WELCOME TO UC SANTA CRUZ
UC Santa Cruz is a shining gem of learning on the Pacific Coast. Our university leads at the intersection of innovation and social justice, seeking solutions and giving voice to the challenges of our time.
ONLY AT UCSC
A place where social and environmental justice are taught and lived, UC Santa Cruz appeals to people who want to create real change. On our extraordinary campus, academic rigor and experimentation combine to offer a superior education that prepares our students to graduate and contribute to the world in meaningful, rewarding ways.
At UC Santa Cruz, we encourage critical and original thinking. Norms are challenged. New ideas emerge from our open invitation to explore.
Principles Of Community
The University of California, Santa Cruz is committed to promoting and protecting an environment that values and supports every person in an atmosphere of civility, honesty, cooperation, professionalism and fairness. UC Santa Cruz expects that every campus member will practice these Principles of Community.
STUDENT STORIES
Liam Asayag, junior in Robotics Engineering From Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
USING DRONES TO HEAL WAR-TORN COMMUNITIES
When he saw first-hand the devastation caused by the war in Ukraine, Robotics Engineering student Liam Asayag thought he could help by building a low-cost drone to get relief and aid directly to villages affected by the war. Helped by his activist mother, and funding from donors, as well as a UC Santa Cruz robotics lab, Liam worked hard and eventually achieved his goal. SmartAID International will use Liam’s designs to fabricate the drones in Lviv, Ukraine. They will be used to collect footage of newly-bombed areas to help search-and-rescue missions reach people in trouble.
AFFECTING CHANGE IN PUBLIC POLICY
With help from a Transforming Futures scholarship from UC Santa Cruz’s Institute for Social Transformation, Amanda was able to spend her summer interning for the House of Representatives at the Office of Congressman Jimmy Panetta, where she got a close-up view of California government policy making. Amanda herself is familiar with the process of changemaking, having worked on a coalition for menstrual equality in California, which resulted in Gov. Gavin Newsom signing a new bill into law, AB 367, requiring that public educational institutions stock restrooms with free menstrual products.
Amanda Safi, junior in Politics From San Mateo, California
In 2019, UC Santa Cruz joined the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU).
Only 65 universities have been invited for this honor. In accepting our invitation to the AAU, we join universities such as Harvard, Yale, and MIT, as well as six other University of California campuses. Along with UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz is the youngest university to gain admittance to the AAU.
Our membership in the AAU recognizes UC Santa Cruz’s ground-breaking research such as publishing the first working draft of the human genome and helping with the discovery of the Higgs boson, as well as key contributions to research in social sciences, humanities, and the arts.
In 2022, UC Santa Cruz was named the No. 2 public university in the U.S. for ‘making an impact.'
In recognition of our achievements in pushing for positive change in our instruction and research, UCSC was named second in the nation in Princeton Review’s 2022 rankings for students “making an impact” on the world. Rankings were based on student surveys covering community service opportunities, student government, sustainability efforts, and on-campus student engagement.
Ranked by the Carnegie Classification ranks us as “R1: Doctoral Universities – Highest research activity.”
Passion and dedication to promote a more just and sustainable society.
An Inspiring Place
Our campus is distinguished by its natural beauty and unique location between the Pacific Ocean and Silicon Valley. Learning in this environment creates an academic experience like no other.
A CAMPUS DEDICATED TO STUDENT SUCCESS
One of the top ten U.S. public universities for undergraduate teaching.
— U.S. News & World Report, 2022-2023
Next Door to Silicon Valley
- Opportunities for internships
- Learn from visiting lecturers in Silicon Valley industries
- Connect with entrepreneurs and explore start-up culture
Susan Wojcicki, Former YouTube CEO Economics, M.S., 1993, UC Santa Cruz
Some of the top employers of UC Santa Cruz alumni:
Three-Year Pathways
To save you time and money, accelerated three-year pathways are available in some of our most popular majors, such as art, business management economics, literature, mathematics, and psychology.
