UC San Diego

Below is an outline of the basic NCAA Division I academic eligibility rules as they apply at UC San Diego.  If you have any questions about the below rules or need help in determining if your academic plan meets NCAA eligibility requirements, please contact your team's assigned eligibility advisor.

Students must be in "good academic standing" with the University to be eligible to compete. The University defines "good academic standing" for all students as being eligible for continued enrollment. In order to participate in extracurricular activities at the University, students must remain in "good academic standing." Academic standing is separate from Academic Status. For more information, visit: http://backontrack.ucsd.edu.

A scholar-athlete must be a full-time student in order to participate (practice or compete).  The only exception to this rule for both competition and practice eligibility is for graduating students who don't need 12 units to finish their final quarter - they must have notification on file, with the Athletics Department, prior to the term in which they are less than full-time.  The notification includes verification from both their COLLEGE and MAJOR department that they are taking what they need to graduate.  If you are seeking to be part-time in your final quarter, it is advised that you speak with your Athletics Academic Advisor well in advance to ensure you meet the requirements. All required paperwork is available through the Athletics Department and is separate from what you must file with the University if you are seeking to pay only part-time student fees in your final quarter. 

There is an exception, for practice purposes only, to the full-time (12 units) requirement that occurs during the first five days of each quarter; a student can drop and add classes and still be eligible for practice (not competition) during those first five days, if below 12 units.

A scholar-athlete must maintain a cumulative GPA that meets the NCAA required minimum standards as outlined below.  GPA is based on the UCSD GPA used for graduation.  Following the first year of collegiate enrollment, each scholar-athlete's cumulative GPA will be evaluated at the end of each quarter and must be meeting the minimum standard that is applicable for the scholar to continue to be eligible for travel and competition. Scholars below their required cumulative GPA benchmark may continue to practice as long as they are enrolled full-time.

• Entering the second year of collegiate enrollment: 1.8
• Entering the third year of collegiate enrollment: 1.9
• Entering the fourth year and thereafter: 2.0
   

Transfer Students: unless you are transferring from another UC institution, your GPA does not transfer over and factor into your UC-GPA.  

Students must declare a major by the start of their 7th full-time quarter to remain eligible.  If you plan on switching majors please consult with Athletics Academic Advising first, as it may impact your eligibility.

Additionally:

• 40% of degree requirements must be completed for scholar athletes entering their 7th full time quarter of enrollment. 
• 60% of degree requirements must be completed for scholar athletes entering their 10th full time quarter of enrollment.
• 80% of degree requirements must be completed for scholar athletes entering their 13th full time quarter of enrollment.

Degree requirements include all required coursework for major, general education and university requirements (i.e. required electives to reach 180 units, 60 units of Upper Division, DEI). Courses taken for a voluntary minor are not counted towards percent of degree completion. 

All Scholar-Athletes must pass a minimum of 27 units during fall-winter-spring of each academic year of attendance. These units can be any units taken at UC San Diego. This requirement may NOT be made up with summer school.

First year Scholar-Athletes must complete a minimum of 36-quarter units in their first year. This may include summer school units; however, at least 27 of the 36 units need to be earned during the regular academic year (Fall, Winter, Spring.) The remaining 9 units are allowed to be earned over the summer.

Scholar-athletes must pass at least 6 units each quarter to remain eligible to compete for the next quarter.  Summer school cannot be used to meet the quarterly 6-unit requirement.

Prior to the 7th Full-Time Quarter: If you have not yet reached your 7th full-time quarter of enrollment, all units (minus repeated credits) are considered acceptable under NCAA Division I rules and will count towards your quarterly 6-units requirements.

Start of 7th Full-Time Quarter: Beginning in your 7th full-time quarter, your quarterly 6-units must go directly towards towards your degree.  A course is considered as going towards your degree if it:

• Goes towards your MAJOR requirements; or
• Goes towards your COLLEGE GE requirements; or
• Goes towards the University DEI requirement; or
• Goes towards necessary upper division elective or open elective credit.  All the colleges require 60 units of upper division credit.  In addition, you need 180 units of credit to graduate from UC San Diego.
   

NOTE: To figure out if electives are necessary and will count towards your NCAA requirements, it is strongly advised that you review your degree audit and discuss your audit with your assigned NCAA eligibility advisor (Katie, Anju, or Pilar). Scholar-athletes are provided education on how to determine necessary vs. unnecessary electives during the Rising Junior Workshop that takes place during the spring quarter of their sophomore year.  

