Anna Blake Sloyd School (1891–1899) Anna Blake Manual Training School (1899–1909) Santa Barbara State Normal School (1909–1921) Santa Barbara State College (1921–1944) Santa Barbara College of the University of California (1944–1958)
UCSB traces its origins back to theAnna Blake School, which was founded in 1891, and offered training in home economics and industrial arts.[19][20] The Anna Blake School was taken over by the state in 1909 and became theSanta Barbara State Normal School, which then became theSanta Barbara State College in 1921.[21]
In 1944, intense lobbying by an interest group in the City of Santa Barbara led byThomas Storke andPearl Chase persuaded the State Legislature, Gov.Earl Warren, and theRegents of the University of California to move the State College over to the more research-oriented University of California system. TheState College system sued to stop the takeover, but the governor did not support the suit. A state constitutional amendment was passed in 1946 to stop subsequent conversions of State Colleges to University of California campuses.[22][23]
From 1944 to 1958, the school was known asSanta Barbara College of the University of California, before taking on its current name. When the vacated Marine Corps training station in Goleta was purchased for the rapidly growing college,Santa Barbara City College moved into the vacated State College buildings.[24]
Originally, the regents envisioned a small, several thousand–student liberal arts college, a so-called "Williams College of the West", at Santa Barbara. Chronologically, UCSB is the third general-education campus of the University of California, afterBerkeley andUCLA (the only other state campus to have been acquired by the UC system). The original campus the regents acquired in Santa Barbara was located on only 100 acres (40 ha) of largely unusable land on a seaside mesa. The availability of a 400-acre (160 ha) portion of the land used asMarine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara until 1946 on another seaside mesa inGoleta, which the regents could acquire for free from the federal government, led to that site becoming the Santa Barbara campus in 1949.
Originally, only 3000–3500 students were anticipated, but the post-WWIIbaby boom led to the designation of a general campus in 1958, along with a name change from "Santa Barbara College" to "University of California, Santa Barbara," and the discontinuation of the industrial arts program for which the state college was famous. Achancellor, Samuel B. Gould, was appointed in 1959.
In 1959, UCSB professor Douwe Stuurman hosted the English writerAldous Huxley as the university's first visiting professor.[25] Huxley delivered a lectures series called "The Human Situation".[26]
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, UCSB became nationally known as one of the main national hotbeds of anti–Vietnam War activism. A bombing at the school's faculty club in 1969 killed the caretaker, Dover Sharp. In the spring of 1970, multiple instances ofarson occurred, including a burning of theBank of America branch building in the student community ofIsla Vista, during which time one male student, Kevin Moran, was shot and killed by police.[27] UCSB's anti-Vietnam activity impelled then-Gov.Ronald Reagan to impose acurfew and order theNational Guard to enforce it. Armed guardsmen were common on campus and in Isla Vista during this time.
In 1968, twelve black studentsoccupied North Hall — temporarily renaming itMalcolm X Hall — to force the Chancellor Vernon Cheadle and the administration to acknowledge the marginalization needs of black students. The university answered the demands of the group by creating the Department of Black Studies.[28][29][30]
In 1995, UCSB was elected to theAssociation of American Universities, an organization of leading research universities, with a membership consisting of 59 universities in the United States (bothpublic andprivate) and two universities in Canada.
Santa Barbara State College was under the supervision of a President.[32][33] In 1944, the college became affiliated with theUniversity of California. The school name was changed to the Santa Barbara College of the University of California. The title of the campus leader was changed to Provost.[32][33] In September 1958, theRegents of the University of California established Santa Barbara as a full campus of the University of California. The school was renamed the University of California, Santa Barbara. The official title of the campus leader was changed to Chancellor.[32][33]
Henry T. Yang served as the5th chancellor of the University of California, Santa Barbara from June 23, 1994, to July 14, 2025.[34] With more than 31 years in office, he is the longest-serving chancellor in the University of California history.[35] After leaving the chancellor's office, Yang continues to serve as a professor of mechanical engineering at theUC Santa Barbara College of Engineering.[36][37] David Marshall, the then-executive vice chancellor and provost of UC Santa Barbara, started to serve as the interim chancellor on July 15, 2025.[34] On July 17, 2025, the UC Board of Regents announced thatDennis Assanis would assume the role of UC Santa Barbara's sixth chancellor on September 1, 2025.[38]
TheStorke Tower and the University Center in front of the UCSB Lagoon.A view over the school's lagoon to Santa Cruz Island, one of the Channel IslandsHenley Gate (eastern entrance) at sunsetEntrance of the University of California, Santa Barbara
UCSB is located on cliffs directly above the Pacific Ocean. UCSB's campus is completely autonomous from local government and has not been annexed by the city ofSanta Barbara, and thus is not part of the city.[39][40] While it appears closer to the recently formed city ofGoleta, a parcel of the City of Santa Barbara that forms a strip of "city" through the ocean to the Santa Barbara airport, runs through the east entrance to the university campus. Although UCSB has a Santa Barbara mailing address, as do other unincorporated areas around the city, only this entry parcel is in the Santa Barbara city limits. The campus is divided into four parts: the Main (East) Campus of 708 acres (287 ha), which houses all academic units, plus the majority of undergraduate housing; Storke Campus; West Campus; and North Campus. The campuses surround the unincorporated community ofIsla Vista.
