCSD must complete the requirements of the chosen undergraduate college. Students are strongly advised to complete all lower-division preparation for the major prior to enrollment. In preparation for the New Student Orientation Program, the College Academic Advising staff will evaluate the transfer course work for each student to determine which courses are applicable to general-education requirements. Since a variety of general-education options are available, students are encouraged to choose carefully the college which best fits their general-education program or course work. See Undergraduate Admissions, Policies and Procedures, “University of California Transfer Agreement.”