Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

University of California - Santa Barbara

Find Schools Near

University of California - Santa Barbara Overview

University of California - Santa Barbara is a public institution situated in Santa Barbara, California. Santa Barbara is considered a suburb and offers tranquility and safety near the excitement of a city center.

What Is University of California - Santa Barbara Known For?

7,063 Undergraduate Awards
$46,730 Avg Cost After Aid
37% Acceptance Rate
  • The student loan default rate at UCSB is 2%, which is significantly lower than the national rate of 10.1%. That's great news for students who are worrying about paying off their student loans.
  • Although it may not be available for every major, the doctor's degree is the highest award a student can attain at UCSB.
  • In 2017-2018, 87% of the faculty were full-time.
  • After graduation, UCSB bachelor's degree recipients go on to jobs where they make $55,300 a year. That's about 36% more than their peers at other schools.
  • The average UCSB student graduates in 4.2 years. That's better than the national average of 4.4 years.

Best Schools

University of California - Santa Barbara Rankings

UCSB is ranked #154 out of 2,587 schools in the nation for overall quality on our 2022 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation. UCSB also holds the #20 spot on the Best Colleges in California ranking.

Our rankings are based on an outcomes-based approach rather than subjective ones used by other media outlets. As such, we utilize data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard, among other sources. Visit our rankings and methodology section to learn more.

UCSB has also been awarded the following overall awards by our latest rankings.

Rank Ranking Name Share
#92 Best Graduate Certificate Schools Tweet It - Post It
#149 Best Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#153 Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It

Program Level Awards

These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at UCSB.

Rank Ranking Name Share
#1 Best Other Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#1 Best International Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#13 Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#14 Best Geography & Cartography Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#15 Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#21 Best Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#24 Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#40 Best Natural Resources & Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#77 Best Computer & Information Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#83 Best Education Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It

Awards From Around the Web

The following table lists some notable awards UCSB has earned from around the web.

Rank Ranking Name Source
#15 Best Communication & Media Studies Schools College Factual
#18 Best Communication & Journalism Schools College Factual
#24 Best Physical Sciences Schools College Factual
#86 Best Computer & Information Sciences Schools College Factual
#93 Best Education Schools College Factual
#126 Best Business Schools Business Degree Central

Where Is University of California - Santa Barbara?

undefined

Contact details for UCSB are given below.

Contact Details
Address: 5221 Cheadle Hall, Santa Barbara, CA 93106
Phone: 805-893-8000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ucsantabarbara
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ucsantabarbara

How Do I Get Into UCSB?

You can apply to UCSB online at: admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/apply-now.html

Admission Requirements for UCSB

Submission Required?
High School GPA required
High School Rank neither required nor recommended
High School Transcript required
College Prep Program required
Recommendations neither required nor recommended
SAT or ACT Scores required
TOEFL required

How Hard Is It To Get Into UCSB?

37% Acceptance Rate
58% Of Accepted Are Women
82% Submit SAT Scores
The acceptance rate of University of California - Santa Barbara is 37%. While it may not be as selective as some schools, it does screen its applicants very carefully. Do what you can to stand out among others in the pool of applicants!

Approximately 42% of accepted students are men and 58% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 35%, and the acceptance rate for women is 38%.

Average Test Scores

About 82% of students accepted to UCSB submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 620 and 710. Math scores were between 610 and 750.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for University of California - Santa Barbara  ( 620 to 710 )
200
800

SAT Math Scores for University of California - Santa Barbara  ( 610 to 750 )
200
800
UCSB received ACT scores from 38% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT English scores ranged between 26 and 34. Math scores were between 26 and 31. Composite scores were between 28 and 34.

ACT English Scores for University of California - Santa Barbara  ( 26 to 34 )
1
36
ACT Math Scores for University of California - Santa Barbara  ( 26 to 31 )
1
36
ACT Composite Scores for University of California - Santa Barbara  ( 28 to 34 )
1
36

Can I Afford University of California - Santa Barbara?

$46,730 Net Price
30% Take Out Loans
1.5% Loan Default Rate
The overall average net price of UCSB is $46,730. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group.

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.

Student Loan Debt

It's not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At UCSB, approximately 30% of students took out student loans averaging $6,363 a year. That adds up to $25,452 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at UCSB is 1.5%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.