“I chose UC Santa Cruz because studying biology, it’s an incredible place to find field opportunities. They give you a lot of hands-on experience studying the processes that you learn in lecture.”
— Sabina Javier, Ecology and Evolution major
Leading The Fight Against COVID-19
It was April 2020, a strange and scary time for our nation and the world. As most of our student body went home to take their classes remotely, UC Santa Cruz researchers got to work. From developing rapid diagnostic testing, to researching infection patterns, to sequencing the genome of the novel virus, UC Santa Cruz faculty and research technicians were at the forefront of the fight against COVID. And have been ever since.
UC Santa Cruz Alumni: A Vision Of Success
UC Santa Cruz is one of those rare places where students do more than seek to join companies—they are encouraged to follow their passions, go out on their own, start bold new companies and lead them.
Maya Rudolph Art, ‘95
Actress who won two Emmy Awards in 2020 for her portrayal of now-Vice President Kamala Harris on SNL and for the voice of Connie the Hormone Monster on the animated Netflix series Big Mouth.
Dr. Kathryn Sullivan Earth Sciences, ‘73
Scientist, astronaut, and former administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, first American woman to walk in space and now the first woman to descend to the deepest point in the world’s oceans.
Tiffany Dena Loftin Political Science and American Studies, ‘11
Director of Community Engagement at Vote.org, recognized by NBC BLK for using her voice to ensure that young black people’s lives matter.
Colin Beighley Electrical Engineering, ‘10
Co-founder of Swift Navigation, a company that creates ultra-accurate GPS tracking technology, recently named a Forbes ‘30 Under 30’.
Jonah Christian Film and Digital Media, ‘12
Platinum-selling, producer, songwriter, and DJ who has worked with the likes of Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne.
Peter Bratt Politics, ‘86
Critically acclaimed filmmaker, Follow Me Home (1996), and Dolores, (2017), who was honored for his artistic genius with a 2000 Rockefeller Foundation Film/Video/Multimedia Fellowship.
Reyna Grande Creative Writing, Film and Video, ‘99
Novelist and first-generation transfer student: American Book Award, El Premio Aztlán Literary Award, International Latino Book Award-winner (Across a Hundred Mountains, A Dream Called Home).
Ashley Nicole Black Theater Arts, ‘07
Emmy Award-winning writer and comedian, writer/contributor for Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, the number-one late night show for millennials.
Dr. Roshawnna Novellus Business Management Economics, Engineering , ‘01
Entrepreneur and nationally-recognized financial inclusion advocate known as the “Wealthy Yogi”, Founder & CEO of the EnrichHer funding portal.
Susan Wojcicki MS Economics, ‘93
Former YouTube CEO, named by Time as “the most powerful woman on the Internet."
Nick Fountain Politics, ‘11
Newest cohost of NPR’s Planet Money, started as a producer on the show in 2015, and before that, worked as a producer and director of NPR’s flagship show Morning Edition. Fountain cut his teeth at KUSP, the UCSC campus radio station.
Wisdom Cole Chemistry, ‘15
National Director for NAACP Youth and College Division, has been featured on NPR, VICE, NBC Washington News, Brooking Institute, and The Economist as an advocate for Black youth voter turnout through issue-based campaign organizing. In 2020, was named one of Complex Life’s 32 young activists who are changing the world.
Julie Snyder Politics, ‘95
Co-creator of Serial podcast, the most listened-to podcast in the history of the form; and previously the senior producer of the public radio show This American Life.
Niketa Calame-Harris Theater Arts, ‘02
Longtime film, TV, and theater actor who has been featured as the voice of “Young Nala” in Disney’s Lion King, as well as having her work shown on HBO, NBC, CBS, and Lifetime. Is also a professor and entrepreneur with two companies to help other actors, In Motion and NiketaCH Photography.