Welcome to UCSC

The University of California

The University of California was chartered as a land-grant college in 1868. From this rural beginning, the university has developed into one of the world’s most distinguished universities, acclaimed for its research, scholarship, and dedication to undergraduate and graduate education. There are 10 University of California campuses located regionally throughout the state: Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced (scheduled to open in 2004), Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz. In addition, there are some 150 associated research institutes, laboratories, agricultural field stations, and extension centers serving California and the nation. The university is the primary state-funded academic agency for research. Its library collection, with 30.5 million volumes, is among the best in the country.

The University of California faculty, more than 7,600 in number, is distinctive in its 23 Nobel Laureates and 322 members of the National Academy of Sciences—more than any other college or university system. Faculty membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences totals 485.

There are over 141,000 undergraduates culled from the top 12.5 percent of the state’s high school graduates and nearly 42,000 graduate students. The 1.2 million living alumni enrich the nation with public service and leadership.

The Santa Cruz Campus

Since its inception in 1965, the University of California, Santa Cruz, has been dedicated to excellence in undergraduate education, graduate studies, and research. UCSC students can take advantage of innovative academic planning combined with the research resources and scholarship strengths of the University of California system. At UC Santa Cruz, a program of general education is enhanced with opportunities for academic specialization.

Among the faculty and emeriti drawn to UC Santa Cruz by the opportunity for innovative teaching and scholarship are 11 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 20 members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and two members of the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine. Numerous faculty have been awarded Guggenheim Fellowships, and several have been awarded national awards for distinguished teaching. Furthermore, one faculty member, two bachelor’s degree recipients, and two Ph.D. recipients have been named MacArthur Fellows, and since 1972, when UC Santa Cruz began participating in the program, 101 Fulbright scholarships have been awarded to UC Santa Cruz students and alumni. Three UC Santa Cruz alumnae have been awarded Pulitzer Prizes.

The planned enrollment of the campus for 2003–04 is about 15,000 students, of whom some 1,400 will be graduate students. UCSC seeks and welcomes students, faculty, and staff of diverse ethnic and cultural experiences. UCSC plans to increase both its enrollment and resources and to diversify its educational and research opportunities over the next few years. New facilities are being built to meet current and future needs. College Ten opened fall 2002, and College Nine opened in fall 2000. The Dining Commons for Colleges Nine and Ten and the new University Center for faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of the campus opened in the 2002–03 year. The Student Union opened in the Quarry Plaza in 2002 as did the Interdisciplinary Sciences Building on Science Hill. Facilities that opened in 2001 include the new Bay Tree Bookstore, Graduate Student Commons, and Center for Adaptive Optics. Other projects under construction include a Physical Sciences Building and an Engineering Building, both scheduled to open in 2004. New student apartments at Cowell, Stevenson, and Porter Colleges are also scheduled for completion in 2004.

The residential college is an important part of the Santa Cruz experience. The ten colleges divide the university into smaller communities that serve as a social and intellectual gathering place for 750 to 1,550 students and 20 to 90 faculty fellows from a variety of academic disciplines. Every undergraduate student affiliates with a particular college while participating in a campuswide academic program. All academic majors are open to students from all colleges.

Each college has a distinctive quality derived from its core course and extracurricular programs, its faculty and their academic disciplines, and its architectural style. For detailed descriptions of the ten colleges see Colleges.

Undergraduate education. The campus offers more than 50 major programs within the arts, engineering, humanities, physical and biological sciences, and social sciences—as well as interdisciplinary-major programs. For a complete list of academic programs and concentrations, see Fields of Study; for details, see Programs and Courses.

The major programs are administered by departments. In most cases, departments are composed of faculty in the same field, but the interdisciplinary programs draw on faculty from several fields. In addition to established major programs, individual majors are available.

At Santa Cruz, academic performance in each course is recorded by a performance evaluation. In addition, letter grades are assigned in all credit courses, as of fall 2001 (see Evaluating Academic Performance).

