Your complete guide to visiting the UCSD campus in 2025, including where to park and what to see.

As part of your day touring La Jolla, a jaunt to the sprawling UC San Diego campus might be in order. This enormous stretch of land is as much a part of La Jolla’s – and San Diego’s – development as any institution, furthering research, discovery and education. It also serves, however, as an iconic segment of regional topography that adds to any local visit.

The UC San Diego campus is so large, some of it is in the 92037 La Jolla Zip code, while much of it spreads past the La Jolla border into the rest of San Diego. (There are satellite buildings in Downtown San Diego and elsewhere, but we’ll keep this piece to the main campus.)

From public art and sweeping vistas to architectural rarities, UCSD is home to a nonstop feast for the eyes, making it a truly special way to spend a few hours, even without a student ID.

Read through our comprehensive UC San Diego campus guide 2025 below, and get ready for a visually exciting treat!

From UC La Jolla to UC San Diego

Aerial view looking northeast over University of California at San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla Farms and La Jolla Village Drive in North La Jolla area in 1966/San Diego History Center

Wanting a graduate and research institution, the UC Regents paved the way for the campus in the 1950s, initially named UC La Jolla for its establishment in that community, high atop the bluffs on what was Camp Matthews, Formerly Used Defense Site.

The university, officially founded in November 1960, was renamed quickly to UC San Diego in deference to the larger city that donated dozens – and then hundreds – of acres of land to begin the campus’ growth.

UCSD took on the affiliation for the already-rooted Scripps Institution of Oceanography and hosted about 20 graduate students its first year.

In 1964, the UCSD campus opened more buildings and its first college (named Revelle College for early UCSD developer Roger Revelle). The university welcomed its inaugural class of undergraduates that same year.

Second College – later named for environmentalist John Muir – was founded in 1964, the UCSD School of Medicine accepted its first students in 1966.

UC San Diego now spreads across approximately 1,200 acres and is looking to add about 193 acres to respond to its tremendous expansion, with eight colleges encompassing 45,273 students (fall 2024), and matching growth in prestige and reputation.

A city unto itself, the UCSD campus boasts about 760 buildings, with construction projects planned years into the future.

A day on the UC San Diego campus

UCSD offers a few select tours, but those can be limited. If you’d rather strike out on your own, hit the following highlights:

UCSD’s Geisel Library

UCSD

The Geisel Library is at the center of the UC San Diego campus, a distinctive eight-story, brutalist/futurist library that opened in 1970 as the Central Library. The iconic structure, used in the 1978 film “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes,” musicians’ album covers and more, was renamed Geisel Library in 1995 in honor of Theodor Seuss Geisel (yes, Dr Seuss), one of La Jolla’s more famous residents, and his wife, Audrey, for their commitment to promoting literacy and education. 

Wander around the massive library, and then gander inside or take an elevator to one of the upper floors to peer out before perusing the exhibits and collections on the ground floor. 

Don’t forget to seek out the Theodor Seuss Geisel Memorial outside near the southwest corner, a sentimental nod to Seuss and one of his beloved characters, The Cat in the Hat. 

UCSD’s Price Center

Southeast of the Geisel Library is Price Center East and West, a hub of student activity arranged around a large fountain and amphitheater-style seating with a large food court to the east. The Price Center contains an urban-like offering of university bookstore, shops, postal center, computer lounges, recording, dance and art studios, study rooms, commuter lockers and kitchen, ballrooms, office spaces and more.

The Price Center is designed to cultivate a sense of community among those on the UCSD Campus, connecting the myriad spaces with plazas, windows and staircases.

Near the south entrances, you’ll find Manuelita Brown’s bronze sculpture “Triton,” honoring the UCSD mascot, the mythical King Triton.

The Stuart Collection

Sun God/Erik Jepsen, UCSD

The UCSD campus is home to a truly unique public art experience: The Stuart Collection, currently numbering 22 permanent pieces by renowned global artists. 

Established in 1981, the Stuart Collection makes any walk on the UC San Diego campus an enchanting exploration of creativity and iconography.

Our favorites among the collection include:

• “Sun God” (1983), by Niki de Saint Phalle. This first Stuart Collection piece, on the Sun God Lawn on the west side of campus, is a vibrantly-colored, beloved UCSD icon that inspired the Sun God Festival, one of the largest annual UCSD events since 1984.
• “Fallen Star” (2012), by Do Ho Suh, is a small house seemingly perched precariously on an engineering building just northeast of Geisel Library. Public visiting hours for Fallen Star are Wednesdays and Thursdays, though the piece is a delight to view from any campus walk.
• “Kahnop” (2023), by Ann Hamilton, is an 800-foot walkway near Epstein Family Amphitheater, between Russel Lane and the Central Trolley Station. The walkway is carved with words from texts by authors and scholars connected to UCSD.
• “Snake Path (1992), by Alexis Smith, stretches from the east side of Geisel Library to the Warren Mall. This winding serpent is 560 feet long and 10 feet wide, winding down a small hill and around a “garden of Eden” with fruit trees. The path ends in a large, granite book carved with a quote from “Paradise Lost.”