UCSB is one of the few universities in the United States with its own beach. The campus, bordered on two sides by the Pacific Ocean, has miles of coastline, its own lagoon, and the rocky extension,Goleta Point, which is also known as "Campus Point". The campus has numerous walking and bicycle paths across campus, around the lagoon, and along the beach. It also owns and manages the Coal Oil Point nature preserve on the West Campus.[41]
Much of the campus's early architecture was designed by famed architectWilliam Pereira and his partnerCharles Luckman and made heavy use of custom-tinted and patterned concrete blocks. This design element was carried over into many of the school's subsequent buildings.
TheUCSB Libraries, consisting of the Davidson Library and the Arts Library, hold more than three million bound volumes[42] and millions ofmicroforms, government documents, manuscripts, maps, satellite and aerial images, sound recordings, and other materials. Situated at the center of campus, the Davidson Library in June 2013 broke ground on a significant addition and renovation project, which was completed in November 2015 with re-opening to the public in January 2016.[43]
Campbell Hall is the university's largest lecture hall with 862 seats. It's also the main venue for the UCSB Arts & Lectures series, which presents special performances, films, and lectures for the UCSB campus and Santa Barbara community.[44]
Storke Tower, completed in 1969, is the tallest steel/cement structure inSanta Barbara County. It can be seen from most places on campus, and it overlooks Storke Plaza. It is home to a five-octave, 61-bellcarillon.KCSB 91.9 and theDaily Nexus have headquarters beneath Storke Tower.
The UCSB Family Vacation Center, founded in 1969, is a summer family camp located on campus that draws over 2,000 guests each summer.[45] The staff of over 50 includes many UCSB students who have been extensively trained as camp counselors.
UCSB is known for its extensive biking system. A recent survey says that 53% of UCSB students get around by cycling.[46]
This section needs to beupdated. The reason given is: Some statistics and rankings need to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(July 2021)
UC Santa Barbara is a large, comprehensive, primarily residential doctoral university.[47] The full-time, four-year undergraduate program comprises the majority of enrollments and has a liberal arts & sciences focus with high graduate coexistence.[47] UCSB is organized into five colleges and schools offering 87 undergraduate degrees and 55 graduate degrees. The campus is the sixth-largest in the UC system by enrollment with 18,620 undergraduate and 3,065 graduate students. In 2015, UCSB was designated aHispanic-Serving Institution.[48]
Admission to UC Santa Barbara is rated as "most selective" byU.S. News & World Report.[50] UC Santa Barbara no longer uses SAT or ACT scores in admission decisions or for scholarships.[51]
UC Santa Barbara had an acceptance rate of 33.0% for the 2024 incoming freshman class. 110,266 applied, 36,347 were admitted, and 5,008 enrolled. The average High School GPA was 4.3.[49]
According to the UCSB Office of Research, UC Santa Barbara budgeted $235.3 million on research and development in fiscal 2020, with the National Science Foundation contributing $60.5 million; Department of Defense-$40 million; UC General Fund-$28 million; Industry- $19.5 million; National Institutes of Health-$17 million; Department of Energy-$9 million; Non-Profit-$8.7 million; Other-$20 million.[52] Corporate research partners in the College of Engineering include military contractors Raytheon Vision Systems, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.[53][54][55][56]
The focus of the University of California is on research.[47] Like all University of California campuses, UCSB prioritizes academic development over vocational learning. Undergraduate teaching is centered on lectures, with larger lecture classes having sections. Sections may be tutorial style, or they may be set up as seminars or discussions. For undergraduates, UCSB confers both B.A. and B.S. degrees. Music majors may pursue aBachelor of Music degree. Graduate teaching involves seminar-style classes and an emphasis on research and further study. UCSB confersM.A., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees. Those studying music may pursue aMM orDMA degree. Students pursuing a career in education may receive aMEd orEdD degree. The university granted 5,812 bachelor's, 578 master's, and 354 Ph.D. degrees in 2010–2011.[60]
UCSB is considered to be a "Public Ivy".[71] The 2022 edition ofU.S. News & World Report ranked UC Santa Barbara as the 7th best public university and tied for the 32nd best university in the United States.[50]Money magazine ranked UC Santa Barbara 30th in the U.S. out of the 744 schools it evaluated for its 2019 Best Colleges ranking.[72] In 2019,Kiplinger ranked UCSB 30th out of 174 best-value public colleges and universities in the nation, and fifth in California.[73] UC Santa Barbara was ranked 32nd in the United States out of 1,380 colleges and universities by Payscale and CollegeNet's 2018 Social Mobility Index rankings.[74]
Washington Monthly named UCSB as the 20th best national university in 2020, based on its contribution to the public good as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service.
