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 2024 Now! Offering both residential and online programs.

Residential Program (In-Person & On Campus): July 7 - July 27, 2024

A History of Electronic Instruments & the Music they Inspired
Analyzing Adaptations for Books and Beyond
Digital Media Literacy
Introduction to Creative Writing: Short Fiction
Life HACC: Health Aging Crash Course
Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics
The Arab-Israeli Conflict
The Role of Art in Technological Innovation

Online Courses: July 1 - July 26, 2024

101 College Writing for Success
Animating Narratives: Disney, Cultural Production & 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
Language and Identity for Bilingual Writers
Microbiology and Social Justice of Famous and Forgotten Diseases
Python Advanced Topics
The Sociology of Everyday Life

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.

Opportunities For All Ages!