Conference Directory · Los Angeles & Southern California
Southern California runs the densest school-hosted Model UN circuit in the country. Where other regions revolve around university flagships, SoCal’s calendar is anchored by high school programs: SOCOMUN opens the season in September with around 1,500 delegates, LAIMUN fills the first weekend of December, and Huntington Beach’s Surf City conference draws nationally ranked teams every February.
The universities still matter: UCLA’s BruinMUN is one of the West Coast’s top fall conferences and USC’s SCMUN runs dedicated novice committees each spring. San Diego adds UCSD’s twice-yearly TritonMUN and one of the oldest middle school conferences in the country.
11 conferences listed · Last verified July 2026
Mira Costa High School · Manhattan Beach, CA
A two-day conference known for its distinctive docket-style debate, with novice through advanced committees spanning GA, ECOSOC, specialized, crisis, and ad hoc rooms.
UCLA (Model United Nations at UCLA) · Los Angeles, CA
One of the West Coast’s top university-hosted fall conferences, with around 27 committees across GA, ECOSOC, specialized, and crisis on the UCLA campus.
Santa Margarita Catholic High School · Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
Billed as the largest one-day Model UN conference anywhere, with SDG-themed GA-style committees. The traditional season opener for the SoCal circuit and a manageable first conference despite its size.
USC (Model United Nations of Southern California) · Los Angeles, CA
A two-day spring conference at USC with around 16 committees, including dedicated novice rooms and a community sponsorship program.
Huntington Beach High School · Huntington Beach, CA
A long-running school-hosted conference regarded as one of the most competitive stops on the SoCal circuit, regularly drawing nationally ranked programs. Better as a mid-season test than a first outing.
Tustin High School · Tustin, CA
One of Southern California’s largest student-run conferences, with GA and specialized committees, exclusive middle school rooms, and a joint crisis.
UC San Diego (Model United Nations at UCSD) · La Jolla, CA
A twice-yearly UCSD-hosted conference with GA and crisis committees. Aimed at high schoolers, with middle school delegates also welcome.
UC Santa Barbara (UCSB Model United Nations) · Santa Barbara, CA
A two-day campus conference with GA, specialized, and joint-crisis committees plus delegate workshops, drawing schools from across the West Coast.
Cerritos High School · Cerritos, CA
Conferences hosted by one of the nation’s top-ranked high school Model UN programs, including an annual fall conference.
Pomona College (Claremont Colleges) · Claremont, CA
A one-day college-hosted conference with GA, specialized, and crisis committees that markets itself as welcoming to all experience levels.
Student-run San Diego secretariat · San Diego, CA
A conference for grades 6 to 9 running for nearly five decades, billed as the longest-running junior Model UN west of the Mississippi, chaired by high school students.
It is run largely by high schools rather than universities. Programs like Mira Costa, Huntington Beach, Tustin, and Cerritos host conferences drawing 800 to 1,500 delegates, and several use a docket-style debate format that differs from the East Coast’s standard flow of debate. Delegates who compete in both systems should expect procedural differences.
SOCOMUN in late September is the classic entry point: it is one day, GA-only in style, and the whole circuit treats it as the season opener for new delegates. LAIMUN and THSMUN both run novice and middle school rooms, and SCMUN at USC offers dedicated novice committees in the spring.
Yes. UC San Diego’s TritonMUN runs twice a year with GA and crisis committees, and SDRJMUN each April serves grades 6 to 9 and has been running for nearly fifty years. Many San Diego teams also travel north for the Orange County and LA conferences.
Almost the whole school year: SOCOMUN and SageMUN in the early fall, BruinMUN and THSMUN in November, LAIMUN in early December, GauchoMUN and Surf City in the winter, SCMUN in early spring, and SDRJMUN in April.
Start with the two-week first-conference prep plan, print the first-conference checklist, and draft your paper with the position paper template. The guide to how awards actually work explains what chairs score once you get there.