UC San Diego’s fall enrollment drops for the first time in 14 years

UC San Diego’s fall enrollment dropped for the first time since 2012, a tiny dip that is meant to help the school absorb the explosive growth that it has been experiencing for years.

The campus currently has 46,060 students, which is 118 fewer than last year, according to preliminary data released last week by the university.

Undergraduate enrollment soared by 1,141, reaching 36,583. But the number of graduate, medicine, pharmacy and so-called self-supporting students dropped in the fall census, causing the downturn. Self-supporting students are enrolled in a select number of graduate professional degree programs. They do not receive state funding to help cover their costs.

Chancellor Pradeep Khosla told the Union-Tribune earlier this year that he is trying to manage UC San Diego’s current enrollment rather than push it much higher. Enrollment has risen by almost 18,000 since he took office in 2012.

That growth has transformed UC San Diego from a bucolic campus with a modest amount of housing to a small city with high-rise dorms that collectively house about 24,500 students. Although enrollment has slowed, it is expected to tick up in a few years as UC San Diego adds a campus village that will house 6,000 students.