Undergraduate education at Santa Cruz is focused on the individual student. UCSC’s college core courses give first-year students a small-seminar experience; intensive work in writing, discussion, and critical reasoning; as well as an orientation to academic life. To fulfill UCSC’s rigorous comprehensive requirement, every senior must pass a comprehensive examination or complete an equivalent body of work.

Annually about 500 Santa Cruz students broaden their academic careers through the UC Education Abroad Program (EAP), which allows students to incorporate full-time study abroad as UC credit toward their major. The EAP provides a vital international connection for academic preparation in an increasingly interdependent world (see UC Education Abroad Program).

The UCSC campus strongly encourages undergraduate students to take advantage of the many opportunities for public service such as those provided through the campus’s field programs, colleges, and Career Center. Individual studies, apprentice teaching, field studies, and internships are important parts of the undergraduate curriculum. Over 1,400 students participate in the campus’s field programs each year (see Field and Exchange Programs).

Furthermore, individual research is encouraged, and hundreds of research papers coauthored by Santa Cruz undergraduates and their professors have been published in journals.

Based on a survey of students who graduated in 1995, 1996, and 1997, 13 percent of UCSC graduates continued their education in advanced-degree programs within about six months following graduation. Seventy-seven percent of the UCSC students applying to graduate school were accepted into a program. Popular career choices included education and teaching, psychology, law, business, management and administration, computer science, financial services, health sciences, and advertising. UCSC’s Office of Planning and Budget estimates that over 50 percent of graduates eventually attend graduate or professional school. In a 1999 survey, UCSC ranked 15th among more than 60 elite universities in the ratio of bachelor’s degree recipients who went on to receive doctorates.

Graduate education. The UCSC campus offers 27 graduate programs, including recently established programs in bioinformatics, education, electrical engineering, and environmental toxicology. Within the graduate programs, there are a range of options for concentrated study in a specialized field. Graduate study at Santa Cruz emphasizes close interaction between faculty and students, independent student research, supervised teaching experience, and interdisciplinary work. See Graduate Studies for further information.

A number of major university research units are based or have a branch at the Santa Cruz campus: UC Observatories/Lick Observatory, the Institute of Marine Sciences, the Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics, the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, the Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research (QB3), and the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS). The campus supports other organized research endeavors ranging from Dickens studies to Chicano/Latino research to agroecology. Programs stem from existing academic strengths and the unique assets afforded the campus by its location in the Monterey Bay region (see Research Programs and Facilities).

The central Santa Cruz campus occupies 2,000 acres on the west side of the city of Santa Cruz, on Monterey Bay, about 75 miles south of San Francisco and 35 miles southwest of San Jose. Expansive meadows at the campus entrance gradually slope up to a redwood forest that covers most of the site. Each residential college is within easy access of the campus’s central core, which includes an extensive library, science laboratories, lecture halls, art studios, theater arts and music centers, a student union, and athletic facilities. Although the campus is spread out over many acres of hilly terrain, its programs are accessible to people with mobility impairments.

The city of Santa Cruz is a well-known recreational area and center for the arts. Mild weather, miles of beaches, and many cultural opportunities combine to make Santa Cruz an enjoyable place to study and live.

Accreditations and affiliations. The University of California, Santa Cruz, is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), 985 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 100, Alameda, CA 95501, (510) 748-9001. The institution is a member of the Association of American Colleges and is listed in the official publications of the U.S. Department of Education. Listed below are other professional and academic organizations in which UC Santa Cruz holds membership, or which approve the quality of its educational programs, or both. Persons interested in reviewing the accreditation documents should contact the Office of the Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor, McHenry Library, (831) 459-3885.

• Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (Computer Engineering)
• American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers
• American Chemical Society Committee on Professional Training (Chemistry)
• American Council of Learned Societies
• American Council on Education
• American Geological Institute (Earth Sciences)
• American Psychological Association (Counseling and Psychological Services)
• California Healthcare Institute
• California State Commission on Teacher Credentialing (Education)
• Council of Graduate Schools in the U.S.
• Institute for International Education
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (Computer Engineering)
• NAFSA: Association of International Educators
• National Association for the Education of Young Children (Children’s Center)
• National Council of University Research Administrators
• Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society
• Sigma Xi (scientific research society)