|
 |
|
Introducing UCSC
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 to graduate students 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 32 million volumes,
is among the best in the country.
The University of California faculty, nearly 8,400 in number, is distinctive
in its 27 Nobel Laureates and 324 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
484.
There are about 160,000 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.
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 10 members of the National
Academy of Sciences, 19 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,
over 100 Fulbright scholarships have been awarded to UC Santa Cruz
students and alumni. Four UC Santa Cruz alumni have been awarded Pulitzer
Prizes.
The planned enrollment of the campus for 2004–06 is about 15,000
students, of whom some 1,500 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. 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. Detailed descriptions of the ten colleges
begin in the Colleges section.
Undergraduate education. The campus offers about 60 major programs
within the arts, engineering, humanities, physical and biological
sciences, and social sciences—as well as interdisciplinary- major
programs. A complete list of academic programs and concentrations
appears in the Fields of Study section, and
detailed descriptions begin the Programs
and Courses section.
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. (go to Evaluating
Academic Performance for more information)
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. (go to Education
Abroad Program for more information)
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. (go to Field Programs for
more information)
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. UCSC ranked 15th
among more than 60 elite Association of American Universities member
schools in the ratio of bachelor’s degree recipients who went
on to receive doctorates in the years 1991–95.
Graduate education. The UCSC campus offers 32 graduate programs,
including recently established programs in bioinformatics, digital
arts/new media, education, music, and social documentation. 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.
Further graduate information begins the Graduate Studies
section.
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 (go to Research
Programs and Facilities for more information).
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 (go to Disability
Resource Center for more information).
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 94501, (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)
|
Revised 10/22/04.
|
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
To
print this page in its entirety, set your printer preferences to 'landscape'
