UCSB

The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) is a public research university in Santa Barbara, California. It is one of the 10 campuses of the University of California system, with a campus that sits on bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean just north of downtown Santa Barbara. The university is organized into several colleges and schools, including the College of Letters and Science, the College of Engineering, the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, and the College of Creative Studies. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs across a wide range of disciplines, with notable strengths in the physical sciences, engineering, environmental science, and the arts and humanities.

UCSB traces its origins to 1891 as the Santa Barbara State Normal School, a teachers college. It became Santa Barbara State College in 1921 and joined the University of California as Santa Barbara College in 1944. It was renamed University of California, Santa Barbara in 1958 and gained general-campus status within the UC system in 1961.

The campus covers about 1,055 acres and hosts a number of research centers, including the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, making the university a major center for science and engineering. It operates a number of institutes in the sciences and environmental studies. It supports robust graduate and professional programs.

In athletics, UCSB Gauchos compete in NCAA Division I in the Big West Conference. The university is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission.