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Experiential Learning ELT
  1. Experiential Learning
  2. Campus Opportunities

Campus Opportunities for Experiential Learning

The Experiential Learning Team recognizes that many departments and programs at UC San Diego work toward creating experiential learning opportunities. We strive to collaborate with others on campus to elevate and highlight those opportunities as often as possible. 

Below is a non-exhaustive list of experiential learning opportunities across campus, we encourage you to explore the different options available!

Research & Academic Life

  • Undergraduate Research (UR) - Empowers undergraduates seeking to become integrated in the UC San Diego research community with the skills to be successful in a post-baccalaureate career. Meet with UR to learn how you can get involved with one or more undergrad research opportunities.
  • PAL Program - The PAL program, part of the Department of Education Studies, is UC San Diego's largest service-learning program. PAL provides opportunities for UC San Diego’s undergraduate students to work with underserved P-12 students and schools while earning upper division course credit and fulfilling graduation requirements.
  • Global TIES - Global TIES is UC San Diego’s internationally recognized program in social innovation and sustainable development. Interdisciplinary teams of undergraduates co-design solutions and partner with not-for-profit organizations in San Diego and in developing countries worldwide.

Student Engagement & Campus Life

  • Alternative Breaks - Alternative Breaks are national or international service and learning trips that use education of social justice issues combined with quality direct service to have a lasting impact on students and the communities in which they work.
  • Changemaker Institute - The Changemaker Institute serves as the nucleus of UC San Diego’s ecosystem for changemaking and changemaker education, and provides a supportive infrastructure for interdisciplinary, cross-campus collaboration in research, education, community engagement, and advocacy.
  • College Corps - Students accepted into College Corps at UC San Diego engage in community-serving opportunities that focus on K-12 education, climate action, food insecurity, and public health while also receiving financial compensation and other benefits.

Community-Based & Global Learning

  • Study Abroad - Provides learning opportunities at a university in foreign country. These learning experiences are generally one-semester or one academic year but may take place over the summer or intersession.
  • Global Initiatives - Global Initiatives serves UC San Diego's robust international student and scholar populations as well as students studying abroad. 

Professional & Career Development

  • Career Center - The Career Center organizes events throughout the year to support students' professional development. These include skill-building workshops, career exploration programs, and networking events.
  • BUMMP - Biology Undergraduate and Master's Mentorship Program's primary aim is to ensure that our undergraduate and Master's students, including those from historically underserved backgrounds or who have faced obstacles that have limited their ability to conduct research, are equipped with an awareness of their place in science and the strength to stand in that place and advance to higher heights.
  • iLead Program - Center for Student Involvement's iLead is a year-long leadership program available to all UC San Diego students that features 25+ workshops per quarter centered around personal and professional development.