Sixth College

Sixth College is the sixth and currently, as of April 2025, the third-newest college of the University of California, San Diego. It was established in September 2001. Sixth College's core writing program, Culture, Art and Technology (CAT), is a five-course sequence that integrates writing skills into multidisciplinary classes to examine the intersections of culture, art, and technology.

Name

Sixth College is named after the order of the college because it is the sixth undergraduate college at UC San Diego. As per university tradition, it uses a numerical name until it gets a proper name. In 2005, the name "Richard Atkinson College" was considered, to be named after Richard C. Atkinson. Atkinson is a professor Emeritus of Cognitive Science, former chancellor of UC San Diego, and former President of the University of California. However, he withdrew his name from consideration. The College was briefly named Conan O'Brien College for one day on April 20, 2012 to commemorate their tenth anniversary. While students often unofficially propose names for the college, the naming process is currently postponed indefinitely, with the current provost stating she would like the college to be named after a "Woman of Color who has contributed to technology." However, frequent controversies when creating namesakes after people may have resulted in UC San Diego campus administration and leadership to have a shift in attitude that is more reluctant towards naming other, more recently opened colleges (particularly those currently still using a numbered system), especially after people, which is particularly notable as Sixth College, originally opened in September 2001, is still yet to be named more than two decades later as of April 2025. Additionally, the reluctance to name newer and future buildings after people, as is tradition in the past, which is also noticeable in the naming of the NTPLLN buildings, has been officially confirmed during a naming committee meeting of the Pepper Canyon West (PCW) buildings (built on the site of the former, demolished Camp Snoopy, which used to host Sixth College) intended to house additional transfer students, then under construction, in summer 2023, when the naming criteria was shared among attendees (including one student member, who served as the Warren College Student Council (WCSC) Transfer At-Large Representative during the preceding (2022-2023) and succeeding (2023-2024) school years and verified the information regarding the naming guidelines), which stated that, among others, the buildings should not be named after people at all, but rather use positive, abstract or conceptual themes, which is also visible in and similar to other newer developments around campus. For example, as a result, the two towers of the PCW development were named Rya (North Tower) and Vela (South Tower). The reasons given for this guidance and policy during the naming meeting was due to the controversies that often arises from naming after people, since people are complex, multifaceted, and imperfect.

Ethos and philosophy

Sixth College prepares students to become effective global citizens who engage creatively and ethically with the complex issues facing the world in the 21st century. Through the college's academic and co-curricular programs, students learn to become innovative, aware, and interconnected. The college draws its creative inspiration through the interdisciplinary examination of culture, art and technology. Core academic programs develop skills in both traditional and emergent media literacy, emphasizing essential writing fundamentals as well as the latest forms of digital communication.

The core sequence in culture, art and technology develops students' abilities to explore the richness of intellectual and academic multiplicity, write effectively, ask and examine difficult questions, work with multiple media and sensory experiences, collaborate in teams, consider ethical issues, develop digital literacy, and explore art and technology in a cultural context.

Extending beyond the classroom, Sixth College educates the student as a whole person. The college community understands the importance of student life in education, and works to integrate academic development with personal growth, community service, interpersonal experience, conscious communication, and ethical behavior. The totality of Sixth College is a digital educational ecology that fosters new forms of thought, expression and community for a new millennium.

Experiential learning

Sixth College is committed to experiential learning on many different levels.

The Practicum is a unique upper-division requirement that promotes civic engagement and global consciousness, and embodies the college's commitment to active, experiential learning. It is designed to assist students in preparing their professional portfolios and refining their presentation skills as they prepare to enter the post-graduate world.

Beginning in 2012, Sixth College has hosted the biannual Experiential Learning Conference. Sixth College is also the only college at UC San Diego with an explicit upper division Practicum requirement which can be satisfied by many different types of experiential learning opportunities including: study abroad programs, study at UCDC, various types of service-learning in the community, directed research with faculty members, internship programs, and specially designed independent study programs.

