Jam-packed UC San Diego sets new enrollment record

UC San Diego’s enrollment hit a record 42,968 this fall. But growth slowed for the first time in more than a decade as the school tapped the brakes so that it could deal with a period of unprecedented expansion.

The fall census shows that UCSD’s overall enrollment increased by 93 students, according to data released by the university. The school added almost 2,400 students one year earlier.

The number of students enrolled this fall in graduate programs grew by 437. But enrollment in undergraduate and medical school programs fell. There also was a decline in so-called self-supported students, which typically refers to graduate students who aren’t supported by state funding.

The university has grown faster than any other University of California campus over the past decade, adding about 14,000 students. Chancellor Pradeep Khosla has said in recent years that he wanted to slow the expansion. But this is the first year in which he’s actually done it.

The slowdown largely stems from the need to add a lot more campus housing. More than 3,100 students ended up on waiting lists last fall, partly because UCSD added far more students than forecast.

The university is currently building a 2,000-bed student village at the southwest corner of campus that will open next fall. And it recently broke ground on a complex that will house 1,300 students, starting in fall 2024.

Theater District Living and Learning Neighborhood is now under construction.

(Gary Robbins / The San Diego Union-Tribune )

UCSD is also drawing up plans for a village at the northwestern edge of campus that will accommodate as many as 2,000 students. The school’s longer-term plans include adding a “super dorm” that would house about 4,000 people.

The university can currently house about 18,000 students. Khosla has said that the figure could rise to 40,000 students over the next decade or so as UCSD expands its enrollment to about 50,000, which would make it among the largest schools on the West Coast.

Some of that housing is proposed to be built at or near Blue Line trolley stations. Khosla is trying to accommodate students — as well as faculty and staff — who can’t find a place to live in La Jolla, one of the priciest rental markets in the county.

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