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FUTURES Programs

Career pathway programs for high school students to fulfill passions, explore new interests and gain hands-on experience before entering the workforce or applying for college.

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Your Future Lies Just Ahead

Choosing the right college or career pathway is not an easy decision. The UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies Futures programs enable students to fulfill their passions, explore new interests and gain hands-on experience before they enter the workforce or apply for college. Each program is designed specifically for high school students. The cutting-edge coursework is taught by leading industry experts in high demand fields. All programs culminate in an Award of Completion issued by UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies for use on college applications and resumes.

Testimonials

Shape your future today in the areas of Computer Science, Business Management, Design and Life Sciences.

Hear from our students

Scholarship

Scholarship opportunities are available for all Futures programs on a first-come, first-served basis.

Apply Now!

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Choose a Program to Get Started

Android Programming

Through the course of this program, students will learn how to work with the Android Studio to write numerous Android applications for a wide range of phones and tablets.

AutoCAD

Start at the very beginning of computer aided design (CAD), and use AutoCAD to draft CAD symbols, kitchen and bath fixtures, and then create a floor plan.

Business Management

In this program, high school students develop a practical understanding of business management from policy creation to aligning resource allocation with institutional objectives.

Digital Circuit Design

Digital Circuit Design studies the behavior and movement of electrons in physical components and applies these fundamental concepts to the design and construction of the electronic products we use every day.

Front End Web Development

Throughought this program high school students will learn how to develop engaging websites and applications using HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript and jQuery.

Internship Programs

These courses will prepare students with the attitudinal and behavioral skills that are essential to success in the workplace.

iOS Programming

Throughout this program, high school students become proficient in iOS, a mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for use with its hardware, including iPhone, iPad, and more.

Machine Learning

Learn about machine learning and its ability to imitate intelligent human behavior through the use and development of computer systems.

Revit

Learn to use Building Information Modeling (BIM) using Revit to become design professionals involved in the construction industry.

Robotics with JavaScript

Program robots while learning the popular JavaScript language in preparation for the careers of the future.

Wireless Communications Technologist

Obtain the knowledge and skills required to differentiate, configure, test, and maintain differing communication system technologies and regulating bodies that ensure safe and harmonious utilization of available spectrum.

About Futures

The UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies Futures initiative gives high school students the opportunity to explore career and college pathways through programs that offer practical and applied learning in high demand fields. Our courses and programs not only provide students with real-world skills and personal development, but also with opportunities for internships, professional employment, and educational advancement. In addition, parents/guardians have the opportunity to take these courses alongside their students, strengthening the sense of community and pride within the family unit. These programs are specifically designed for high school students and adhere to the same rigor and standard of excellence upheld by the University.

About the Department of Education and Community Outreach (ECO)

The Department of Education and Community Outreach offers a uniquely holistic and service-based approach to education, incorporating opportunities for students in PreK- postsecondary; parents; teachers and school personnel; community members; and adults over the age of 50. ECO attends to the needs of over 30,000 learners per annum in contextually grounded, dynamic and personalized ways, employing face-to-face, blended and online formats. Beyond courses, certificates and programs leading to professional licensure, ECO works with communities across the globe to cultivate capacity and to serve as catalysts for transformation.

ECO serves as home to a host of cutting-edge programs and initiatives aligned with the needs of education and industry, including Sally Ride Science, the Futures initiative, and the University of California Professional Development Institute (UCPDI), a system-wide applied research organization. ECO partners with schools, districts and postsecondary institutions across the United States in support of developing avenues for enhanced access, equity and inclusion in education. ECO also works cooperatively public libraries, YMCAs and other community-based organizations to bring to them the best of what the University of California has to offer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Students receive three (3) pre-college credits per course. Some participating high school locations accept these credits to serve as elective credits on students’ high school transcripts potentially being applied to high school graduation requirements. Contact your school counselor to confirm credit acceptance PRIOR to enrolling in the courses. In addition, some higher education institutions will accept these credits as transferable credits to be applied to undergraduate requirements. Please contact the institution as to specific guidelines on credit transfers. Students can request official transcripts from UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies to include in college applications and for professional pursuits.