The paramount aim is to provide a learning community that is nurturing and stimulating, while equipping students to face the challenges that lie ahead.

General education

In addition to the Culture, Art, and Technology (CAT) core writing program, all Sixth College students are required to take on an upper division Practicum course, unique to all the colleges at UCSD. The program requires students to enroll in courses that demand a hands-on approach to education while making valuable contributions to communities both locally and abroad. Students must choose a 4-unit course, program, internship, or research opportunity for their Practicum Project that develops both their academic and professional skills.

Along with the Practicum, every student is required to complete Sixth College's upper-division writing course, CAT 125. This course gives students the opportunity to reflect upon the relationship between their service and their coursework, and to increase their mastery of the written and spoken word.

Student life

The student council at Sixth College is known as SCSC. This Sixth College Student Council heads the many committees that are responsible for many major Sixth events in the academic year. These include Spirit of the Masters (Arts Committee), CHAOS (Culture Committee), Kuncocshun (Festival Committee), Winter Game Fest (Tech Committee), and Spirit Night (Spirit Committee). The SCSC also has positions for members of the Sixth College Judicial Board. Students at Sixth College are often referred to as "Sixthers," both within and outside of Sixth College in the greater UC San Diego campus community.

Other student organizations include Action Vibe, Community Board (Co-Board), Sixth College Television (SCTV), The Sixth Sense (an investigative journal), Sixer Tritons and Recreation for Transfers (START), and Video Production Club (VPC). Sixth College also has an ambassador program, for students who strive to increase Sixth College students' sense of belonging and connectedness to the community.

Sixth College's former dining hall and markets, at its old site in Pepper Canyon and Camp Snoopy (now partially demolished and used to house transfer students) before its move in 2020, were known as Foodworx. Sixth Place and Market, a convenience store, is located nearby.

Academic Buildings, On-campus housing, and Other Facilities

On-campus housing is available at Sixth College for two years. The original Sixth College dormitories are located near Pepper Canyon Hall, and are now used for transfer student housing. These dorms are nicknamed "Camp Snoopy" as the trees, central lawn, and cabin-like dormitory buildings all contribute to the appearance of a youth summer camp. The dorms are arranged in multiple two-story buildings, with approximately sixty students per building (thirty per floor). Each floor is further divided into two suites, each consisting of five rooms and a common room. A shared bathroom connects the two suites. Each building also features a kitchen and study room for use by residents of that building.

The other former on-campus housing option are the old Sixth's apartments (sometimes referred to by their old name from when they were part of Fifth College, "Pepper Canyon Apartments").

Sixth College has been moved twice within UC San Diego's Campus since its establishment in September 2001, first to the Pepper Canyon area and Camp Snoopy (where some remnants like the street naming, e.g. Sixth Ln, still exist) (Camp Snoopy has since been demolished after Sixth's move to NTPLLN, but Pepper Canyon East and Matthews Apartments are now serving transfer students before their eventual replacement). Finally, in 2020, the college transitioned to then-newly opened facilities in a different part of campus, the North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood (NTPLLN) (which has been planned to be the eventual home of Sixth College since before its construction), built on former parking lots (Muir Parking Lots P207 and P208, which closed permanently on June 18, 2018 to allow for its construction), on Ridge Walk (overlooking the coast) immediately north of Muir College. The transition process was staggered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with some students living in the completed facilities, and the remaining buildings were expected to finish construction later than expected, by 2020 or early 2021. As of 2021, the transition to NTPLLN has been fully completed and all students at Sixth College now live at the North Torrey Pines living & learning community.

