"My goal is for every single student, faculty and staff member to succeed here at the Jacobs School. That's what equity means to me."
— Albert P. Pisano,
Dean of the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering
Empowering innovation through equity, diversity and inclusion at UC San Diego's Jacobs School of Engineering.
The Jacobs School of Engineering is committed to building on UC San Diego’s campus-wide initiatives aimed at advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion. The following are some example initiatives in the Jacobs School to cultivate a welcoming community:
IDEA Engineering Student Center
The Jacobs School's IDEA Engineering Student Center has supported thousands of students from acceptance through graduation for more than twelve years. Initiatives include summer transition programs, peer-led engineering learning communities, and support for student diversity organizations which build community and celebrate diversity in engineering and computer science. With an equity-minded lens, the IDEA Engineering Student Center supports all students on the challenging path of an engineering and/or computer science education at UC San Diego, with specific programs that provide academic and peer support for students traditionally underrepresented in these fields including Black, Latinx and Native American students, women, first generation college students, LGBTQ+ students, and low-income students.
Student Organizations
Student organizations are a critical aspect of social and educational life for many undergraduates at the Jacobs School. All Jacobs School student organizations seeking support are required to plan and demonstrate how their organization encourages diversity and promotes inclusion for all students.
Diverse Recruitment and Community Building
The Jacobs School community is engaged in a wide range of recruiting efforts aimed at diversifying the applicant pool for both graduate and undergraduate students. Summer programs for incoming undergraduate students serve to build community and increase retention of students. Various faculty led initiatives aim to introduce K-12 students to opportunities in STEM education in general, and the Jacobs School in particular. Partnerships through UC initiatives with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) also support recruitment of diverse graduate students.
Faculty Diversity
The Jacobs School has made significant progress towards increasing faculty diversity, thanks in part to the Jacobs School's Excellence hiring program and participation in campus wide initiatives for Advancing Faculty Diversity. In 2024, the Jacobs School is home to nearly 300 professors, more than half of whom have joined in just the last 10 years. More than a third of our newly hired professors are women and/or individuals from other groups traditionally underrepresented in engineering and computer science. The Jacobs School and UC San Diego continue to build and strengthen programs to recruit and retain diverse faculty. At the Jacobs School, this work includes taking on a key leadership role in the NextProf Pathfinder Program and launching and growing the Jacobs School's Early-Career Faculty Acceleration Program.
A Community Approach to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
The Jacobs School is dedicated to improving the climate for all students, faculty and staff. Ongoing efforts are underway across the School, at all levels. The Jacobs School Climate and Inclusion in Engineering Committee composed of undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty from all departments meets regularly to assess and propose initiatives towards improving the learning environment.
"I am committed to seeing this through and doing what’s right. One first step to addressing equity issues is to really listen," said Pisano. "It's unacceptable to be blind to the issues and claim to be faultless. Every engineer knows you can't solve a problem without first acknowledging it."
Presence
UC San Diego is recognized as an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) and as an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Both of these Minority Serving Institution (MSI) designations are through the U.S. Department of Education.
UC San Diego maintains dashboards on composition statistics for students, faculty and staff, including breakdowns based on gender and ethnicity. These dashboards can be sorted to return statistics for the Jacobs School. They are available on the UC San Diego Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) accountability website.
Undergraduate students dashboard
Graduate students dashboard
Academic personnel dashboard
Staff dashboard
External Recognition
In January 2021, the Jacobs School of Engineering received bronze-level recognition through the ASEE Diversity Recognition Program, which is a nation-wide effort to increase diversity in engineering and computer science in higher education by ensuring that schools have best-practices and data-driven accountability in place. This recognition was reaffirmed in 2024.