The Irwin and Joan Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California San Diego is an undergraduate and graduate-level engineering school offering Bachelor of Science (BS), Master of Engineering (MEng), Master of Science (MS), and Doctorate (PhD) degree programs. The Jacobs School of Engineering is the youngest engineering school of the nation's top fifteen, as well as the largest engineering school in the University of California system. Thirty-one faculty have been named members of the National Academies.HistoryEngineering programs began at UCSD during the 1964 academic year with a broad applied science department in the areas of aerospace engineering, solid mechanics, bioengineering and materials. In 1982, UCSD combined the engineering departments into the Division of Engineering, led by the first dean, Lea Rudee. Ten years passed until the Division of Engineering was renamed the School of Engineering. This time, Robert Conn, an expert in plasma physics and semiconductors was chosen to lead the new School. In 1997, when Qualcomm founder and former UCSD engineering professor Irwin Jacobs and his wife Joan Jacobs provided a $15 million endowment for the School, the School went through a final name change leading to the current name in their honor. Six years later, Irwin and Joan Jacobs added to the endowment with a $110 million gift for scholarships, fellowships, and faculty support.
