Wrapping Up the Year

We’re wrapping up 2025 and tying it with a blue-and-gold bow. It’s our gift to you, a collection of this year’s special moments and milestones, along with stunning imagery showcasing the very best from UC San Diego.

JANUARY

Infinite Hope

The UC San Diego community honored the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through participation in the 23rd annual Day of Service and the 43rd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade in downtown San Diego. The Day of Service honors the lasting legacy of Dr. King with community building and the empowerment of campus and community members to take action to transform our neighborhoods, region and beyond.

FEBRUARY

Uniting to Support Life-Saving Research

The UC San Diego community came together in support of life-saving biomedical research during an on-campus advocacy event organized in response to a National Institutes of Health announcement in February of a new plan to drastically cut funding. This funding is essential for maintaining lab space, equipment, utilities and other critical infrastructure that bolsters scientific discovery. Such cuts would have a significant impact on our research mission, our regional economy and workforce, higher education as a whole, and our ability as a nation to lead and compete in science and technology on the global stage.

MARCH

March Madness Debut

UC San Diego’s men’s and women’s basketball teams won their respective Big West championship titles and made their March Madness debut after completing the NCAA-mandated four-year reclassification to Division I. The teams had us rooting in the stands and at home as they made history as the first men’s and women’s basketball teams from the same campus to compete in the NCAA Tournament in their first year of postseason eligibility.

APRIL

La Jolla Playhouse’s Without Walls Festival Returns

The popular Without Walls (WOW) Festival — which takes place outside of traditional theatre walls and into unique spaces — returned to campus for a four-day event featuring dozens of performances from an electronic orchestra lit by 600 recycled car tailights to an interactive giant puppet processional and a time-travel outdoor escape game. Many festival events featured UC San Diego faculty and students.

MAY

Celebrating the Sun God Festival

A springtime tradition, the Sun God Festival, celebrated its 40th year in May. Established by former student Marc Geiger and alumnus Larry Weintraub, ’90, the annual festival draws thousands for a weekend of music, games and carnival rides.

JUNE

Cheers to the Class of 2025

Thousands of graduating scholars, surrounded by family, friends and loved ones, moved the tassel from right to left on their mortarboard graduation caps, a rite of passage for all Tritons. During the All Campus Commencement, they heard from six-time IRONMAN World Champion Mark Allen '80, campus leaders, and fellow classmates who lived, learned and triumphed alongside them.

JULY

Where Arts and Science Collide

This summer, the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography unveiled its most ambitious renovation yet: the Adam R. Scripps Living Seas Gallery, replacing the aquarium’s Hall of Fishes. The renovated exhibition is an immersive journey through 38 habitats that uncover the wonders of the Pacific Ocean and features the Birch Aquarium's rescued female Loggerhead sea turtle.

"Living Seas sets a new standard for aquariums with the design at the intersection of art, science and technology." — Henry Helling, executive director, Birch Aquarium

AUGUST

The Next Generation of Physicians

With the symbolic donning of their first white coats, the newest class of medical students at UC San Diego School of Medicine marked the beginning of their journeys as future physicians. Surrounded by family, friends and faculty, they embraced this cherished tradition and also the responsibility to carry forward the heart of healing, grounded in compassion, dedication and service to others.

"Medicine is not simply a profession — it is a calling. It is a calling to heal, to comfort and to advocate for those in need.”  — Barbara Jung, M.D., associate vice chancellor and dean, UC San Diego School of Medicine

SEPTEMBER 

Tritons Rise

As students arrived on campus for weeklong activities as part of Triton Week of Welcome, including the annual Unolympics, a friendly competition between colleges, UC San Diego was named the sixth-best public university by U.S. News & World Report in its annual Best Colleges Rankings.

OCTOBER

Welcome to the Neighborhood

This fall, Ridge Walk North Living Learning Neighborhood was move-in ready. The latest living and learning neighborhood has accommodations for 2,400 undergraduate students in a residential environment designed to support both academic success and personal well-being, featuring a fitness and wellness center, study lounges, coworking areas, a cafe, marketplace, and the second location of the Triton Esports Center. In addition,  RWNLLN includes new administrative and instruction spaces for Thurgood Marshall College and the School of Global Policy and Strategy.

NOVEMBER

Making Fusion Energy a Reality

UC San Diego, in partnership with three UC campuses and two national labs, formed a new multi-institution research effort to make fusion energy a commercial reality for California. The California Center for Fusion Energy – Materials and Diagnostics for Extreme Conditions is a strategic partnership aimed at solving materials, fuel, diagnostic and workforce challenges.

“Fusion energy is one of the boldest frontiers in science and is one of the most promising pathways to clean, sustainable power.” — Corinne Peek-Asa, vice chancellor for research and innovation, UC San Diego

DECEMBER

Saying Good-Bye to 2025

As we bid farewell to 2025, we are full of optimism, excitement and renewed vigor for the new year … See you in 2026!