UC San Diego Youth Camps and Enrichment Programs
Find out about summer and year-round UC San Diego camps and enrichment programs for children and teens.
These camps and programs held at UC San Diego are open to children of staff, faculty, students, returning families, and the community.
Also see Summer Camp Programs located at UCSD, which are not necessarily sponsored by the university.
Summer Session
Grades 9-12
Students may choose from lower division courses (1-99) offered during two 5-week sessions to:
- Get an early start on a college career
- Fulfill 1 year of language in only 9 weeks
- Take courses to prepare for Fall Quarter
- Accelerate time to graduate
Academic Connections
Grades 9–12
- Online program
- Pre-college summer program
- Hands-on college subject matter courses
- Low student-to-teacher ratio
Big Data Summer Camp "Data Science Academy"
Grades 10-12
The UCSD's Qualcomm Institute's Big Data Summer Camp provides aspiring young data scientists an immersive educational experience using cutting-edge approaches to Big Data.
- Open to high school students preparing to enter their sophomore, junior or senior year of high school
- No programming experience or knowledge is required
- Presentations from invited guest from academia and industry in order to expose the students to various data science application domains
COSMOS
Grades 8–12
Residential academic experience for top high school students in mathematics and science
Knock Around Camps
Ages 5 and up
Sponsored by UCSD Recreation, includes general camps plus leadership, sports, and beach camps
La Jolla Playhouse
- Conservatory, grades 10–12
- Young performers workshop, grades 2–12
- Young performers academy, grades 3–12
Mission Bay Youth Watersports Camp
Ages 6–17
Located at the Mission Bay Aquatic Center
- Kayaking
- Marine science
- Sailing
- Surfing
- Wakeboarding
- Waterskiing
- Windsurfing
San Diego Area Writing Project
Grades 3–12
- Young Writer's Camp
- YWC — College Writing
- YWC — The College Admission Essay
San Diego Supercomputer Center Summer Camps
Elementary, middle and high school
Over 20 summer camps to choose from, including:
- Hands-on Science
- Animation Creation
- Beginning and Advanced Programming
- Robotics
- Skateboard Creation
- Video Production
New this year: StudentTECH Junior, a series of fun-filled camps for 3rd-5th grade students. Topics include engineering, robotics and programming.
Sally Ride Science
Grades 3–12
- Summer STEAM workshops for elementary, middle and high school students
- 1-week courses, 15 hours total, 3-hour classes
- Morning & afternoon sessions
Summer Learning at Birch Aquarium
Ages 4–15
- Week-long camps
- Day camps
- Animal encounters
- Arts and science
UCSD Jazz Camp
Ages 14 – Adult
- Jazz history and theory
- Improvisation workshops
- Master classes
- Performance ensembles
- Jazz composition and arranging
UCSD Recreation classes
See descriptions of quarterly classes and activities for children, including:
- Dance
- Gymnastics
- Martial arts
- Sports
- Swimming
UCSD Sports Camps
Ages 5–18
Specialized sports camps and clinics available through UCSD:
- Baseball
- Boys' basketball
- Girls' basketball
- Crew
- Boys' soccer
- Girls' soccer
- Softball
- Swimming & diving
- Tennis
- Girls' volleyball
- Water polo