Academics
Your diverse and innovative interests may not fit into just one major. We offer opportunities that fit you. Check out what’s offered within majors, departments and the colleges.
Undergraduates benefit from working with graduate students in our interdisciplinary programs. In large departments, grad students will be your TAs (teaching assistants) and in smaller departments, you'll be taking classes, researching, and working on projects alongside the masters and PhD candidates.
UC San Diego has earned top international rankings in its 50-year history. The university was built around the idea of superior academics, and we continue to support the growth of academic excellence. For the latest news and updates that showcase the scope of the founders' vision, explore the Academic Affairs website.
Majors and Minors
List of undergraduate majors with links to department websites.
Academic departments and programs, including minor programs. Here are some examples of our interdisciplinary minors:
Research
Taking part in undergraduate research provides not only exposure and insight into desired career paths, but also introduces students to great strides in world-renowned research being made by UCSD grad students, researchers and faculty. Whether in the sciences, humanities or the arts, you can find opportunities for research through the resources below as well as through individual departments and faculty.
Want to do research? Check out our research websites, or find an academic internship in any subject, or customize your own!
Alexander
Human Biology
"You don’t have to be a science major; you don’t have to be any particular major. Every single major has some sort of research initiative, and it’s all very exciting, and the school really promotes that sort of environment."
David Artis
Dean of Undergraduate Research Initiatives
"Research is a great leveler. If you’ve got a really good idea, it doesn’t much matter that you’re a first-year student, or a first-generation student whose family didn’t go to college. The quality of your work speaks louder than anything else. If you’re a smart student and doing good research, you’re going to get a lot of affirmation and support."
Faculty Voices
Teddy Cruz
Visual Arts
His work in public culture and urbanism along the Tijuana-San Diego border was featured in MoMA New York, which included affordable housing projects to deal with effects of gentrification.
Camille Forbes
Literature
Director of the Literature Department’s Undergraduate Studies, she has also performed stand-up comedy acts and a one-woman stage piece “Tales of Suburban Squalor.”
Paul Siegel
Engineering
Named a Master Inventor at IBM Research, he is a leading authority on coding for hard disk magnetic recording systems.
María Luisa Zúñiga
Medicine / Global Public Health
As Principal Investigator of the Hispanic Serving Health Professions scholar training program, she specializes in the mentorship of students and residents from underrepresented communities in the US.
Jerry Yang
Chemistry & Biochemistry
A Hellman Fellow and an American Cancer Society Research Fellow, he received the California HIV/AIDS IDEA Award in 2011 for his work in Alzheimer’s and reducing HIV infection.
Research
- start here to explore research at UC San Diego
- Undergraduate Research Portal
- science and engineering research abroad with PRIME
Resources
- Student Academic Success
- free tutoring, mentoring, counseling with OASIS
Spotlight on Faculty
Shu Chien, Ph.D Founding Chair of Bioengineering department
- 2011 ceremony at the White House:
- Received National Medal of Science
- Recognized for contributions in cardiovascular molecular bioengineering
- Born in Beijing, raised in Shanghai
- Visit Dr. Chien's lab