University of California - Santa Barbara Undergraduate Student Diversity

22,480 Full-Time Undergraduates
55% Women
54% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
There are 23,196 undergraduate students at UCSB, with 22,480 being full-time and 716 being part-time.

undefined

There are also 2,983 graduate students at the school.

Gender Diversity

Of the 22,480 full-time undergraduates at UCSB, 45% are male and 55% are female.

undefined

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

The racial-ethnic breakdown of University of California - Santa Barbara students is as follows.

undefined
Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 4,168
Black or African American 442
Hispanic or Latino 5,586
White 6,773
International Students 2,897
Other Races/Ethnicities 2,614

Geographic Diversity

California students aren't the only ones who study at University of California - Santa Barbara. At this time, 39 states are represented by the student population at the school.

Over 88 countries are represented at UCSB. The most popular countries sending students to the school are China, India, and South Korea.

Online Learning at University of California - Santa Barbara

25,164 Took All Classes Online
26,149 Took At Least One Class Online
42,265.0% Avg Growth Over 4 Years
In 2019-2020, 26,149 students took at least one online class at the school.

The following chart shows how the online learning population at UCSB has changed over the last few years.

undefined

Online Growth Rankings of UCSB

The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at University of California - Santa Barbara was 42,265.0%. This is the #8 largest growth rate of all schools that are mostly online. This refers to all students at UCSB regardless of major.

When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.

University of California - Santa Barbara Undergraduate Concentrations

The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.

Major Bachelor’s Graduate Certificate Master’s Doctor’s TOTAL
Economics 703 0 16 8 727
Sociology 713 0 7 7 727
Child Development & Psychology 579 0 4 7 590
Communication & Media Studies 517 0 2 3 522
Natural Resources Conservation 358 0 74 6 438
General Biology 368 0 0 0 368
International Studies 366 0 1 1 368
Political Science & Government 297 0 6 2 305
Statistics 211 0 15 9 235
General Education 0 76 149 8 233
Mathematics 198 0 5 5 208
General English Literature 200 0 1 6 207
Physics 161 0 21 20 202
Computer Science 145 0 31 23 199
Anthropology 173 0 11 5 189
History 174 0 3 10 187
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 159 0 3 4 166
Electrical Engineering 52 0 78 34 164
Philosophy 139 0 3 2 144
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods 79 0 54 0 133
Fine & Studio Arts 111 0 7 3 121
Ethnic Studies 118 0 1 1 120
Chemistry 100 0 1 18 119
Linguistics & Comparative Literature 108 0 3 6 117
Geography & Cartography 98 0 6 11 115
Applied Mathematics 107 0 0 0 107
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology 81 0 8 15 104
Mechanical Engineering 88 0 9 6 103
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology 75 0 2 3 80
Geological & Earth Sciences 69 0 6 3 78
Romance Languages 71 0 1 0 72
Chemical Engineering 54 0 0 9 63
Cell Biology & Anatomical Sciences 40 0 10 7 57
Computer Engineering 55 0 0 0 55
Music 32 0 8 6 46
Drama & Theater Arts 41 0 0 1 42
Religious Studies 29 0 2 3 34
Microbiological Sciences & Immunology 32 0 0 0 32
Area Studies 27 0 3 0 30
Materials Sciences 0 0 10 20 30
Pharmacology & Toxicology 29 0 0 0 29
Dance 26 0 0 0 26
Zoology 24 0 0 0 24
East Asian Languages 21 0 0 2 23
Other Psychology 0 2 7 12 21
Germanic Languages 15 0 0 0 15
Classical Languages & Literature 10 0 2 0 12
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 0 0 0 6 6
Foreign Language, Literature & Linguistics (Other) 0 0 0 5 5
Business/Managerial Economics 3 0 0 0 3
Slavic, Baltic & Albanian Languages 3 0 0 0 3
Physiology & Pathology Sciences 2 0 0 0 2
Neurobiology & Neurosciences 0 0 0 1 1
Non-Professional General Legal Studies 1 0 0 0 1
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies 1 0 0 0 1
Educational Administration 0 0 0 0 0
Communication Sciences 0 0 0 0 0
Liberal Arts General Studies 0 0 0 0 0
Medieval Studies 0 0 0 0 0
General Psychology 0 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 7,063 78 570 298 8,009

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.