Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
Destination UC San Diego
A look at the future of UC San Diego campus by Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla
Chancellor
You may have noticed that this campus is undergoing a remarkable physical, intellectual and cultural transformation. Why are we doing this? One word. Destination. We are creating a preferred destination for students, patients, and the greater community in order to realize our vision to be a student-centered, research-focused, service-oriented public university. UC San Diego’s student population topped 39,000 students this fall. Since 2012, undergraduate applications have nearly doubled, and undergraduate enrollment grew by 34%. In that same timeframe, graduate enrollment grew by 41%. At this rate, UC San Diego is projected to be the nation’s largest residential campus by 2028. Meeting growth requires investments in faculty, advising, student services, academic infrastructure and housing. Our Long-Range Development Plan calls for doubling on-campus residential by 2023 to fulfill our goal to offer a four-year housing guarantee at 20% below market rate.
These significant investments in housing accompany new modern academic buildings, research laboratories, and a variety of student, alumni, and public enrichment and entertainment offerings. By 2035, we will have built 27.8 million gross square feet of academic, housing, and public-serving facilities. Here’s a look at some of those projects: Opening next fall, the North Torrey Pines Living & Learning Neighborhood’s six new buildings incorporate 2,000 new student beds, a new home for Sixth College, a new Social Sciences Building, a new Arts & Humanities Building, retail and dining, and a brand-new Craft Center, where community members can explore and expand their creativity. A year later, in 2021, the new Design and Innovation Building will open, offering studio teaching classrooms; project research space; maker space complete with shops, tools and work areas; offices; meeting rooms; special event space; and a new café. The building opens at the same time as the long-awaited San Diego Trolley extension.
A year later, a new open-air amphitheater will open next to the Pepper Canyon Trolley station with free programming from UC San Diego’s ArtPower. The trolley station, the Design & Innovation Building, the amphitheater, and new Stewart Collection art installation by Ann Hamilton all combine to dazzle the senses with the dynamic, creative energy of UC San Diego. The trolley extension will open around the time as our other new innovation project in Downtown San Diego at Park Avenue and Market Street. Park & Market will offer K-14 outreach, innovation training, 50+ education classes, and enrichment programming for all ages in our vibrant city center that is quickly becoming a magnet for design and innovation tech companies.
The UC San Diego Extension and Osher will also be moving to a new facility on the main campus in the next 3-5 years. The trolley will provide the entire bi-national region direct access to Park & Market and the heart of our research campus and medical center in La Jolla. In less than 40 minutes, you can go from San Ysidro to Park & Market or from Park & Market to Pepper Canyon without the hassle of traffic… in comfort… with Wi-Fi. The trolley will open UC San Diego’s wealth of recreation, enrichment, and entertainment opportunities to everyone from San Ysidro, South Bay, Downtown, and Mission Valley to Claremont and points north. As these projects open, we are looking forward to inviting you to San Diego’s newest Innovation and Entertainment neighborhood—UC San Diego. To learn more about planning and see renderings and flyover videos of all of these projects and other exciting upcoming projects, visit plandesignbuild.ucsd.edu.