University of California, Santa Barbara

Overview

The University of California, Santa Barbara—also called UCSB or UC Santa Barbara—is the third-oldest undergraduate campus in the University of California (UC) system, having joined the other UC universities in 1944. Specializing in liberal arts, the university is well-regarded among United States universities and is consistently regarded as one of the world’s leading centers for teaching and research.

The UCSB has three colleges: College of Creative Studies, which specializes in music and literature; College of Letters and Science, which includes programs in fine arts, humanities, and social science; and College of Engineering, which gives strong focus on interdisciplinary research on engineering, computation and biomolecular science. UCSB is also home to two professional departments, namely the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education and Bren School of Environmental Science & Management.

UCSB’s premises are situated in close proximity to Santa Barbara City. It covers some parts of the Santa Ynez Mountains and borders on California’s Pacific coastline, making it one of few universities in the US with an on-campus beach that has a few decent surfing spots. The campus, with its own lagoon and numerous bicycle and walking sites, draws many students to the university and encourages them to stay active even during exam periods.

Originally an independent teachers’ college, UCSB’s early programs consisted of training in industrial arts and home economics. Its roots can be traced as far back as 1891, when it was first established as the Anna Blake School and was taken over by the state in 1909. In 1921, it was called the Santa Barbara State College until it became a campus of the University of California and took on its current name.

Over the years, UCSB has earned its reputation as a politically active campus, with many political parties and organizations engaging students in political topics and current affairs. The university also provides numerous campus centers for recreational, social, pre-professional, and religious activities to support and promote diversity issues among students on campus .

UCSB, like all University of California campuses, gives strong focus on research and academic development. The university is host to 10 designated national research institutes centers that offer specialized and multidisciplinary studies, like the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, and the Southern California Earthquake Center.

The university also houses the Microsoft Station Q, a research group dedicated to the study of topological quantum computing and is headed by Fields Medalist Michael Freedman.

You can also learn more about the educational performance of University of California, Santa Barbara in our ranking of US universities & colleges.