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John Muir College is one of the seven
undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...
colleges at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). The college is named after John Muir, the environmentalist and founder of the Sierra Club. It has a humanitarian emphasis focused on the "spirit of self-sufficiency and individual choice." The college opened in 1967, at the height of the American
environmental movement The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists a ...
triggered in part by
Rachel Carson Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist, writer, and conservationist whose influential book '' Silent Spring'' (1962) and other writings are credited with advancing the global environmental ...
's book ''
Silent Spring ''Silent Spring'' is an environmental science book by Rachel Carson. Published on September 27, 1962, the book documented the environmental harm caused by the indiscriminate use of pesticides. Carson accused the chemical industry of spreading d ...
''. John Muir College describes itself as the "Heart of UCSD" and boasts a strong and distinct character after fifty years of existence.


Housing

In addition to gender-segregated residence halls and apartments, John Muir College has housing exclusively for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual (
LGBTQIA+ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is an ...
) students.


Requirements

John Muir College's general education requirements are more loosely structured than those of the other colleges, with an emphasis on "sequences" and individual study. Each student must complete a year-long sequence in
social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...
, a sequence in natural science or math, and must choose two year-long sequences in two different areas chosen from fine arts, a foreign language or
humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...
. In addition, each student must complete two quarters of the "Muir College Writing Program" (MCWP). Due to JMC's flexible general education requirements, it is very popular among incoming students and receives the most applications each year. Consequently, it employs the most stringent admissions process among the six colleges. The flexibility of the college often encourages a large number of students to pursue multiple bachelor's degrees. Muir College's writing program incorporates college level writing over a two-quarter period, with general critical writing during the first quarter and a themed rhetorical analysis program during the second. Also unique to Muir College is the Muir Special Project major, which allows qualified students to earn a
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
degree by pursuing an individually designed program of interdisciplinary study.


Landmarks

Several of the most notable landmarks on the UCSD campus are located at Muir College. Sun God, the colossal statue designed by late French artist Niki de Saint Phalle, stands herald over the grounds of the campus. The 8- and 11-story twin residence halls Tenaya and Tioga along with the 5- and 9-story Tuolumne and Tamarack apartment buildings stand as a testament to the nature-conserving policies of Muir as well as examples of the prevalent architectural style of the 1960s. Muir's connection to California's
Yosemite Valley Yosemite Valley ( ; ''Yosemite'', Miwok for "killer") is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California. The valley is about long and deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Hal ...
continues with the
Half Dome Half Dome is a granite dome at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park, California. It is a well-known rock formation in the park, named for its distinct shape. One side is a sheer face while the other three sides are smoo ...
Lounge and the dining hall Pines (formerly Sierra Summit). In 2012, Muir College opened Roots, the first vegan dining facility on campus that accepts student dining dollars. Muir College is also the location of Middle Of Muir, commonly known as M.O.M., a small general store unique to Muir College that stocks items specifically catered to student needs. Every Halloween, Muir students drop a giant pumpkin from the top of the tallest residence hall as part of the Halloween Carnival. In 2007, UCSD received a $99,800 grant from the Getty Foundation to preserve Muir College's buildings, which includes significant collection of mid-century modernist architecture, designed by a team of San Diego architects led by Robert Mosher.


Notable events


MuirStock Music Festival

The MuirStock Music Festival began in April 2001 by the Muir College Council (MCC) with the aim of creating a central unifying event for the Muir community. With an initial budget of $10,000, the festival has grown exponentially and become a major, annual all-campus event. It is known as the original UCSD college music festival. The MuirStock concert always features
Indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...
or up-and-coming artists (such as Justin Nozuka, who headlined MuirStock in 2013). MuirStock inspired MarshallPalooza and Rock 'n' Roosevelt, the music festivals for
Thurgood Marshall College Thurgood Marshall College (Marshall) is one of the seven undergraduate colleges at the University of California, San Diego. The college, named after Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court Justice and lawyer for the landmark 1 ...
and
Eleanor Roosevelt College The Eleanor Roosevelt College (Roosevelt or ERC) is one of seven undergraduate colleges at the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego or UCSD). While ERC has students of all majors, the college emphasizes international understanding in ...
. Richard Tashman, then a Muir freshman, designed the original MuirStock logo, which featured a tree growing out of a guitar.


References


External links


Official Muir College WebsiteOverview of UCSD's College SystemUC San Diego College System

UC San Diego College Comparison
{{University of California San Diego University of California, San Diego Educational institutions established in 1967