Brutalist buildings

In addition to the Geisel Library, the John Muir College on the western side of the UC San Diego campus contains nine more brutalist-style buildings, making a walk through that part of UCSD an immersion in angular concrete, exposed materials and bold, architectural expression. 

Check out the Applied Physics & Mathematics (Robert Mosher, 1966);  Biology (Liebhardt & Weston, 1969); Humanities & Social Sciences (Richard Wheeler, 1967); Mandler Hall (Frank Hope,1967); McGill Hall (Hope, 1967); Tenaya Hall and Tioga Hall (Dale Naegle, 1968); and others.

Performing arts spaces

Epstein Family Amphitheater/UCSD

The UCSD campus features many incredible spaces for creativity and performing arts. Two such spots worthy of a look are:

• The Epstein Family Amphitheater, a multi-functional performance venue funded by Daniel and Phyllis Epstein, opened in 2022 and has hosted a multitude of events from high-profile concerts to graduation ceremonies. The 2,650-seat amphitheater’s design in a park-like setting is worth discovering.
• La Jolla Playhouse, founded in 1947 by famed La Jollan Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire and Mel Ferrer, this dynamic hub for theatrical excellence has launched Broadway and award-winning productions. The state-of-the-art facilities include the Mandell Weiss Theatre and the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre, providing sacred venues that serve as laboratories for theatrical experimentation and artistic expression.

Scripps Institution of Oceanography

To the southwest from the main UC San Diego Campus is the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, a campus as impressive as the groundbreak research it’s internationally known for.

Start at the Birch Aquarium, a founding pillar of SIO’s commitment to conservation where fountains of giant whales greet you.

Erik Jepsen/UCSD

Head across the Scripps Crossing Pedestrian Bridge, a marvel of suspension over La Jolla Shores Drive with asymmetrical cables hung from a pylon. Once across, the buildings throughout the SIO campus greet you with modern architecture in multi-story, wood-framed designs.

Darren Bradley/UCSD

One such is the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics Munk Lab, historically recognized for its redwood and glass architecture designed by Lloyd Ruocco and named for famed oceanographer and La Jollan Walter Munk. 

Tucked among the buildings is the McReynolds Family Coral Reef Garden, where cacti and succulents are planted to look like an underwater coral reef. It’s a spectacular find and though small, carries a mighty message about the beauty of what lies under the ocean.

No visit to UCSD and SIO would be complete without peering at the Scripps Memorial Pier, either from below (always open!) or from its land-based end. Though reserved for necessary research, the pier is open to the public at select times for “Sunset Scripps Pier Walks,” during which educators lead guided tours of the pier and marine science.

Natural beauty on the UC San Diego campus

UCSD

From both Scripps Institution of Oceanography and various points of the main campus, views are plenty, offering the ocean and a retreat-like feel.

Along portions of the main UCSD campus are several paths in and out of eucalyptus groves, especially just north of Geisel Library, that lead you to feel you’re in a natural oasis away from the bustle.

Coastal Meander Trail/UCSD

At the cliff’s edge of the SIO campus is the Scripps Coastal Meander Trail, a 1.75-mile trail with unbeatable coastal views of La Jolla.

Getting to and parking at UCSD

Driving to the UC San Diego campus means taking Interstate 5 and following signs off Genesee Avenue, La Jolla Village or Gilman drives. From The Village of La Jolla, head northeast on La Jolla Shores Drive or Torrey Pines Road.

Visitors can purchase hourly parking at parking pay stations or on their mobile device at one of several parking lots and garages; pay attention to only use spots marked V or not otherwise reserved for students and staff.

Several mass transit routes  – including bus and trolley – serve the UCSD campus as well.

Looking ahead: UCSD’s future development

UCSD

New UCSD buildings are rising up all the time, like the recently opened UC San Diego Theatre District Living & Learning Neighborhood on Theatre District Drive, a newer construction of contemporary campus design on a 10-acre site.

The Ridge Walk North Living and Learning Neighborhood is under construction now, with the Pepper Canyon East District in the design phase.
Looking for more La Jolla? Read our other blogs here and plan your visit today!