Experiential Learning Program Finder

Social Innovation

The BioClock Studio and BioClock Workshop were courses at the University of California San Diego in which undergraduate and graduate students, drawn from diverse disciplines across the arts and the sciences, worked collaboratively to develop their scientific and communication skills and produced creative educational materials.

Internship

The Biology Research Internship Program is a partnership between UC San Diego Biological Sciences and the Academic Internship Program. The program provides opportunities for students to gain academic credit for research-based internships in approved labs at various institutes/organizations in the local area.

Research

The BUMMP Research Apprenticeship Program (BRAP) supports UCSD students, prioritizing those with financial need or first-generation college students. As research apprentices, students gain skills in research, critical thinking, and career development, setting them up for success in a research career during the academic year.

Entrepreneurship

Blackstone LaunchPad, the signature program of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, seeks to close the opportunity gap by equipping college and university students with the entrepreneurial skills they need to build lasting careers.

Internship

The BSFI is a paid field experience, designed to enrich undergraduate classroom learning by immersing students in sites of marginalization across San Diego County. Students are trained to analyze societal challenges through multiple lenses, to communicate across disciplinary languages and knowledges, and to engage respectfully in collaborative research and problem-solving with each other, and with our community partners.

Research

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.

Community Engagement

California Ecology and Conservation is a seven-week field program that brings UC students together for intensive scientific training at NRS reserves. Students complete a series of research projects, learn field techniques, and present findings in oral, poster, and written formats. They hone research, public speaking, and scientific writing skills while gaining familiarity with California’s ecosystems.

Research

Provide ethnically underrepresented students majoring in the sciences, mathematics, engineering and technology with the skills to pursue research and stimulate serious consideration of graduate study.

Internship

CALPIRG interns take on leadership on one or more of our campaigns and receive support and training from a team of experienced organizers and student leaders. Our internship program gives students the opportunity to take your education out of the classroom, do hands-on work, learn important skills, and make an impact. Interns are also eligible to get course credit in a variety of departments on campus.

Employment

The Career Center organizes events throughout the year to support students' professional development. These include skill-building workshops, career exploration programs, and networking events.

Research

The overarching goal of this CEER REU Summer Program is to immerse students in a meaningful and highly interdisciplinary research environment within the structural engineering domain and to teach them that design does not end with construction.

Community Engagement

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.

Research

Our NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates program offers first-year (or the equivalent) students an intensive research experience in chemical sciences at UC San Diego. Students work with faculty and graduate students on projects in materials synthesis, human health, energy, and environmental science, with mentorship and training, and no prior research experience required.

Research

The Climate Justice/Action/Resilience Scholars (CJARS) Program is a 2-quarter, 12-unit course series out of the Social Sciences Division. Great fit for students concerned about the climate crisis and related issues of justice, equity, health and wellbeing, and interested in hands-on, collaborative, community-based learning, research, and action.

Community Engagement

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.

Research

Our goals are to motivate, mentor and facilitate the transition of undergraduate students at UC San Diego that come from disadvantaged economic and social backgrounds, as well as students with disabilities, into Ph.D. programs with significant relevance to neuroscience.

Campus Employment

Volunteer in cohort-style groups of 5-15 people for a quarter-long program. Activities start around week 3 of about 2-4 hours per week volunteering

Internship

Projects in the Department of Biomedical Informatics (DBMI) at UC San Diego Health's summer internship program cover a range of topic areas and vary according to the intern's background and interests.

Campus Employment

Students and volunteers interested in careers in medicine, public health, or clinical research can work with the Emergency Department with the opportunity for direct one-on-one patient interaction through screening, enrolling and interviewing patients for various clinical research studies.

Internship

Conduct research across the spectrum of human-centered design in topics such as cognitive science, social science, human-computer interaction, computer science, electrical engineering, public health, visual arts, urban studies, communication.

Internship

Summer research fellowships are available in Metabolic Disease for deserving and committed UCSD undergraduates focused on obesity, diabetes, and related disorders. Ten week stipends will be available for selected candidates to work in laboratories at UCSD or the Salk Institute led by principal investigators who are members in good standing of the UCSD Diabetes Research Center.

Campus Employment

The CSE ERSP program pairs students with UCSD CSE research groups during their second year. Students attend research group meetings, learning from and contributing to projects. A weekly support class helps students learn research basics and integrate their experiences with peers in the program.

Research

The ECE Spring/Summer Research Internship Program (SRIP) offers UCSD ECE undergrad and MS students a research internship experience. Students work under faculty supervision, participating in research activities and attending workshops on research communication, writing, and more to gain valuable skills and experience in their field.

Internship

This summer program has been designed by our team from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering to help incoming ECE students prepare for their future job interviews in both the technical and professional space.