U.S. News & World Report's 2016 rankings placed UCSB's graduate programs in Materials Engineering and Chemical Engineering the second and ninth best in the U.S., respectively; graduate school Physics was ranked 10th best, including the fifth-best program for Condensed Matter Physics, seventh-best program for Quantum Physics, seventh-best program for Elementary Particles/Field/String Theory, and eighth-best program for Cosmology/Relativity/Gravity.[77] In terms of the social sciences, UCSB's graduate program in Sociology is ranked first for research in sex and gender, and the History department is ranked seventh for women's history.[77]
Forbes magazine ranked the university 24th in the nation (and 5th best public university) in 2024. This ranking focuses mainly on net positive financial impact, in contrast to other rankings, and generally ranks liberal arts colleges above most research universities.[79]
PayScale's 2015–16 College Salary Report (ranking universities in terms of graduates' salary potential), UCSB came in first in computer science, seventh in engineering, 14th in Humanities, and 30th in Social Sciences.[80][81]
Santa Barbara is one of the ten major campuses affiliated with theUniversity of California. The University of California is governed by a 26-memberboard of regents, 18 of which are appointed by theGovernor of California to 12-year terms, seven serving asex officio members, and a single student regent.[83] The position of chancellor was created in 1952 to lead individual campuses. The Board of Regents appointedHenry T. Yang to be the fifth chancellor of the university in 1994.[84]
Founded in 1973, theInstitute for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research (ISBER), originally theCommunity and Organization Research Institute (CORI), is the research unit for work in the social sciences. In 1990, it absorbed theSocial Process Research Institute (SPRI), and its work now includes the humanities.[85]
In 2008, theInstitute for Energy Efficiency was founded to establish a new, cross-disciplinary institute that would integrate the many diverse research projects inenergy efficiency and provide a focus for work in this area.
UCSB is a politically active campus. For the 2008 presidential election, UCSB won a national college competition for student voter registration by registering 10,857 voters, or 51.5% of the student population.[88] Over the years, many political parties and organizations have been known to be active on campus, such as the College Republicans, Campus Democrats,Green Party,Libertarians,NORML,Young Democratic Socialists of America, and Queer Student Union.[89][90]
There are a variety of on-campus centers that offer social, recreational, religious, and preprofessional activities for students. The UCSB Multicultural Center hosts numerous activities yearly to support students of color and promote awareness of diversity issues on campus. Other organizations and centers includeThe Daily Nexus, a daily newspaper; the school radio station,KCSB 91.9;The Bottom Line, a weekly newspaper; andThe Gaucho Free Press, the campus's conservative magazine.
There are eightresidence halls at UCSB, seven of which are located at the main campus. One, Santa Catalina (formerly Francisco Torres Towers), is located near the entrance to West Campus north of Isla Vista.[91]
The Main Campus residence halls are found in two different locations. On the east end of campus are the residence halls named after five of theChannel Islands:Santa Rosa,Santa Cruz,Anacapa,San Miguel andSan Nicolas. There are two dining commons located near the Channel Islands residence halls. The Ortega Dining Commons is located between San Miguel and the University Center (UCen), and the De La Guerra Dining Commons is located between Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and San Nicolas.
The two other residence halls, San Rafael and Manzanita Village, are located on the west side of campus and primarily house continuing and transfer students. The Carrillo Dining Commons is located in Manzanita Village, right next to San Rafael Hall. Manzanita Village was completed in 2002 and is the newest residence hall on campus.
