School Group Tours

Group tours are for students from elementary, middle school, high school, and community college, or from service clubs, in groups of 11 or more.

Other groups (alumni, adult service clubs, corporations) will enjoy the public tour, on foot or by bus.

Not part of a group? If you're an individual student, family, or small group who wants to see the campus, you'll want to take our Triton Tour.

We look forward to showing you our campus from the student perspective. We have highly ranked programs and resources, a unique six-college system, and of course we have great students — all reflecting UC San Diego's status as one of the top universities in the nation for higher education and research.

On this page:

• Tour details
• Optional presentations
• Conduct and chaperones
• Arrival time

News you can use:

• Driving directions and parking

School Group Tour details

Your tour begins at the Triton Center, on the courtyard level of the Student Services Center. You'll find us at the corner of Myers Drive and Rupertus Lane (map). Look for the Campus Tour banners.

Check in with us at the lobby desk or the welcome table in the courtyard.

• The walking tour lasts approximately 60 minutes.
• Tours are available Monday through Saturday, except for holidays.*
• Start times:
  • Weekdays, 10 a.m. or 1 p.m.
  • Saturdays, noon

You may want to plan to bring food for your group — it is our experience that hungry students are less likely to pay attention during the tours. If you bring coolers, plan on storage space for them; the Campus Tours office is unable to store personal equipment.

If someone in your group needs special accommodations, please check the box on your reservation form. We'll then invite you to contact the Campus Tour Coordinator directly to discuss how we can help make your visit more enjoyable. Please allow at least two weeks before your visit so we may assist you.

* Note: When the university is closed for holiday observance on a Monday or Friday, tours will not be offered on the holiday, or on the Saturday preceding or following the holiday. These include standard holidays, plus special campus events such as the Sun God Festival in mid-May.

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Optional presentations

If your high school or college group requests additional presentations, they will be held after the tour.

• Admissions Information Session
  • Provides in-depth answers to prospective students' questions, and helps students learn if UC San Diego is the right choice for them. Learn about UCSD's six-college system, the admissions and selection process, and financial aid/ scholarship opportunities.
  • For high school and college groups:
    • Sessions are conducted by a UC San Diego Admissions Officer.
    • Start time is at 11:15 a.m. or 2:15 p.m., depending on your tour start time, and last about 30 minutes.
    • Read more about the information sessions.
• Student Discussion Panel
  • Current UC San Diego students talk about what it's like to be a Triton; a question-and-answer period follows.
  • Discussion panel is held immediately following the walking tour.
  • For middle school, high school, and college groups.
  • Not available on Saturday tours.

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Conduct and chaperones

We require one adult chaperone for every 24 students in your group, and the chaperones must be provided by your school/organization. We are unable to lead tours for groups without chaperones. The chaperones are responsible for your students and must accompany the group at all times. In order for your students to get the most benefit from touring a university campus, we suggest that your chaperones set rules of conduct prior to the tour. We suggest the following:

• Everyone needs to stay with and keep up with the tour group at all times. The College Ambassador (tour guide) has a lot of material to cover for the group, and cannot go looking for one person who might wander off.
• There should be no talking during the tours. The group may ask questions at intervals allocated by your College Ambassador or at the end of the tour.
• Please have your students and chaperones turn off their cell phones while on the tour.

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Arrival time

On the day of your tour, please arrive at least 15 minutes early so that we can divide the students into smaller groups. Check in our lobby or the welcome table in the courtyard. The tour is scheduled to last one hour. If your group arrives late, your tour will be shorter. If your group is going to be delayed, please call our office at (858) 822-4750, and let us know; we will do our best to provide you with the full one-hour tour. If we don't receive notice from you, and your group is 20 minutes or more late, we will cancel the tour.

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We look forward to welcoming you to the UC San Diego campus.

Questions? Contact Campus Tours Office, (858) 822-4750.