Students enroll directly through the Futures website. Upon choosing a course within one of the program offerings, add the course to your cart and select your grading preference. Read and accept the terms and conduct policies to move forward with checkout. If you have a UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies student account, login to process your enrollment. If you do not have a UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies student account, create a new account here, then login with your new credentials. Follow the above steps until enrollment and payment is processed. If you have questions during this process, please contact Student Services at (858) 534-3400, opti

Visit UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies’s website and click order your transcript. Login with your student account credentials and follow the step-by-step prompts. If you have questions during this process, please contact Student Services at (858) 534-3400, option 3.

Students will have access to internship opportunities through Extended Studies’ affiliation with San Diego Workforce Partnership. Students themselves are ultimately responsible for applying for internships. By participating in this program, students will gain a specific set of skills that make them standout in collegiate applications and future career pursuits.

Yes, courses will be offered in sequential order as curriculum builds upon proceeding courses.

Scholarship opportunities are open to students who qualify to free or reduced lunch and are awarded on a first-come, first-served, basis. Students must apply through the online application posted on the UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies website within the designated timeframe. Scholarship applications open during the month of August and close during the month of September. Students will receive notification via email if they received or did not receive a scholarship. It is important to note that students who receive scholarship opportunities are required to complete the entire program or may be financially responsible for reimbursing UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies up to $1,200. All scholarship questions should be directed to precollege@ucsd.edu.

Yes, payment plans are available on a case-by-case basis through UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies. In addition to the tuition cost, there is a $40 processing charge. To qualify for payment plans, you must commit to all courses within a program. Payments are evenly broken up during the duration of a program and are automatically charged to a credit card on file one time per month. For more information on payment plans, please contact precollege@ucsd.edu.

Once students have completed all three required courses within a Futures program track, students need to request an audit of their completion status by emailing precollege@ucsd.edu. A UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies staff member will complete the audit and contact Extended Studies' Student Services team to process the Award of Completion. Awards of Completion will be mailed directly to the address listed in the student account.

Students are required to earn a C- or higher to receive credit for a course and apply the course toward the requirement to earn a certificate of completion.

Futures courses run in line with a traditional academic year with enrollment opening by August and classes running from approximately September to June.

Hear From Our Students

 

I had a slight interest in pursuing a business career and this program was useful in showing me some components of a job in business. It helped me refine my potential majors list for when I apply to colleges. I also found that my instructors were very friendly and I felt that they were really good at explaining things.

- Hector Avila,

This program was a great way to test the waters of the CAD world! The videos were very easy to follow and their asynchronous nature made it easy to accommodate the rest of my schooling simultaneously. The teacher was also available by email and was extremely good about responding to questions in a timely manner.

- Kylie Staebler,

It was a great experience and very helpful. I got to meet great professors from UCSD.

- Daniela Gonzalez,

iOS Programming was a great course to take and I felt that I learned a lot through this. I was able to understand the basic knowledge and idea of how to code. Throughout this whole program, we created apps on Xcode and this was a genuinely enjoyable experience as we had to brainstorm how to write the code to make an app function.

- Donny Chau,

During my sophomore year, participating in the UCSD business management course, I learned fundamental knowledge, and the team working activities were enjoyable especially through online.

- Elisha Liu,

If I had one word for my experience in this program it would be: metamorphic. I learned many facts, information, and simply knowledge about business management in this program. In addition, this program also is a way to create lasting bonds with other individuals in your age group, especially with those who have similar interests.

- Anissa Ward,

Futures CTE Advisory Committee

Associate Dean UC San Diego Extended Studies

Ed Abeyta

Edward Abeyta is the Associate Dean for Education and Community Outreach, overseeing programming from early childhood to 50+ and specializes in the linkage between education, workforce development, and diverse communities across the globe. Abeyta began his service at UC San Diego as a counselor serving underrepresented students in San Diego high schools and later assumed the role of Registrar and Director of Academic Services at UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies. In 2008 he was selected to a two-year term as the Staff Advisor to The Regents. He later founded the pre-college programs department at DES, which merged with the teacher and professional development and 50+ programs now known as ECO. He has a B.A. from the University of New Mexico, an M.A. from the University of San Diego, and a Ph.D. in Post-Secondary Adult Education from Capella University. Ed has been recognized by UC San Diego and the UC Office of the President for his involvement in staff diversity and development initiatives, in addition to being a leader in donor stewardship. He serves on various community advisory boards and is a founding trustee of Urban Discovery Schools in San Diego, where he currently serves as the president of the UDA Foundation.

