Academic Programs

• Understanding and Protecting the Planet 
• Enriching Human Life and Society
• Exploring the Basis of Human Knowledge, Learning and Creativity
• Understanding Cultures and Addressing Disparities in Society

To support these research priorities and continue the university’s investment in access and affordability for all students interested in an exceptional educational experience, in 2015 UC San Diego launched a pilot program known as the Frontiers of Innovation Scholars Program (FISP). After three years of the successful pilot, the now-permanent funding opportunity will be known as the Chancellor’s Research Innovation Scholarships (CRES). Like FISP, this program will build the interdisciplinary expertise necessary to address society’s greatest challenges and forge new intellectual enterprises, which increasingly rely on the ability to work across diverse disciplines, either individually or as members of multidisciplinary teams.

To build this cross disciplinary effort, CRES will support multidisciplinary research project scholarships for up to 100 undergraduates, 50 Ph.D. graduate students, and 20 postdoctoral scholars working with mentors across the campus. While undergraduates will have new opportunities to work on multidisciplinary projects in a single laboratory or program, Ph.D. Students and Postdoctoral Scholars will have mentors in at least two different divisions (e.g., Physical Sciences and Biological Sciences, Health Sciences and Arts and Humanities, Marine Sciences and Engineering). The scholarships will provide opportunities for the students/scholars to develop their ability to communicate and collaborate with those in very different disciplines. Priority will be given to projects that are aligned with the UC San Diego strategic research themes above and represent a new collaborative focus (multidisciplinary focus for undergraduates), employ novel and creative approaches, and foster commitments to diversity and access. Applications should be submitted by the Lead mentor and no more than one application should be submitted per trainee. Get more  information about the scholarships.

ERC has partnered with UC San Diego’s CREATE STEM Initiative and Math for America San Diego in CREATE (Center for Research on Educational Equity, Assessment and Teaching Excellence) to offer the ERC/CREATE Math Tutor Corps, a two-unit, student service learning course (ERC 89) that supports underrepresented high school students with limited access to educational opportunities. The ERC/CREATE Math Tutor Corps course teaches undergraduate students how to tutor high school mathematics and then put those tutoring skills to work at Lincoln High School, a UC San Diego partnership school. Math Tutor Corps students serve as positive role models and mentors while supporting college access and success for high school students. Find more information here. 

Contact: Jeff Lampert, mathtutorcorps@ucsd.edu 

Global TIES - Teams in Engineering Service is an innovative humanitarian engineering program of the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego. Global TIES teams give students an opportunity to apply their skills in a real-world setting while learning the role that engineering and technology can play in solving the local and global problems. Not-for-profit organizations receive critically needed—but often cost-prohibitive—technical expertise, and students receive course credit for their work. UC San Diego faculty and researchers advise the teams. Read more information here. 

Contact: Barb Donovan, bdonovan@eng.ucsd.edu 

The purpose of the human rights minor is to encourage students to treat human rights as an intellectual and practical question. Students will engage openly with the history and the implementation of human rights, explore ints origins and trajectory, the passions it arrouses, and the range of its influences and effects. Many of the courses in the minor have a clear international content but a good portion has a U.S. or comparative approach. This program helps to prepare students for a career in research and teaching, working in NGOs that advocate for and monitor human rights compliance, government agencies, or law. Find more information here.

Contact:  Lorna Hirae-Reese, lhirae@ucsd.edu 

This minor program is the first undergraduate instructional program with this focus offered at any university in the United States. This minor will give students an in-depth understanding of the causes, politics, and social consequences of international migration from a broad comparative perspective. This program of study will help to prepare students for a variety of careers, including research and teaching, immigrant service-providing organizations, government agencies, and law. The unique research and writing opportunities offered by this minor also provide excellent preparation for graduate school. Find more information here. 

Contact: Lorna Hirae-Reese, lhirae@ucsd.edu 

TMC 20 explores how to enact the College’s motto of “Scholar and Citizen” within and beyond UC San Diego, with particular attention to exercising political and civic leadership in order to advocate and advance social change. This course includes a service-learning project and is designated as a UC San Diego Changemaker activity. The course highlights interactive learning by linking personal experiences and academic coursework to political/social issues and vice versa, as well as promoting social responsibility and community engagement. Marshall College Honors Seminars are open to all TMC Honors program students of all course standings.

Spring Quarter 2018 Fridays | 12:00 – 12:50 p.m. | TMC Administration Building 127
Amber L. Vlasnik, Ph.D. avlasnik@ucsd.edu

Read the TMC 20 Syllabus 

Sponsored by Thurgood Marshall College, the Public Service minor encourages all UC San Diego students to understand the history and practices of public service. By further developing the civic skills and experiences of the student, the Public Service minor offers a service-learning experience through academic and practicum-based means of civic engagement. With coursework and opportunities focused on the history, emergence, and importance of public service work, students in the minor will obtain valuable experience and a deeper understanding of the field. Through the pursuit of the minor, students will be able to supplement their educational careers with a service-learning experience that offers a unique avenue of growth in preparation for the future. Read more information here. 

Contact: publicsvcminor@ucsd.edu

Thurgood Marshall College's Partnership Schools Program encourages you to apply to be an intern or volunteer tutor at one of our two Partnership Schools: Gompers Preparatory Academy and the Preuss School. Volunteers who also take the TMC 198 course can earn 4 credits and satisfy requirements for
Marshall, ERC, and Sixth College! 

For more information, attend one of our upcoming Info Sessions:

• Thursday, November 15th @ 10:00 am
  • Thurgood Marshall College Admin Building, Room 132
• Friday, November 16th @ 1:00 pm
  • Thurgood Marshall College Admin Building, Room 126
• Monday, November 19th @ 2:00 pm
  • Thurgood Marshall College Admin Building, Room 127