On September 11, 2021, the Board of Trustees of Woodbury University voted to consolidate the operations of the institution's San Diego campus into its main campus in Burbank. It was determined that the continued operation of the San Diego facility would no longer be economically tenable. This vote came after a series of internal discussions involving University Administration, the Board of Trustees, and a Faculty Senate Sub-Committee on the viability of the San Diego location. Following best practices of shared governance, a broad range of University stakeholders identified criteria centered around an admissions goal in hopes that enrollment numbers would provide the tuition-based funds necessary to sustain operations at the campus. 

After aggressive recruitment efforts, which included several online marketing campaigns, virtual info sessions where prospective students met with successful San Diego alumni and spoke with faculty, and other strategies, the University was unable to meet the established admissions goal.

Degree completion by every current San Diego student is the institution's highest priority. The consolidation will occur through fall 2024 to ensure a smooth transition for students, faculty, and staff. Moreover, Woodbury is offering transfer incentives for San Diego students and relocation incentives for campus employees such as retention bonuses, relocation packages, and opportunities for remote work.

The San Diego campus currently occupies a single-story, leased facility in the Barrio Logan district of San Diego. The facility includes classrooms, studios, offices, a library, a Making Complex, and a versatile showroom for design reviews, gatherings, and events. There are no athletic facilities or residence halls on the campus.

Since 1998, over 600 students have graduated from the San Diego architecture programs and have gone on to successful careers in architecture, both professionally and academically. The San Diego campus has earned a strong reputation for civic engagement for its collaborative physical environment and close ties to the surrounding neighborhood of Barrio Logan. The values exemplified on the San Diego campus will remain central to the School of Architecture's mission as the San Diego programs are consolidated to the Burbank campus.

In addition, the MSArch RED program, one of the few Master’s in Real Estate Development programs in the country housed in a School of Architecture, has produced graduates who have a track record of built projects that grew out of work completed as part of the degree program. MSArch RED alumni continue to be important members of the San Diego design and development community. 

"We are proud of what we have accomplished over the past 25 years at Woodbury San Diego," says Jose Parral, Chair of Architecture in San Diego. "As faculty and staff, we have made an academic and professional investment to teach students how to see the world differently, and to prepare them to make a better world for all of us. We hope that the design community will join us and will mentor, provide opportunities of employment, and further work with us to help continue the mission that Woodbury School of Architecture and the San Diego campus began long ago."

"Woodbury School of Architecture is nationally ranked and will continue to serve a key role in our evolving pedagogy," says Woodbury University President David Steele-Figueredo. "Our San Diego alumni will always be welcomed members of the Woodbury family, and we will continue to foster relationships with San Diego high schools and community colleges. Importantly, we are committed to continuing Woodbury's focus on equity and access to education which has been a hallmark since its founding in 1884."