Assistant Dean at UC San Diego Extended Studies

Morgan Appel

Morgan Appel is Assistant Dean for Education and Community Outreach (ECO) at UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies, overseeing a diverse array of programming for PK-post retirement, including opportunities for students, practitioners, administrators, parents, and community stakeholders. He previously served as Director of Education Programs at UC Irvine’s Division of Continuing Education (DCE) following a research appointment at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at UC Irvine. With expertise in education transformation and policy, Appel has worked with a number of school districts, universities, and research institutes to explore the impacts of legislated and organically-generated change agentry across segments of education. Professional specialties include gifted and talented education; the neuroscience of teaching and learning; arts integration; and organizational behavior in educational institutions. Beyond his current administrative appointment, Appel teaches a variety of courses at both UC San Diego and UC Irvine.

Assistant Director at UC San Diego Extended Studies

Megan Lancaster

Megan Lancaster is a Program Manager for UC San Diego Pre-College and Career Preparation Programs where she focuses on planning, implementing, and evaluating academic and enrichment programs to meet the individual needs of students in preparation of collegiate and professional pursuits. Prior to working with UC San Diego Extension, Megan served as the Program Supervisor for the Viejas Tribal Education Center and also taught grades K-12 in the local public and private school districts. Megan received a B.A. in Social Science from San Diego State University and a Single-Subject Teaching Credential in Social Science, Multiple-Subject Teaching Credential, and M.A. in Education from Azusa Pacific University.

Instructor at UC San Diego Extended Studies

Jeff Allen

Born and raised in San Diego, Jeff Allen has maintained a deep interest in computers and technology since childhood. He started programming with languages like Fortran and Java before progressing to networking, robotics and web-based interests. Jeff holds a master’s degree in education with a California teaching credential in computer science. He taught A+ Computer Repair at Abraxas High School in Poway and Networking Fundamentals at Remington College, and he was the robotics advisor at Northview High School in Covina before coming to Poway Unified School District. He currently teaches programming, hardware and operating system courses. Jeff teaches the Space Out! and JavaScript courses for Sally Ride Science Junior Academy.

Instructor at UC San Diego Extended Studies

Tony Mauro

Tony Mauro currently teaches Computer Science, Machine Learning, and Digital Circuit Design at Canyon Crest Academy in Carmel Valley, CA., and founded NexStream Technical Education to provide enrichment opportunities in these areas to students and professionals looking to enhance their skill sets. His formal education is in Electrical Engineering where he completed his BSEE and MSEE degrees from the California Polytechnic University and the University of Southern California. He worked as a hardware, software and systems design engineer at Qualcomm Inc. for over 20 years where he was awarded over 20 patents. He joined the faculty at UCSD in 2022 where he develops curriculum and teaches with the Extended studies and Futures groups. He is also active in computer science and engineering pathways with the California Career Technical Education (CTE) program of study and contributes to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) to promote the fields to secondary students.

Instructor at UC San Diego Extended Studies

Amy Kaufman

Amy Kaufman, M.Ed., is a former Instructional Programs Administrator serving 30 high schools within five comprehensive high school districts. She has been an instructor at the high school, adult school and community college level. Currently, she is a CTE program facilitator and an educational technology designer and developer of online courses for the Orange County Department of Education. She has been the Vice President of the California Council on Adult Education - South Coast Section and brings many years of experience as an educator.

Instructor at UC San Diego Extended Studies

Elena Chirkova

Elena Chirkova has over 25 years of experience in fashion, modeling, and TV, along with 20+ years as a Career Technical Education (CTE) educator. Starting her journey as a professional model at 14, she worked with renowned European designers like Jean-Claude Bonucci, refining her skills in design and client collaboration. Elena holds a Master’s in Education and a Bachelor’s in Fashion, founding "Dance in Style" in 1998 to create ballroom dancewear, later expanding into skatewear and theater costume design. As an educator, she passionately mentors students, develops innovative CTE curricula, and contributes as a member of California Teachers Together.

Executive Director at North Inland Special Education Region

Jaime Tate-Symons

Jaime Tate-Symons is the Executive Director at North Inland Special Education Region (NISER) and has been a special educator for over 27 years. Her professional experience spans the grade levels and ranges from early childhood to the university level. She is passionate about removing barriers to providing access to education, services, and transitional skills for all learners. She believes multi-agency collaboration is essential in successfully supporting our students and families through a whole-person approach.

Have Questions?

Fill out the below form or contact us directly at precollege@ucsd.edu or 858-534-0804.