Academic Connections
Academic Connections is committed to providing a pre-college summer experience that is academically enriching to a diverse population of high-achieving, college-bound high school students motivated to explore the offerings of UC San Diego – a top five, internationally ranked public institution. Students work with the brightest UC San Diego graduate students to examine the world around them as inquisitive academic scholars.
Courses are selected to represent some of the most exciting fields of research UC San Diego has to offer in the physical and social sciences, engineering, arts and humanities. All courses are challenging and place emphasis on active learning and putting knowledge to use in independent and creative ways. Gifted high school students from around the world choose UC San Diego Pre-College programs to prepare for success and experience college-level academics.
Register for Summer 2023 Now! Offering both residential and online programs.
Residential Program (In-Person & On Campus): July 9 - July 29, 2023
- 101 College Writing for Success
- A History of Electronic Instruments and the Music They Inspired
- Computers and COVID: An Introduction to Programming and Computational Biology
- Intersectional Identities and the Sociological Imagination
- Introduction to Marine Invertebrates and Phylogenetics
Online Courses: July 3 - July 28, 2023
- Animating Narratives: Disney, Cultural Production, and Critical Literacy
- Comparative Political Violence
- Introduction to Biophysics
- Introduction to Human Emotion: An Emotional Approach to Critical Thinking and Critical Writing
- Introduction to Python Programming
- Islam and Muslims in the Twenty-First Century
- Language and Identity for Bilingual Writers
- Python Advanced Topics
Each student that completes the program can earn six units of UC San Diego Extension pre-college credit.
Scholarships are available for select courses through a partnership with the Inamori Foundation.
Residential and online courses for high school students at UC San Diego.
Academic Connections
Other learning opportunities from this partner
Research Scholars
UC San Diego Extended Studies
UC San Diego's Research Scholars programs provide high schoolers unique science research learning experiences before college.
Research Scholars workshops are held year-round. Check the website for current offerings.
Afternoon, Evening, Online/Hybrid
Futures
UC San Diego Extended Studies
Your Future Lies Just Ahead: College and Career programs for High School Students
Futures programs are cohort-based and enrollment opportunities are available for programs starting in September. Programs consist of three courses lasting nine months.
Online/Hybrid
Global Environmental Leadership and Sustainability (GELS)
UC San Diego Extended Studies
GELS connects high schoolers with college courses and experiences through residential programs in destination locations.
This unique week-long program takes students to the Big Island of Hawaii to work with locals exploring the causes and effects of climate change on earth's systems.
Overnight, All Day
Sally Ride Science Academy
UC San Diego Extended Studies
Spend the summer exploring oceans, coding websites, designing robots, and building tiny houses at SRS Academy!
Week-long AM and PM workshops, in-person and live online.
Session 1: 6/26 – 6/30
Session 2: 7/10 – 7/14
Session 3: 7/17 – 7/21
Session 4: 7/24 – 7/28
Session 5: 7/31 – 8/4
Online Courses for High Schoolers: 7/10 – 8/4
Morning, Afternoon, Online/Hybrid