Program Overview

About UC Santa Barbara

The University of California opened its doors in 1869 with just 10 faculty members and 38 students. Today, the UC system includes more than 238,000 students and more than 190,000 faculty and staff, with more than 1.7 million alumni living and working around the world. For almost 150 years, UC has expanded the horizons of what we know about ourselves and our world. Our campuses are routinely ranked among the best in the world, but our reach extends beyond campus borders.

Palm-framed vistas of the blue Pacific and the golden Santa Ynez Mountains. The scent of eucalyptus mixed with the saltwater breeze. Breathtaking natural beauty combined with enormous intellectual vitality. This is the UC Santa Barbara, and there is no other campus quite like it.

Here on the edge of the Pacific, in a setting removed from urban pressures and distractions but vibrant with cultural and academic activity, many of the country’s most promising students join a community of scholars whose accomplishments are internationally recognized and whose skills as teachers are evident each day in classrooms and laboratories.

In the humanities and the arts as well as in engineering and the sciences, UC Santa Barbara introduces students to novel ways of thinking, learning, and conducting research. More than 200 majors, degrees, and credentials are offered through UCSB’s five schools and the Graduate Division.

Pioneering research is a critical component of the highest quality education. UCSB’s 1,050-member faculty includes five Nobel Prize winners and scores of elected members of national and international academies and societies as well as dozens of winners of Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellowships. The campus is one of only 61 research-intensive institutions elected to membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities.

Within this community of scholars, the life of the mind, the pursuit of knowledge, and the experience of growth, both personal and intellectual, are the hallmarks of daily life. UCSB enrolls 21,685 students, about 3,000 of them at the graduate level. Competition for admission is keen. In recent years the campus has enrolled the most academically competitive and ethnically diverse classes in its history.

About Santa Barbara

Whether you enjoy hiking, fine-dining, water sports, lazing on the beach, culture, or a great night-life, Santa Barbara has something for you.

Santa Barbara is sometimes referred to as the American Riviera. Its beautiful beaches, majestic mountains, and colorful culture make Santa Barbara a premier resort destination. World-class accommodations and dining await its many visitors.

Santa Barbara is a 2-hour drive north from Los Angeles or a short hop from any corner of the world via the Santa Barbara airport. Santa Barbara's harbor is home to the world famous Stearns Wharf, a great destination for the entire family. Visiting the zoological gardens makes for a great family day-trip.

From the City, you are just minutes away from the Santa Barbara wine country. The gorgeous Santa Ynez Valley, with its breath-taking vistas, is home to such notable attractions as Solvang and the Chumash Reservation.

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Academic

Click Here for a list of courses offered to exchange students.

Term date

• Host Institutions usually organize orientation activities for exchange students, with some mandatory, which take place 1-2 weeks before the start of the term. You should refer to the acceptance package and pay attention to the expected arrival or pick-up dates specified by your host institution.
• You should only depart after finishing all the final examinations (including resits) since host institutions will not make special arrangement for taking any examinations other than scheduled.
• Please CLICK HERE for more information on host institution’s term dates.