Global Experience

France's Ecole Polytechnique, one of Europe's premier universities for science and technology, offers a prestigious internship program to students from select partner universities. UC San Diego students are eligible to complete a 3 to 6 month research internship at one of École Polytechnique's world-renowned research facilities. This is a highly competitive, two-part application. Interested students must apply to UC San Diego in Tritons Abroad for nomination, AND must apply directly to EPFL.

Internship

Aimed towards transfer engineering students who want to further their careers by utilizing scholarship, mentorship, and academic resources provided to them.

Internship

The Department of Psychiatry and its Mental Health Tech Center formed an initiative in Fall 2017 to increase research collaborations between psychiatry and engineering. Psychiatry Faculty have created projects that attempt to problem solve an unmet challenge in the clinic or in research. The goal is to address the topic through an engineering solution.

Research

Engineers For Exploration is a group of students who develop and use technology to drive the future of exploration. Our projects span aquatic, terrestrial, and aerial environments, opening new perspectives of the planet. With international collaborators in ecology, conservation, and archaeology, we apply remote imaging, sensing, and robotic technologies to extend the limits of human exploration.

Research

The ENLACE summer research program at UC San Diego aims to encourage the participation of high school and university students in research in the sciences and engineering, while promoting cross-border friendships between Latin America and the United States.

Internship

The Exercise and Physical Activity Resource Center (EPARC) maintains a fully equipped laboratory to support the research community, train medical students and residents, and conduct comprehensive health-related fitness and performance assessments for the general public. EPARC also serves as an independent testing laboratory for the commercial health and fitness sector.

Research

Students can develop valuable relationships with UC San Diego faculty mentors while participating in an independent study course to build their research skills.

Campus Employment

Students interested in careers in medicine or a future in clinical research have more research opportunities and can volunteer with the Emergency Department, giving students the opportunity to have direct one-on-one patient interaction with a diverse population and work closely with physicians and nurses.

Internship

The NRS Field Science Fellowship provides financial support to UC undergraduate-faculty teams conducting scientific research in the field at NRS reserves. The fellowships enable students to focus on gaining valuable hands-on research experience under the guidance of a faculty researcher. Each $6,000 award consists of a $5,000 student stipend and $1,000 to cover project costs. A maximum of $24,000 will be awarded annually.

Global Experience

The Future Innovators Global Internship Program offers Pell-eligible students new to UC San Diego the chance to embark on a fully-funded international internship for the Summer. Selected students will spend their summer in one of four dynamic global locations, gaining hands-on experience and testing innovative ideas in real-world environments.

Leadership

The Globally Engaged Tritons Co-Curricular Opportunity (GET CCR) enables all UC San Diego students to earn credit on their Co-Curricular Record for being involved in events on campus that promote the global engagement and internationalization of our university.

Leadership

The Global Changemaker Scholars Program empowers students to tackle UN Sustainable Development Goals or NAE Grand Challenges. Scholars develop skills in 7 areas, including project-based learning, collaboration, and leadership, while completing a portfolio, project, and capstone paper to drive positive change.

Global Experience

Global Initiatives serves UC San Diego's robust international student and scholar populations as well as students studying abroad.

Global Experience

Entrepreneurship

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.

Research

GEAR is a year-long research apprenticeship program for students who have not had the opportunity to get involved with research in the Jacobs School of Engineering. As a GEAR Research Apprentice, you will work with a teammate on a research project within a Jacobs School of Engineering faculty research lab.

Leadership

The UC San Diego Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute (HDSI) is emerging as a world leader in data science research, and its mission is strongly focused on the training and education of the next generation of leaders in data science. HDSI aims to supporting students, scientists, and faculty in developing new data analytic methods and to foster “data science thinking” in a variety of problems across fields.

Internship

The Health Frontiers in Tijuana Undergraduate Internship Program (HFiT-UIP) is a quarterly internship that affords developmental experiences in public health and healthcare for the underserved and is especially appropriate for UCSD Global Health Majors and Minors.

Entrepreneurship

i4X, or Innovating for X, is a two-quarter-long program designed to bring multidisciplinary teams of students together to create disruptive solutions to real-world challenges provided by regional and national partners.

Leadership

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.

Entrepreneurship

Innovating for National Security (i4NS) is a quarter-long program that offers U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) leaders an opportunity to collaborate with talented student teams to develop innovative solutions to their most pressing national security problems.

Research

The Jane Teranes - Scripps Undergraduate Research Fellowship (JT-SURF) is a 10-week summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) designed to engage students in diverse and exciting earth, ocean and atmospheric sciences research at a world-renowned institution.

Campus Employment

Assist self-represented litigants (individuals who represent themselves before the court without an attorney) with filling out court paperwork related to family law and civil matters with training and supervision from attorneys. Requires live-scan fingerprinting security check.

