The Six Colleges

The University of California, San Diego was founded in 1959. It is one of ten University of California campuses (UC Berkeley, UC Los Angeles, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, UC Davis, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbera, US Santa Cruz, UC San Francisco, and UC Merced).

The undergraduate housing at UCSD is divided into six colleges (a system of organization modeled after that of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge). If you are an incoming freshman at UCSD or are hoping to go here someday, you may be confused about the differences between the six different colleges. All are a part of UCSD in general, and so no matter which college you are a part of, you are all a part of UCSD. You will still have to complete the general UCSD requirements. However, in addition to those UCSD GE requirements, each college has additional requirements of its students. Each college also has its own core writing course.

Revelle: Revelle College was the first college founded at UCSD (in 1964) and so it is also the most highly structured and organized. Revelle college aims at developing ""a well-rounded student who is intellectually skilled and prepared for competition in a complex world." Revelle's motto is "Purpose, Truth, Vision." Roger Revelle, oceanographer and founder of the college, hoped for its graduates to be "Reinassance scholars." However, in order to meet these expectations, the work load at Revelle college is quite demanding, making it the hardest of the six colleges. Revelle's core writing course is the Humanities Course, notorious for its level of difficulty. The majority of students in Revelle are science majors. The housing at Revelle is good, but nothing extraordinary. Take note that the residential halls are some of the oldest cement buildings on campus, and so it is likely that you may have problems with cellular phone or wireless internet connections indoors.

Muir: Muir college was UCSD's second college. It was founded in 1967 by John Muir. Since John Muir was in fact an environmentalist, his college focuses on the "spirit of self-sufficiency and individual choice." Muir's motto is "Celebrating the independent spirit." Muir's general requirements are less rigorous than those of other colleges, and the flexibility it gives students is advantagous, especially for those who are yet unsure of their major. Housing in Muir is notable in that it is distrubted almost in between trees. Being an environmentalist, John Muir insisted that no tree be cut down during the construction of the college.

Marshall College: Marshall was the third college founded at UCSD, in 1970. It is named after Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Super Court Justice and lawyer for the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education. Marshall emphasizes "cholarship, social responsibility and the belief that a liberal arts education must include an understanding of [one's] role in society." Marshall College's general education requirements emphasize this culture of community involvement and multiculturalism. The motto of Marshall College is: "A UCSD Community Developing the Scholar and the Citizen."

Warrn College: The fourth college at UCSD is named after former Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren. Warren colleges requires students to pursue a major of their choice while also requiring two "programs of concentration" in disciplines unrelated to each other and to their major. Warren is also home to UCSD's engineering department and so houses many of UCSD's undergraduate engineerng students. The motto of Warren College is: "Social justice, individual student responsibility, and life-long learning; towards a life in balance."

Eleanor Roosevelt College: ERC was founded in 1988 as UCSD's fifth college. It is named after former American First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The college focuses its core education program on a cross-cultural interdisciplinary course sequence entitled Making of the Modern World. ERC's motto is: "Developing World Citizens Through Scholarship, Leadership, and Service." After Revelle, ERC has the most demanding general requirements. The housing at ERC is also famous for its aesthetic appeal. ERC students get the newest buildings available, and they look good.

Sixth College: Sixth College was founded in 2002 and as of yet, remains unnamed. Its focus is on "historical and philosophical connections among culture, art and technology." Because it is the newest college, Sixth College does not have such demanding requirements as other colleges yet, and it is generally thought to be one of the easier colleges. However, take note that Sixth College didn't exactly get first pick on residential housing. Although it is a new college, its residential halls are quite old and located in the woods, causing some students to nickname the college "Camp Snoopy."


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