University of California San Diego is one of 10 public state schools in the UC system. Founded in 1960, the campus is in an urban setting on 1,900 acres of land. UC San Diego consists of six undergraduate colleges with about 30,000 students, five graduate schools and two medical schools, which serve over 7,000 postgraduate students. Two of the most well-renowned schools are the School of Medicine and the Jacobs School of Engineering. UCSD also runs four research institutes, including the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, the San Diego Supercomputer Center, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the UC San Diego Health System.
Two think tanks are also located on the UCSD campus: the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation and the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies. The six undergraduate residential colleges have their own housing facilities for students. First-year students are guaranteed housing, although they are not required to live on campus.
There are more than 200 undergraduate degrees. The student to faculty ratio is about 19 to 1, and about 47% of classes have fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at UCSD are engineering; social sciences; biological/life sciences; and mathematics and statistics. There are many opportunities for extracurricular activities on campus, with over 600 student organizations. UCSD has an active Greek life with 25 fraternities and 21 sororities on campus. About 14% of women belong to a sorority and 14% of men to a fraternity.
The campus also has an aquarium, public museum, and the Large High Performance Outdoor Shake Table, which is one of the nation’s largest facilities to test a structure’s ability to withstand simulated earthquakes. A popular annual tradition at UCSD is the Sun God Festival. Beginning in 1983, the festival brings students together for concerts, carnival attractions, vendors, and student booths. Additionally, the campus is well-known for their International House, which allows around 350 students from over 30 different countries to live together.
The UCSD mascot is the Triton. They compete in 23 sports in Division II of the NCAA. Their teams have also won championships in soccer, volleyball, golf, water polo, tennis, softball, swimming, and diving. Students interested in attending a campus near the beach with many extracurricular opportunities will enjoy what UCSD has to offer.
Acceptance Rate
Academic Qualifications
SAT Range (25 to 75 Percentile)
ACT Range (25 to 75 Percentile)
Admissions Information
Freshmen Admissions
Number of 2020 (Class of 2024) applicants: 100,034
Enrolled: 6,023
Yield: 18.8%
Acceptance rate (overall): 38.3%
In-state applicant acceptance rate: 34.1%
Out-of-state domestic applicant acceptance rate: 60.3%
International applicant acceptance rate: 36.1%
Waitlist Admission Statistics
Number of waitlisted applicants: 12,426
Waitlisted applicants admitted: 4,313
Waitlist acceptance rate: 34.7%
Transfer Admissions
Number of transfer applicants: 10,835
Transfer applicants admitted: 3,167
Transfer acceptance rate: 29.2%
Academic Qualifications
Average GPA: 4.08
Top 10% of High School: 100%
Middle SAT Range (25 to 75 Percentile)
SAT Composite: 1250-1470
SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: 610-710
SAT Math: 620-780
Middle ACT Range (25 to 75 Percentile)
ACT Composite: 24-33
ACT English: 24-34
ACT Math: 24-33
Standardized Test Requirements
SAT/ACT not required
Writing portion not required
SAT Subject Tests not required
Graduation Rates
Loan Defaults and Rhodes Scholars
Salary After Attending
R&D Expenditures
Campus Safety
Score Card Information
Graduation Rates
4 years: 65.1%
5 years: 84.6%
6 years: 87.4%
Loan default rate: 1.7%
Rhodes Scholars: 0
Salary after attending: $59,900
R&D Expenditures: $1.133 billion
Campus Safety
Sex offenses: 22
Robberies: 2
Aggravated assaults: 2
Burglaries: 15
Car thefts: 17
Net Cost and Total Expected Cost of Attendance
Average In State Net Price By Income
Student Debt
Additional Information
In-state tuition, room and board (2020-2021): $29,160
Total Estimated Cost of Attendance (2020-2021)
In-state: $32,370
Out-of-state: $62,124
Net Cost (in-state)
Average: $14,864
By income
$0 to $30,000: $9,280
$30,001 to $48,000: $9,974
$48,001 to $75,000: $14,071
$75,001 to $110,000: $20,205
$110,001 and more: $28,508
Graduates with student debt: 41%
Average student debt at graduation: $20,536
Student Residence
Undergraduate Class Sizes
Student to Faculty Ratio
Student Population
Additional Information
Student to Faculty Ratio: 19.4 to 1
Women: 50%
Undergraduate Class Sizes
Under 20: 47%
20 to 39: 22%
40 to 99: 16%
100+: 15%
Student Population
Total: 38,396
Undergraduate: 30,794
Student Residence
In State: 78%
Out of State: 7%
International: 15%