Research

The LCHC Polyphonic Autobiography tells the long story of a research organization, The Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition (LCHC), through the voices of those who have participated in its activities over the years. Readers are invited to be writers and contribute to the discussion that is unfolding in the LCHC Polyphonic Autobiography.

Community Engagement

The Life Course Scholars Program (LCS) is a 6-unit practicum course offered in the winter quarter. It creates a unique interdisciplinary, cross-generational, multi-site learning experience for UC San Diego undergraduates that aims to transform their understanding of aging, health, learning and research, as well as connect them more deeply to the people and places of surrounding San Diego communities.

Campus Employment

MADURA stands for Mentorship for Advancing Diversity in Undergraduate Research on Aging. Our program's aim is to address diversity inequities in clinical and research careers in MSTEM fields. By financially and academically supporting underrepresented students, MADURA is able to further address such disparities in healthcare and continues to be at the forefront of undergraduate research in aging and Alzheimer's.

Social Innovation

Discover UC San Diego's MAVERiC Studio, a state-of-the-art XR space for students to learn, create, and collaborate. Empower your innovation, imagination, and individuality with cutting-edge technologies, and push boundaries in the evolving world of XR, whether for personal projects, groundbreaking endeavors, or launching your own company.

Campus Employment

The UCSD-MARC program includes a Pre-MARC Boot Camp for basic research skills, followed by a hands-on research project with a mentor. Scholars also participate in workshops, ethics training, and seminars. The program assists with graduate school applications, preparing students for advanced degrees in science.

Internship

The goal of the McNair program is to encourage low-income and first-generation college students, and students from historically underrepresented ethnic groups to expand their educational opportunities by enrolling in a Ph.D. program and ultimately pursue an academic career.

Community Engagement

The Mexican Migration Field Research Program trains students in international migration research and data analysis. Through fieldwork-based research, it expands knowledge of migration consequences and disseminates findings to inform policy and public discourse. Students commit to 16 units of required coursework to gain expertise.

Research

The MPL Summer Internship program is a paid ten-week research program where students complete their own individual research project under the mentorship of some of the most notable scientists in the world. In addition to their research, students will attend weekly seminars, participate in hands-on activities, and more.

Campus Employment

The UCSD MRSEC REU program offers summer research opportunities in materials science and engineering. Undergraduates work with faculty from 5 departments on projects in predictive assemblies and engineered living materials, engaging in hands-on research and collaboration in a highly interdisciplinary program.

Social Innovation

The NAIOP University Challenge is an annual real estate competition for students from UC San Diego, USD, and SDSU. Teams develop a proposal for a San Diego County site, addressing financing, sustainability, and community benefit, and present to a panel of industry professionals and a larger audience.

Global Experience

Internship

AB540 and CA Dream Act undergraduate students have the opportunity to participate in an experiential learning opportunity on campus and receive mentorship and professional or academic development. Students are in cohorts to build community and can receive up to $7,000 in scholarship

Internship

Resource to find micro-internships, projects to build skills and add experiences to your resume

Community Engagement

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.

Internship

The Partnership Schools Program works with high school students from The Preuss School, offering the opportunity to mentor high school students, participate in fieldwork to practice educational methodology, and gain professional experience.

Research

The Regents Scholar Research Initiative (RSRI) provides research experiences for incoming Regents Scholars. Students work with mentors on customized projects, from attending lab meetings to independent research. Evaluation is flexible, with options like presentations or papers, allowing students to jump-start their UC San Diego career.

Campus Employment

The Research Methodology Training Laboratory (RMTL) is a no-cost, 10-week program that offers a funded fellowship for hands-on biomedical research training, mentorship, and networking opportunities. Participants receive a lab assistant certificate upon completion.

Campus Employment

The ROOTS program is a 4-week NSF-funded workshop for incoming transfer students, teaching basic molecular biology lab skills and networking with UCSD Biology faculty. It helps students build skills and find research positions, providing a supportive setting to transition to UCSD and succeed in research.

Research

The goal of San Diego Nanotechnology Infrastructure (SDNI) is to provide undergrads with research experience in the field of nanotechnology as well as professional development through programmatic activities which enriches their experiential learning and better prepare them for graduate school.

Campus Employment

Participate in short-term community service (typically event-type volunteering rather than a long-term commitment) around San Diego as they become available by signing up for the CSI mailing list or filling out the interest form

Entrepreneurship

Campus Employment

STARTneuro is a competitive program that trains, mentors, and funds diverse transfer students as they enter neuroscience research.

Global Experience

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.

Mentorship

Summer Bridge is a year-long student support program that starts in the summer before the incoming academic year. We serve incoming first-year students who have accepted UC San Diego. Summer Bridge is designed to maximize the academic, personal, and professional success of students, with the goal of preparing them for the global workforce and/or graduate or professional school.

