UC San Diego’s enrollment soared by 1,880 students in the fall, more than twice the growth at any other University of California campus and a sign that school could reach 50,000 as early as 2030 and 56,000 by 2040.
New data from the UC Office of the President also show that women outnumber men among UCSD students for the first time since 2006, and that the share of international students continues to fall while the share of California residents rises.
The figures stem from an unprecedented expansion that began in 2013, a year after Pradeep Khosla became chancellor, and that has seen the campus become packed with ever more students and high-rise buildings.
The UC Board of Regents has sent a disproportionate number of students to UCSD because it has the space to grow, helping the system deal with huge systemwide enrollment demand. Some UC schools, notably Santa Cruz, have resisted growth.
The growth at UCSD raised its fall enrollment to a record 44,256 — a level the school wasn’t projected to hit until 2035.
If the campus adds only 1,000 students for each of the next six years, it will reach 50,000 in 2030, making it among the largest universities in the western U.S.
The school is anticipating such growth. Last year, Khosla got permission from Regents to build a campus village that would house as many as 6,000 students. UCSD already houses 22,500.
With the new data, UCLA reported the second-highest growth in the fall, adding 657 students and pushing enrollment to a record 47,335.
UC Berkeley, the system’s third-largest school, added 185 students, nudging enrollment to 45,883 — also a record.
Berkeley’s growth has stalled in recent years, largely because it is close to its physical capacity. If present trends continue, UCSD could take its place as the second-biggest UC campus in the next two years.
There’s also been a shift in the percentage of international students at UCSD.
In 2017, these students represented 21.6% of the school’s enrollment. Last fall, they made up only 16.2%.
Much of the change was brought about the California Legislature, which told UCSD, UCLA and UC Berkeley in 2021 to reduce international enrollment to make more room for students who are California residents.
The percentage also was driven down by the COVID-19 pandemic, which reduced foreign enrollment across the U.S. Educators also say that political tensions with China also led to a drop in Chinese students.
UCSD says 72.4% of its students were California residents last fall, which is 2.6 percentage points higher than it was in 2021.
The fall figures further show that 50.3% of students were women and 45.5% were men. The other 4.2% either did not report their gender or listed it differently.
The shift isn’t surprising; women have long made up a greater share of college students nationwide. Educators note that women graduate from high school at a higher rate than men, and women on average apply to more colleges then men.
