UC San Diego a Green and Happy College, According to Newsweek

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A UC San Diego student collects a donation during the university's student-driven donation drive for the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

The University of California, San Diego may be known as a research power house, but in a setting where students are surfing in the morning and studying science in the afternoon, the campus has become a hotbed for fun. The university was recently named by Newsweek as one of the “greenest” and “happiest” universities in the nation. Newsweek, working in partnership with The Daily Beast, developed “The Best Colleges for You,” a new set of rankings measuring the best schools in 25 different categories for 25 different types of students.

“UC San Diego is known for its academic prestige, community service and cutting-edge research, but what a lot of people don’t know is that we have a vibrant community offering a great student experience,” Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Penny Rue said. “At UC San Diego, students play sports, enjoy the outdoors, go to concerts and develop great friendships, all while earning a top-notch education. Additionally, students get to experience that UC San Diego practices what it teaches when it comes to environmental sustainability.”

Embracing the philosophy that different schools are best for different types of students, Newsweek developed 25 different “best of” lists for schools for students with a range of interests.

UC San Diego was named a “happy” college for its dining, nightlife, sunny days per year, student-to-teacher ratio and the average debt of student graduates.

Rue added, “We’re home to more than 500 student organizations. There is something for every student who wants to get involved at UC San Diego, and, of course, our campus is as beautiful as the weather is in San Diego.”

During the day, students at the La Jolla campus can walk just across the street to visit the world-renowned Black’s Beach, and there is always a social event on campus at night. The number of live musical performances that the university sponsors has skyrocketed in recent years. Campus venues such as The Loft allow students to experience some of the region’s best music, film and comedic acts.

One of the university’s most revered traditions for students is the Sun God Festival, an annual concert established in 1984 that has evolved into one of the largest student-organized music festivals in the United States. In 2011, a record 20,000 UC San Diego students, alumni and guests attended the event which featured three stages, comedic acts, a dance tent and headliner Jimmy Eat World.

UC San Diego is a great fit for environmentally conscious students, according to Newsweek. UC San Diego ranked 13th on their list of the nation’s greenest universities. This ranking, designed to capture commitment to sustainability and environmental footprint, as well as student opinion, highlighted UC San Diego’s recent naming as the nation’s 3rd “coolest school” by Sierra Magazine and UC San Diego’s A- grade in the Sustainable Endowment Institute’s “Sustainability Report Card.”

View all 25 lists in Newsweek’s “The Best Colleges for You” rankings.