Research

The Summer Program for Undergraduate Research in Science (SPURS) funds UC San Diego undergraduates in physical sciences to conduct a 10-week summer research project with a faculty mentor. Students receive a $7,500 stipend and immerse themselves full-time in research in astronomy, chemistry, mathematics, or physics.

Internship

Alumni meet with current students to share their career journey, industry knowledge and expertise, and answer questions. These experiences are a great way for students to learn more about fields of interest and to hear first-hand how alumni are using their degrees. Scheduling is flexible, based on the preference of the participants, and can take place in-person or virtually.

Research

The School of Physical Sciences Cohort Program is a group experience for students to work together as a community, build foundational knowledge, and launch successful careers in STEM. The cohort takes chemistry, math, and physics courses together, and continues to take courses together throughout the first two years. Students receive mentorship from experienced peers, in addition to professional guidance from faculty and staff.

Global Experience

The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) Excellence Research Internship Program is open to undergraduate and graduate students; undergraduates must have completed at least two (2) years of their undergraduate program before the internship start date.

Research

The Transfer Research Experience (T-REx) for incoming transfer students offers a 4-week program in the summer before the first enrolled quarter (Fall 2024) where you work in a research group in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Department of Physics, and the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, side-by-side with other undergraduates, graduate students, and postdocs.

Research

TRELS provides funding and mentorship for UC San Diego students to pursue experiential learning opportunities beyond the classroom, such as research, artistic projects, and public service under the guidance of a UCSD faculty member.

Entrepreneurship

Global Experience

TUM PREP is open to undergraduates (2+ years completed) and graduate students. Interested students must apply to UC San Diego's Tritons Abroad and directly to TUM. The 9-week summer program offers research experience at Germany's top-ranked technical university, enhancing technical and methodological qualifications.

Leadership

The UC LEADS program prepares disadvantaged undergraduates for STEM graduate school. Scholars participate in research, mentored by a UC faculty member, to gain experience and prepare for leadership roles in industry, government, and academia, increasing their opportunities for future study and success in their chosen field.

Research

The objective of the UC Scholars Program is to provide students of any major with research skills, stimulate student's interest in becoming a graduate student, and provide learning and networking opportunities.

Internship

Live, learn, and intern at the nation's capitol, Washington D.C. Students will take classes at the UC Washington Center and have the opportunity to network and gain valuable work experience to develop skills for their careers.

Community Engagement

The UC San Diego Community Stations are a network of field hubs located in disadvantaged neighborhoods on both sides of the San Diego–Tijuana border, designed for collaborative research, teaching and advocacy among university researchers, school districts, and community-based non profit partners.

Global Experience

Campus Employment

MSTP-SURF is an 8-week summer program at UC San Diego designed for motivated undergraduate students interested in seeking future training in a combined M.D./Ph.D. program or an academically oriented career in medicine.

Research

The Jacobs School of Engineering (JSOE) at UC San Diego hosts a summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program to engage student participants in biomaterials research, training undergraduates in basic research through challenging bioengineering projects performed with research mentors from our faculty.

Research

Students enroll in a 195 course for their major department and assist a professor in a class they have taken before and must have successfully completed the class they will assist for (B to A range) . UGIAs may get academic credit for their work, but details vary with different departments.

Internship

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.

Research

In UC San Diego's Undergraduate Research Scholarship (URS) program, several different donor-funded scholarships are available across multiple research areas. Undergraduate students use the funds for a research project to be completed over the summer under the guidance of a UC San Diego faculty mentor.

Global Experience

The clinical rotation and field research opportunity is through the Universidad de Iberoamérica (UNIBE) in Costa Rica. This is a unique experience for students to improve their Spanish language skills and obtain experience in practicing medicine in a nationalized healthcare system.

Global Experience

Social Innovation

USP 142A&B is a two-quarter practicum series exploring homelessness in San Diego. USP 142C, offered in Spring, examines sustainable food systems for cities, analyzing real-world examples in San Diego. Both courses aim to inform interventions and improvements through hands-on learning and real-world applications.

Entrepreneurship

The Venture Fellows Program supports UC San Diego innovators and founders in evaluating commercialization potential and validating new ventures. Student Fellows conduct market research, competitive analysis, customer discovery, and financial planning to advance early-stage startups and technologies.

Entrepreneurship

VentureWell is a non-profit organization that funds and trains student inventors and entrepreneurs who want to address important problems in the world through new technology-based ventures. Their E-Team Program provides funding, immersive workshops, and specialized coaching to student STEM innovators to help them move their inventions into the marketplace.

Campus Employment

VERSA is a 9-week hybrid summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program in discipline-based education research (DBER). The program focuses on STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education research with a faculty mentor with the aim of engaging in the study and transformation of college STEM education.