The University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) has partnered with semiconductor manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to launch a training programme.
This programme gives undergraduate students hands-on experience of chip fabrication and cleanroom equipment.
The programme is designed to prepare students from a range of engineering and scientific disciplines for careers in semiconductor manufacturing, combining practical training, academic mentorship and a pathway to apply for internships at TSMC Arizona.
Led by UC San Diego’s Center for Memory and Recording Research (CMRR), the programme began in the autumn quarter of 2026 with an introductory bootcamp for 40 students.
Participants will learn basic semiconductor fabrication techniques using tabletop versions of cleanroom instruments, allowing them to practise processes and experiment with equipment before progressing to more complex systems.
Following the bootcamp, 25 students will be selected for specialised training at the Nano3 Cleanroom Facility, housed within UC San Diego’s Qualcomm Institute.
Cleanroom staff will train participants to operate key equipment and qualify as authorised cleanroom users.
Training for semiconductor manufacturing
The specialised training will prepare students to contribute to faculty-led research projects from January to June 2027.
Working with mentors from the Jacobs School of Engineering, participants will undertake semiconductor processing projects aligned with manufacturing activities carried out by TSMC.
Research areas will include three-dimensional electronics, photonic circuits, neuromorphic devices, the electronic integration of two-dimensional nanomaterials and superconducting structures for quantum circuits.
After the programme concludes in June, students will have a pathway to internships at TSMC Arizona, where they can apply their training in an industrial semiconductor foundry environment.
The programme is coordinated by Oscar Vazquez-Mena, professor in UC San Diego’s Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering, in collaboration with chemistry professor Andrew Kummel and electrical and computer engineering professors Yu-Hwa Lo and Eric Fullerton.
Chemistry, electromechanical systems, chemical processing and the maintenance of complex machinery are also important to the operation of semiconductor fabrication facilities according to the university.
The programme will therefore involve students from disciplines including chemical engineering, chemistry, mechanical engineering and nanoengineering, giving them practical experience of the processes and equipment used in chip production.
