At UC Santa Barbara, we offer a dynamic environment that prizes academic inquiry and interpersonal connection to inspire scholarly ambition, creativity, and discoveries with wide-ranging impact. We’re inquisitive and curious, community-driven and globally-focused. Across our campus, you’ll find independent thinkers and consensus builders, Nobel Laureates and leaders chasing noble causes. But no matter how you define us, we are above all Gauchos — diverse in our pursuits, yet connected in our collective drive toward excellence.
UC Santa Barbara's
Mission
The University of California, Santa Barbara is a leading research institution that also provides a comprehensive liberal arts learning experience. Teaching and research go hand-in-hand at UC Santa Barbara. Our students are full participants in an educational journey of discovery that stimulates independent thought, critical reasoning, and creativity. 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. All of this takes place within a living and learning environment like no other, as we draw inspiration from the beauty and resources of our extraordinary location at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.
Majors, Degrees & Credentials
Offering 200-plus majors, degrees and credentials, UCSB fosters virtually unlimited academic interests and educational pursuits.
Facts and Figures
Multiple Nobel Prize winners. Major rankings both nationally and worldwide. Life-changing innovations. They all add up to one exceptional university.
Faculty and Alumni
Preeminent scientists and foremost humanists. Celebrated explorers and successful entrepreneurs.
Oscar winners. Olympians. And the list goes on.
History
From state teachers college to UC campus to world-renowned research institution, UCSB’s rich history dates to 1891 — and inspires still today.
Administration
Known for research impact, cutting-edge scholarship and a dynamic social culture, UC Santa Barbara’s leadership has helped make it so.
Visit UCSB
Vibrancy. That sums up the intellectual and cultural hum that’s ever-buzzing across our campus. Then there’s our location, a thing of inarguably unmatched beauty. Come for a visit, and be prepared to be enamored.
Frequently Asked Questions
Asked and answered. Get the information you need about applying and visiting, events on campus, contacting campus departments and people, or just plain finding our front door. It’s all in here.