Academics UCSB offers an educational environment like no other. More than 90 majors, 40 minors and honors programs for top students are offered in a wide range of disciplines, meaning students can pursue their passions here in a rigorous academic setting. Reputation UCSB is a leading research institution that provides a comprehensive liberal arts learning experience. As a campus of the University of California, the country’s premier public university, UCSB is internationally distinguished for its outstanding academic programs. Rigor Our academic community of faculty, students and staff is characterized by a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration that is responsive to the needs of our multicultural and global society. Over half of all graduating seniors collaborate with faculty members on original research or creative projects. Ranking U.S. News and World Report ranked UCSB number 7 among all public universities for 2020. UCSB also ranks among higher education leaders in the United States and Canada as one of onl
In a serene setting alongside a Pacific lagoon, the Art, Design & Architecture Museum at the University of California, Santa Barbara provides intimate access to art. Through rotating installations of its permanent collections along with special exhibitions and programs, the AD&A Museum is both a teaching museum, committed to the development of critical thinking and visual literacy in support of the University’s goals of education, research, and service, and a resource for the wider Santa Barbara community.
Founded in 1959, UCSB Arts & Lectures is the largest and most influential arts and lectures organization between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Arts & Lectures annually presents more than a hundred events, from critically acclaimed concerts and dance performances by world-renowned artists to talks by groundbreaking authors and film series at UCSB and Santa Barbara-area venues. With a mission to "educate, entertain and inspire," A&L also oversees an outreach program that brings visiting artists and speakers into local classrooms and other venues for master classes, open rehearsals, discussions and more, serving K-12 students, college students and the general public.
The Department of Asian American Studies at UCSB was the very first academic department dedicated to the study of Asian Americans at a major research university, and the first department in the United States to offer a Bachelor of Arts degree in Asian American Studies. The Department offers undergraduate majors the opportunity to study and understand the experiences of Asian Americans, particularly their histories, communities, and cultures. Students learn to evaluate the existing literature in Asian American Studies, to analyze a variety of data on Asian Americans, to conduct original research, and to participate in internships and social justice issues. A minor degree, Honors program, and community studies courses are also available to students. The Department provides a well-rounded, interdisciplinary curriculum which engages approaches from traditional disciplines, including history, sociology, anthropology, and literature, as well as from interdisciplinary scholarship in women's studies, law and society, public policy, global studies, social movements, cultural studies, and film and media studies.
The Associated Students (AS) of the University of California, Santa Barbara is a non-profit organization and a department of the UCSB campus, funded by undergraduate student fees. Through elected student positions and appointments we voice student concerns and express student opinion to the UCSB administration, UC system, our community, and state and local governments. We have dozens of boards, committees, and commissions that are organized and funded through AS to enrich student life and give students services and opportunities not offered by the administration. Our mission is to help students uphold the high academic standards and give them leadership, employment, cultural and growth opportunities to serve the campus community.
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos are the intercollegiate athletic teams who represent the University of California, Santa Barbara. Referred to in athletic competition as UC Santa Barbara or UCSB, the Gauchos participate in 19 NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports with the majority competing in the Big West Conference.
The UCSB Blum Center is committed to promoting interdisciplinary and socially engaged research, learning, and action to address poverty and inequality in the United States and worldwide. Established with funding from UC Regent Richard C. Blum and the UC Office of the President, it is part of a ten-campus network across the UC system.
The mission of the Bren School is to solve environmental problems. The Bren School develops interdisciplinary solutions to environmental problems, trains environmental leaders, and works for a sustainable future.
The California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) is an integrated research and discovery facility with locations at UC Santa Barbara and UCLA. As one of four California Institutes for Science and Innovation (Cal-ISI), the CNSI builds on a visionary investment by the State of California in future education, research and technological innovation. The mission of the Institute is to create an inclusive, collaborative, closely-integrated, and strongly interactive environment that will foster innovation in nanosystems research, educate the next generation of diverse leaders in science and engineering, and bring scientific and technological innovation into the economy and society.