📚 Academics

UC Santa Cruz combines the international ranking of a tier 1 research institute, with the lived experience of a small, liberal arts college. From the beginning, our campus was designed with collaboration between faculty and students in mind. By choosing to attend UC Santa Cruz, you are aligning your future academic opportunities with a campus that ranks in the top 1% globally for its research impact.

More than 70% of our undergraduate students undertake research while here on campus. No need to wait until graduate school; you can jump right into research areas you are passionate about.

One of the many great things about choosing to become a banana slug is our investment in the quality of your classroom experience. Our largest lecture hall on campus is 473 seats, but only 15% of our classes have more than 100 students. This creates an environment where collaboration with professors, small discussion groups with graduate teaching assistants, and time for your specific questions is the norm. This intimate liberal arts experience is by design and part of our campus culture. We offer more than 70 majors in four different divisions; Arts, Humanities, Physical & Biological Sciences, and Social Sciences, and one professional school, the Jack Baskin School of Engineering.