Global Environmental Leadership & Sustainability (GELS) Recently Updated

The UC San Diego Global Environmental Leadership and Sustainability pre-college programs are designed to provide high achieving high school students the opportunity to engage and address environmental issues in the world today in an effort to develop future "Leaders in Caring for the Earth."

UC San Diego is an academic powerhouse and economic engine, recognized as one of the top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report and ranked number one in the nation for public service by the Washington Monthly. Our location is unparalleled, our impact unmistakable. The GELS programs combine current scientific research with leadership training and personal growth skills.

Experience life and learning in the lab, in the field, and in the classroom.

Through the GELS programs students spend a week on the big island of Hawaii working hand-in-hand with prominent locals, grad students, and university instructors exploring the causes and effects of climate change on earth's systems.

Students learn how the island thrives ecologically, economically, culturally, and socially via hands-on work at multiple locations around the Big Island. The week begins with discussing and defining issues relevant to island life and the Big Island of Hawai’i in particular. Students participate in hands-on work to research and discover what the islanders face in dealing with some of the more prominent issues defined by the group. The program concludes with a solution-based outlook where students present their findings in a scientific poster format.

The program connects scientific research with leadership training and personal growth. Students collaborate, reflect and engage in leadership activities from a value-based process resulting in positive social change, emphasizing the Social Change Model of Leadership. 

Students will experience:

• A combination of scientific research with leadership training and personal growth skills to become a leader of change.
• Cutting-edge coursework taught by renowned researchers and local Hawaiians studying water quality, coral reef health, and sustainability methods in Hilo and Kona.
• A trek across Kilauea's lava caldera learning the history of the volcano, the geology, and the flora and fauna of this island volcano at Volcanoes National Park.
• Service work at the Ka’upulehu Dryland Forest and at Kiholo Bay studying the roles and impact of native and invasive species, and helping to restore the turtle sanctuary.
• Culture and customs of the island working with native Hawaiians.
• How to demonstrate their understanding of principles and topics covered by developing a scientific poster presentation.
• The dynamics of their own personal values and characteristics and how they contribute to group dynamics and success both in scientific research and in peer interactions.

Be a change agent and apply today!

Students receive 3 units of pre-college credit for completing the GELS Hawaii program.

GELS Hawaii Summer 2025: Coming Soon