Santa Cruz
From building more efficient solar cells to working to save endangered sea turtles, UC Santa Cruz's focus is on improving our planet and the lives of all its inhabitants.
Within our extraordinary educational community, students participate in interdisciplinary programs that emphasize the creation of new knowledge, new technologies, and new ways of expressing and understanding cultures.
Academic highlights
The academic programs at UC Santa Cruz are challenging and rigorous, and many of them are in newer fields that focus on interdisciplinary thinking. At UC Santa Cruz, undergraduates conduct and publish research, working closely with faculty on innovative projects.
Programs
Undergraduates are able to choose from 60 majors, 37 minors and 54 concentrations offered by and among the Jack Baskin School of Engineering and the Divisions of Arts, Humanities, Physical and Biological Sciences, and Social Sciences.
Beginning this year, UC Santa Cruz is offering a Jewish studies B.A. The major provides knowledge of Jewish thought, literature, art and history — with classes taught by faculty across the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Divisions.
Also starting this year, UC Santa Cruz's Psychology Department is offering a B.S. in cognitive science, incorporating courses in psychology, computer science, linguistics and biology. The major is intended for students wishing to enter Ph.D. programs in cognitive psychology or related fields, or to pursue careers in public health, human-computer interface design or other related careers.
One of UC Santa Cruz's fastest-growing programs is the human biology major. While satisfying the subject requirements for most U.S. medical schools, this degree program requires elective courses related to human health, proficiency in Spanish, including a course in conversational Spanish for health care workers, and participation in a formal internship/community service program.
Faculty
The Santa Cruz faculty are leaders in their fields and have won numerous national and international awards. They conduct research aimed at solving some of the most pressing issues of our time, including policy responses to financial crises, assistive technologies for the disabled, and the battle against diseases such as AIDS, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and malaria.
Clubs and activities
More than 100 student organizations on campus-including major-focused clubs, ethnic and cultural groups, hobby clubs, fraternities and sororities, and honor societies such as Phi Beta Kappa, the Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society and Golden Key International Honour Society -cover a wide range of interests.
Athletics
In addition to 14 men's and women's NCAA intercollegiate teams, UC Santa Cruz offers a wide variety of athletic clubs and intramural leagues, plus a busy recreational program.
Environment and tempo
UC Santa Cruz is well known for its rigorous but supportive academic environment, its distinctive residential college system and its cutting-edge sustainability programs. Newsweek calls UC Santa Cruz a place for "Overachievers Who Need to Stop and Look Around," while U.S. News & World Report named the campus one of "10 Eco-Friendly Campuses." UC Santa Cruz is located in a spectacular setting between the Pacific Ocean and redwood forests, with the additional advantage of proximity to Silicon Valley and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The metropolitan areas of the Bay Area — San Francisco, San Jose, the East Bay — are within an hours drive or less.
