What are Initiatives?
Initiatives are incubators for new ideas, and offer a means of exploring challenges and testing solutions in collaborative and interdisciplinary environments. The arts and humanities play a crucial role in furthering the university’s mission of learning, discovery, service and inclusion by supporting collaborations through the development of initiatives.
Arts and Community Engagement
Founded in 2018, this initiative seeks to build community through the arts and offer unique collaborative activities and opportunities to members of the campus community and beyond.
Institute for Practical Ethics
Founded in 2018, the Institute for Practical Ethics serves as an interdisciplinary research unit to develop and promote research on ethical issues facing the public, with special emphasis on fostering deliberation amongst ethicists, scientists and policy makers. The institute supports research, hosts events, and offers faculty funding opportunities, alongside post-doctoral and fellowship positions.
PATH
Founded in 2016 and funded by an Andrew W. Mellon grant, PATH (Preparing Accomplished Transfers to the Humanities) is a collaboration between the School of Arts and Humanities and the San Diego Community College District, to support transfer students and encourage success at the university level and beyond.
Center for Taiwan Studies
Founded in 2021, the Center for Taiwan Studies aims to expand cultural understanding of Taiwan and Taiwanese Americans. The center provides a sustainable platform to grow collaboration and exchange between the U.S. and Taiwan, increase visibility in university Taiwan-centered projects, encourage student engagement across disciplines in Taiwan studies and offer grant support for faculty and graduate student research. The center aims to connect local and international communities with diverse events and programming to raise awareness of important social issues impacting Taiwan.
Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts
Founded in 2021, the Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts will promote research, scholarship, teaching, production, and exhibition of film and moving-image arts. The Suraj Israni center will engage across boundaries to combine learning and doing, storytelling and social engagement, and cross-media innovation. This initiative aims to provide access and opportunity for UC San Diego students and scholars to pursue their passion in cinematics arts, a field that has grown to include a range of media forms: film, video art, animation, virtual environments, and global and transnational cinemas.