John Muir College - Celebrating the Independent Spirit

Prospective Students

Why choose Muir?

Welcome to John Muir College. The college system at UC San Diego is unique in the University of California system. The colleges offer many of the advantages of a small liberal arts college within the framework of a large research university. Each college at UC San Diego has its own General Education requirements, programmatic theme, campus environment, and student life. So UC San Diego gives you a choice about the academic program you'll pursue and the community with which you'll be affiliated here. When you apply to UC San Diego, you'll be asked on the application to rank the colleges in your order of preference. Most students get their first or second choice college, so choose carefully!

John Muir College, named for the famed environmentalist, nature writer, and founder of the Sierra Club, offers students the most flexible approach to General Education requirements of all the colleges at UC San Diego. The College's educational philosophy is based on the belief that students benefit most from General Education that allows maximum freedom to choose courses meaningful to them in a program that includes both breadth and depth across different fields of inquiry in the sciences, social sciences, arts, humanities, and foreign languages. Muir's campus community is known for its friendliness and student involvement and for its commitment to environmental sustainability, in the spirit of John Muir.

To learn more about Muir College, start by reading About Muir College. Read about Academics, Student Life, and Residential Life and Muir's Commitment to the Environment. Meet some of our exceptional students -- students inducted into Muir's Caledonian Society (Senior Honors) in 2011 and the Muir Scholars, our most academically extraordinary graduating seniors. Visit UC San Diego and take a campus tour.


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