Sixth College also hosts a number of Living-Learning Communities (LLC's), including, as of April 2025, among others, the Multicultural Living-Learning Community for students of various backgrounds (mainly students of color) and the African Black Diaspora LLC for students of African descent, which is open for any student with a housing contract to apply for (during their housing application) and allows non-Sixth College and transfer students, who typically live in specific transfer housing areas rather than and regardless of their assigned colleges of registration, to select a room in Sixth to participate in these programs, which offer some light extra programming and activities related to their theme, if their applications are selected. Additionally, Sixth College also currently hosts Gender Inclusive Housing, which is open for all students at UC San Diego to opt-into on their housing application/forms on the campus-wide HDH housing portal, as well as the OASIS LLC designed specifically for first-generation college students from under-served high schools who are already participating in the OASIS Program, including OASIS Summer Bridge, to live together in order to continue building their supportive relationships from earlier in the program and receive support and advice from each other as well as student staff (e.g. the RA in charge of the OASIS LLC program/floor(s)). Due to the extra capacity and room space, as of 2023, Sixth College also houses overflow students from Marshall, which is running even lower on capacity in their already usually smaller facilities with less rooms/spaces (pre-construction) due to construction and closure/demolition of current facilities, Muir, and other areas on campus as capacity constraints around campus require. However, the LLCs and other housing programs (e.g. Gender Inclusive Housing) (including which ones are offered by HDH on a campus-wide level, the ones which are hosted at Sixth, and their locations within Sixth) and overflow housing may be fluid and may change or vary.

Commuter life

Sixth College has several resources for commuters. Sixth College commuter students have unlimited access to the Commuter Center located in Pepper Canyon Hall, which features lockers, WiFi, and kitchen facilities. Sixth College also has a commuter student organization known as Commuters in Action, or CIA. Each quarter, Sixth College also hosts Commuter and Transfer social events.

Notable events

On April 20, 2012, late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien visited Sixth College in honor of its tenth anniversary. To celebrate the occasion, and in the absence of a permanent name, Sixth College renamed itself to Conan O'Brien College for the day of April 20.

On May 27, 2015, actress Mayim Bialik visited Sixth College in honor of its thirteenth anniversary.

Experiential Learning Conference

The Experiential Learning Conference is a biannual event occurring in early Winter quarter (late January), and is free and open to the public. The first conference was organizers by former acting Provost Jim Lin and Director Diane Forbes Berthoud, and hosted jointly by Sixth College and Warren College on January 26, 2012, in the Cross Cultural Center located in Price Center East. The theme of the inaugural conference was ''Education in Action: Mobilizing the next generation for social reform''. Over 165 presenters participated in panels, with representation from multiple universities in San Diego and across the UC Community. Notable presenters included David Kirsh and Lev Manovich.

The second conference was sponsored by Provost Dan Donoghue, organized by Director Diane Forbes Berthoud, and hosted by Sixth College. The event was held in Price Center West as well as the Cross Cultural Center on Friday, January 31, 2014.

The keynote speaker was Mizuko Ito, who gave a special noon session talk on 'Connected Learning.' Other notable presenters included Associate Vice Chancellor Barbara Sawrey, Michael Trigilio, STEM and STEAM programming, Elizabeth Losh, K. Wayne Yang, Teddy Cruz, Bud Mehan, Michael Cole, Ashley Trinh, and Mirle Bussell.

The third conference was sponsored by Provost Dan Donoghue, organized by Director Diane Forbes Berthoud, and hosted by Sixth College. The event was held in the Cross Cultural Center on Thursday, March 31, 2016.

Commencement

UC San Diego hosts separate graduation ceremonies for each undergraduate college. Sixth College has had such commencement speakers as:
* Sev Ohanian, '08 Sixth alum, co-writer/producer of ''Searching''
* Wesley Chan, '06 Sixth alum, member of Wong Fu Productions
* Kim Stanley Robinson, science fiction writer
* Naomi Oreskes, history professor and co-author of ''Merchants of Doubt''

Notes

References

External links

Official Sixth College website

Overview of UCSD's College System

Sixth College Culture, Art, and Technology websiteUC San Diego College SystemUC San Diego College Comparison

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University of California, San Diego colleges and schools
Educational institutions established in 2001
2001 establishments in California