Synthesis Program

Program Highlights

The Synthesis Program utilizes a robust and distinctive approach to students' learning and emphasizes the importance of confronting large-scale, global issues from an interdisciplinary perspective. The three-course sequence encompasses four curricular themes that connect with UC San Diego Competencies:

Anti-racist and inclusive pedagogies
Collaborative problem-solving
Communication processes
Critical thinking and reflective practice

Course Descriptions

Synthesis 1/1R - Offered Winter & Spring

Synthesis 1/1R asks students to critically examine through an interdisciplinary and antiracist lens how we communicate about the climate crisis in order to address the question of how we get people to respond and take action. Through a variety of assignments and activities, students develop an awareness of both the message of a text and how the author crafted that message. They learn how to assess the purpose, audience, and context of different rhetorical situations.

Synthesis 2/2R - Offered Fall, Winter, & Summer

Synthesis 2/2R builds upon the skills developed in Synthesis 1. In the first half of the quarter, students learn the links between climate change and racial justice. Using an antiracist framework, students work in a small group to research an aspect of the climate crisis. In the second half of the quarter, students are introduced to project design and learn how to draft a proposal. Students learn how to determine the scope of a project based on such criteria as time, money, and potential impact.

Synthesis 100 - Offered Fall, Winter, Spring, & Summer

SYN 100 is a project-based course that builds upon foundational skills by taking a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to complex global problems. Each section focuses on a different theme, challenge, or question related to the climate crisis. Despite the different class topics, all students will learn by designing and executing a team project that addresses their section’s theme. Take a look at the offerings for SYN 100 here.

Synthesis 150/150R - Offered Fall, Winter, Spring, & Summer

SYN 150/150R is recommended for Seventh College transfer students in preparation for SYN 100. Students critically examine, through an interdisciplinary and antiracist lens, key issues impacting our changing planet.

Synthesis 100 Global Seminar - Offered Summer 2025

UC San Diego Global Seminars are summer session global experiences led by a UC San Diego professor. Students enroll in a package of two courses for a total of eight UC San Diego quarter units. Class sizes are between 15–28 students, so there are excellent opportunities for one-on-one interaction with some of the best faculty at UC San Diego. All courses are taught in English, except for the courses that are part of an intensive language program.

Read more about SYN 100GS: Storytelling for a Changing Planet scheduled for Summer Session I 2025 in Copenhangen, Denmark.

Learning Goals

Through the activities and assignments of the Synthesis Program, students will develop:

Critical Reading and Listening Processes

Developing awareness of not only what texts say, but how they are crafted to deliver a message
Learning how to put authors in conversation with each other
Learning the concept of rhetorical listening and apply and utilize this concept to class discussions
Engaging in antiracist practices in pedagogy and education, such as centering the voices and knowledge of people of color and actively challenging racism within climate crisis policies, discourses, and responses
Learning about the standards of language that exist within different discourse communities and question the function of these standards

Problem-Solving

Discussing different proposed solutions for the climate crisis and intersectional issues
Developing the habit of mind of curiosity through agency and problem solving
Understanding the ways in which institutional racism, climate crisis, and other global issues are interrelated
Recognizing perspectives on a changing planet stem from positionality in the world (geographically, racially, etc.)

Rhetorical Knowledge

Understanding argument and its function and purpose
Assessing purpose, audience and context (local vs. global) for different rhetorical situations
Recognizing and evaluating underlying assumptions and chains of reasoning that motivate arguments

Teamwork and Collaboration Experiences

Learning how to give and act on productive feedback to works in progress
Discussing the advantages and challenges of teamwork
Working together on a project that addresses a challenge related to a changing planet

Writing Processes

Learning about writing as an iterative process, as a series of phases or stages
Learning a wide variety of strategies, for beginning, drafting, organizing, revising and editing compositions
Being introduced to the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes
Developing a reflective practice
Learning that failure is part of any process and not the end

Collaborative Grading

Collaborative Grading is utilized across all Synthesis courses. With each course, students will contract at the beginning of the quarter for the labor and grade they commit to in relation to the course projects and activities. This approach to grading lifts up the importance of students' process over product. Students are empowered to develop their critical approaches to reading, writing, and thinking rather than earning their desired grade.

Students report that Collaborative Grading:

Increases interest in learning for themselves
Increases creativity and willingness to take risks
Invites deeper exploration of the course material
Provides a different source of motivation than traditional grades
Relieves anxiety and stress
Shifts the focus from grades to feedback

Additional Questions?

Please review the Synthesis Program section on Seventh College's FAQ page. For questions or concerns not addressed, contact synthesis@ucsd.edu.