NOTE: Assume that classes taken strictly for a MINOR will not count; exceptions exist so always ask Athletics Academic Advising. 

Once you've reached your 7th full-time quarter, and you receive a "D" in a course where the minimum acceptable grade for your degree program is a C-, you will not receive units towards your eligibility requirements for that course.  If the course is later repeated and an acceptable grade earned, those units will be applied to your eligibility requirements at that time.  You only earn eligibility units for a course ONCE, when an acceptable grade is earned. 

• During your final 3 quarters prior to graduation, there is an exception to the 6-unit rule that may potentially apply to you if you do not have enough required classes remaining to meet the requirement; see Athletics Academic Advising for questions.
• Correspondence, extension and credit-by-exam courses taken from a school other than UC San Diego can only be used in determining academic standing or satisfactory progress if the course is accepted by UC San Diego.
• Units for a course that may be taken several times (i.e., independent study, research) is limited by institutional regulations.
• A baseball scholar-athlete who is not meeting continuing eligibility standards at the start of the academic year, is ineligible for travel/competition for the remainder of the academic year. 

Spring 2026 Scholar-Athlete Tutoring
Note: Appointments start week 2

Please watch this video, opens in new tab for step-by-step instructions. You can only book appointments three days in advance.

Subjects: CHEM 6ABC; MATH 10ABC, 18, & 20ABCD

Hours: Mondays: 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM, Wednesdays: 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Make an appointment HERE., opens in new tab

The REEF Schedule
Monday – Thursday: 7:00 am – 4:30 pm

For instructions on scheduling an appointment, please click HERE, opens in new tab.

Tutoring and academic support services are available for free for UC San Diego students. Please reach out to each unit directly for more information or to schedule an appointment. 

Teaching and Learning Commons: Academic Achievement Hub, opens in new tab

Content Tutoring , opens in new tab- Tutors are available in-person and online for a variety of subjects.

Supplemental Instruction, opens in new tab - SI supports courses in Biology, Chemistry, Data Science, Economics, Math, Management Science, Philosophy, Physics, Psychology, Engineering, and Statistics.

Writing Hub, opens in new tab - The Writing Hub offers a team of highly-trained peer consultants works with student writers from across campus, from nearly every department and discipline, to offer supportive readers' feedback and actionable writing strategies. Both undergraduate and graduate students can utilize their writing support services by scheduling an appointment. One-on-one appointments with a writing consultant are available in-person or online. 

Tutoring and Study Programs by Department , opens in new tab- UC San Diego offers numerous tutoring and study assistance programs, most of them free of charge. Use these links to find a tutoring or support program that's right for you.

Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services (OASIS), opens in new tab - OASIS strives to facilitate the holistic enrichment of UC San Diego students through community-based, and culturally responsive mentoring, academic support, and professional development. OASIS offers many programs and services to support all Tritons in their academic endeavors and empower them to enter the world as socially just changemakers.

Federal Graduation Rate
At UC San Diego, our student body graduates from the institution at a rate of 87%. Scholar-athletes graduate at an even higher rate, 88%! UC San Diego's four-class average graduation rate for the student body is 86% and 90% for scholar-athletes.  
These figures come from the University's most recent Federal Graduation Rates (PDF) report (2013-14 Cohort).   The Federal Graduation Rate measures the percentage of students and scholar-athletes who graduate from an institution within the 6-year federal guideline.  Only first-time freshmen scholar-athletes who were on athletic scholarship during their first year of enrollment at the institution are included in the Federal Graduation Rate report.  

NCAA Graduation Success Rate
Another measure of scholar-athlete graduation success is the NCAA Division I Graduation Success Rate.  This annual report is a more comprehensive measure of scholar-athlete graduation rates at UC San Diego.  It measures the percentage of scholar-athletes, including transfers, who graduate from our institution within 6-years of their initial full-time collegiate enrollment, regardless of athletics aid.  If a scholar-athlete was on an NCAA athletics team during his/her first year of enrollment at UC San Diego, they are included in this report.  UC San Diego's Graduation Success Rate is 92% - meaning 92% of our scholar-athletes, freshman and transfers, in the 2013-14 cohort, graduated within 6 years.