MMW Serves focuses on Southern California’s Colorado Desert and the communities around the Salton Sea. Explore and learn about this fascinating and important—yet marginalized—region. Along the way, students encounter the Salton Sea and a wide range of desert landscapes—badlands, canyons, creeks, oases, caves, and groves of palm, mesquite, and cottonwood trees. The program includes time on the Agua Caliente Reservation to learn from and listen to indigenous voices, and visits to distinctive cultural sites such as the art projects at Salvation Mountain, Bombay Beach, and Borrego Springs. Students engage with desert ecosystems and wildlife, experience local culture, from the iconic date shake to the ‘micro-nation’ of Slowjamistan and the ‘last free place in America’, Slab City. The program invites participants to reflect on the intersections of environment, history, culture, and community that shape this unique region.

MMW Serves is offered through a partnership with the Making of the Modern World Program at Eleanor Roosevelt College, UCSD’s Outback Adventures, California State Parks – Colorado District, Agua Caliente Band of the Cahuilla People, and the Steele/Burnand Desert Research Center.

This program is embedded in UC San Diego’s Making of the Modern World  program, combining academic preparation and experiential activity. A Winter MMW Serves seminar (fulfilling MMW14 or MMW122 requirements) provides the academic preparation.  After completion, students spend Spring Break in the desert to deepen their understanding of the region’s diverse human and natural history, and to support efforts for environmental protection and sustainability.

The experiential desert component takes place after the conclusion of the winter course during Spring Break. The program is based in and around Anza Borrego Desert State Park, with activities ranging far and wide across the desert landscape.

Participating students receive MMW Serves Co-Curricular Record notation on their UCSD transcripts.

Cost: $400  There is a Non-Refundable $200 deposit due by December 3. The second Non-Refundable Payment for the remainder is due by Feb 12.  The fee covers the cost of food, lodging, and activities for the week, as well as transportation to/from UCSD and to all desert sites.

Applications are due in November 2026. Space is limited. Students accepted into the program must successfully complete the MMW Serves seminar to participate in the Spring Break program.

Apply Here