The University of California San Diego (UC San Diego or UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in La Jolla, California, established in 1960 near the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. It is the southernmost of the University of California's ten campuses. UC San Diego occupies 2,178 acres (881 ha) near the Pacific coast. The university is known for its culture of risk-taking, innovation, and research. UC San Diego consists of 12 schools and has 8 undergraduate residential colleges. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". UC San Diego offers 125 bachelor's degree programs traditionally organized into five disciplinary divisions: arts and humanities, biological sciences, engineering, mathematics and physical sciences, and social sciences. Pradeep K. Khosla serves as the current Chancellor.
UC San Diego has consistently been ranked among the top universities globally. In 2025, the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) placed UC San Diego as the No. 4 public university in the U.S., 15th among all U.S. universities, and 20th globally. U.S. News & World Report named it the 6th best public university in the U.S. for the third year in a row in 2025. Several undergraduate programs at UC San Diego rank in the top 20 nationally, including psychology, computer science, engineering, and economics. UC San Diego is recognized for its strong STEM programs and research opportunities. Recent news includes Jessica Meir, a Scripps Institution of Oceanography alumna, returning to space as commander of NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 mission, and the launch of the FORGE program to boost national security innovation.