San Clemente Villages in April 2009
In addition, the university also has four housing complexes for graduate students and their families: San Clemente Villages for single graduate students, Santa Ynez Apartments, El Dorado Apartments, Westgate Apartments, and family student housing: West Campus Apartments and the Storke Apartment complexes. There is also faculty housing at the West Campus Point and new construction underway at the North Campus. The Sierra Madre Villages, located by the West Campus Apartments, was completed in September 2015 and was the first residential complex certified asLEED platinum throughout the entire UC system.[92] UC Santa Barbara is the only campus in the UC system with any "LEED for Homes" certifications.[92]
BillionaireCharles Munger had promised the university a $200 million donation on condition that it builds an 11-story dormitory, to be calledMunger Hall, following his design, which assigns each of 4,536 residents a small individual room, 94% without natural light, to house more students and to encourage socialization in common areas. UCSB's acceptance of the proposal, presented in October 2021, led to the resignation of architect Dennis McFadden from the campus design review committee,[93] followed by protests from students and others including theAmerican Institute of Architects. In October 2022, the plan was modified to eliminate two floors, reducing the capacity of the building to 3,500.[94] Plans for the construction of the Dormitory were canceled in August 2023.[95]
There are several academic resources offered by the university, including awriting center, opencomputer labs, amachine shop, a career and counseling center, and drop-in academic advising.
The UCSB Recreation Center provides classes and facilities for students and faculty. The center has swimming pools,racquetball courts, a rock wall, and exercise machines. The University Center has facilities for meetings and presentations and also contains a bookstore, restaurants, and a cashier.[96]
UCSB has a health clinic. Students with ailments or seeking medical assistance may consult a physician at the clinic. The clinic also offers basic healthcare and provides emergency medicine and contraceptives. The university is the only UC campus with its own paramedic rescue unit. It's staffed by full-time professional paramedics and part-time undergraduateEMTs.
SexInfo, which was started in 1976 by professors John and Janice Baldwin, is run by students doing advanced course work and research onsexuality through UCSB'sSociology Department. The site is dedicated to providing accurate information about sexuality in a way that is both informative and personal. SexInfo answers questions sent in by readers from all over the world, as well as regularly updates and posts articles on various topics related to human sexuality. This program helps students get their degree in psychology.[97]
The mascot of UCSB is theGaucho and the school colors are blue and gold. UCSB's sports teams compete in theBig West Conference, except for the men's water polo, men's and women's swimming, and the men's volleyball teams, which are in theMountain Pacific Sports Federation. Santa Barbara is best known for its men's swimming andmen's soccer teams. In 2006, UCSB won its first NCAA men's soccer title and second overall NCAA championship (1979 water polo) in school history.[98][99]
While there are some 400 students in ICA, there are over 700 in club sports teams, includingAlpine racing, cycling,fencing,field hockey,lacrosse,roller hockey,rugby, sailing, soccer,ice hockey,triathlon,ultimate frisbee,water skiing, androwing. Many of these teams are highly regarded and compete against Intercollegiate teams across the U.S. For example,rowing has produced several national team members including nine-time National Rowing Team member Amy Fuller, winner of several Olympic and World Championship medals, and currently head of theUCLA Rowing Program. The UCSB cycling team has also produced several national team members, Olympians, and members of numerous U.S. and international professional teams.
Hundreds of students participate in a large intramural program consisting of badminton, basketball, bowling, flag football, golf, floor hockey, indoor and outdoor soccer, racquetball, squash, running, softball, tennis, table tennis, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, inner-tube water polo, and kickball.
Surfing also draws many students to UCSB. The on-campus beaches include several surfing sites, including "Poles", "Campus Point", "Depressions", "Sands", and "Devereaux Point" on West Campus. Because Campus Beach faces south and east and is shielded by the Santa Barbara Channel Islands, the surf is usually quite small. However, a large north or west swell can wrap in to create great waves that are typically very clean and good for surfing. UCSB has a surf team that competes inNational Scholastic Surfing Association competitions and is generally considered one of the best in the nation. They continued their reputation by winning a record 14th national title at the college level in 2010's finals.
UC Santa Barbara alumni have become notable in many varied fields, both academic and otherwise.Carol Greider, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2009), graduated from theCollege of Creative Studies with a B.A. in biology in 1983.Robert Ballard, an oceanographer who discovered theRMS Titanic in 1985, graduated from UCSB in 1965 with a degree in chemistry and geology.
Actors who have studied at UCSB includeAcademy Award winnerMichael Douglas, who received a B.A. in drama in 1968 and is honorary president of the UCSB Alumni Association, andGwyneth Paltrow, who studied anthropology before dropping out to act.
Athletes who have studied at UCSB include swimmer and four-time Olympic gold medalistJason Lezak, NBA player and head coachBrian Shaw, and UCLA basketball coachCori Close. Television journalistKaty Tur of NBC and MSNBC received a degree in 2005, andElizabeth Wagmeister ofPage Six TV andVariety graduated with a B.A. in communications in 2012.
Notable UC Santa Barbara alumni include:
Carol Greider, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2009)
University of California-Santa Barbara CDP, California – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
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