• A Campus Like No Other (campus introduction, history, etc.)
• Donald C. Davidson Library
• Computing Facilities
• Instructional Development
• University Art Museum
• Arts & Lectures

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 of undergraduates are evident each day in laboratories and classrooms.

UCSB fosters new approaches to learning that are not bound by tradition, stressing collaboration between students and their instructors across disciplinary lines, often in small classes. This is among the chief reasons why so many top students and renowned scholars are attracted to the campus. More than a quarter of all undergraduates are involved in original research, working on teams with graduate students and professors who are eminent in their fields. Such hands-on scholarship fosters critical thinking skills and helps prepare students for future
careers and advanced study.

The university enrolls some 19,600 students, about 2,600 of them at the graduate level. Competition for admission is at an all time high. In recent years the campus has enrolled the most academically competitive and ethnically diverse classes in its history.

More than 200 majors, degrees, and credentials are offered through UCSB's five schools and the Graduate Division. The College of Letters and Science alone offers nearly 80 majors. The College of Creative Studies offers an alternative approach for students pursuing advanced, independent work in the arts, mathematics, or the sciences. The College of Engineering offers degree programs in chemical, computer, electrical, and mechanical engineering, and in computer science. The university also has two professional schools: the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, and the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education.

A leading research institution, UCSB is one of the 62 research-intensive institutions elected to membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities. The distinguished 900-member faculty includes three Nobel Prize winners and scores of elected members or fellows of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

At UCSB, teaching and research go hand in hand. The knowledge that is shared tomorrow comes from research being done today. Our philosophy of education holds that research, scholarship, and apprenticeship are central to learning and
vital to creating the climate of inquiry essential to professors and students alike.

Originally a small, independent teachers' college, Santa Barbara joined the prestigious University of California system in 1944 and has since grown to be an integral and important part of public postsecondary education in the state. Responsibility for governing the University of California system is vested in a corporate board of 26 gubernatorially appointed and elected members known as The Regents of the University of California. The Regents share authority with the University president, the chancellor of each campus, and the Academic Senate, representing the faculty.

Recognition of UCSB's academic quality takes many forms. One of the most prestigious is support from the National Science Foundation. The campus is now home to eight national centers and institutes, five of which are sponsored by the NSF, including the Materials Research Laboratory, the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, the Southern California Earthquake Center, and the renowned Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics. The institute's innovative mode of operationas a small, superb faculty interacting with groups of visiting scholarshas been widely imitated by leading research centers around the world.

UCSB was selected to host one of the first four California Institutes for Science and Innovation, established by Governor Gray Davis with the support of the State Legislature. The California NanoSystems Institute, a research partnership between UCSB and UCLA, is expected to produce scientific advances in fields critical to the future of California's economy. New, cutting-edge research buildings now under construction at both UCLA and UCSB will house the institute.

The vast majority of students live within walking distance of their classes. Seven miles of bikeways link this close-knit academic community, giving students easy access to a rich array of social, cultural, academic and athletic events.

Another distinguishing characteristic of UCSB is its proximity to two very different communities. Isla Vista, the adjacent community that is home away from home to a majority of UCSB's students, is a place for social and civic growth, where students serve on local boards and county committees and perform volunteer service. Nearby Santa Barbaraan energetic, mid-sized city with a deep concern for history, the arts, and the environmentis highly regarded for its cultural and recreational resources. UCSB students are truly citizens of these communities. Many students serve in the larger Santa Barbara region as volunteers and interns at hundreds of organizations and agencies.

On or off campus, the UC Santa Barbara experience presents opportunities for students to learn, contribute, and grow in a setting of unmatched beauty and in a supportive and collaborative intellectual climate.

The UCSB campus is adjacent to the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, which offers flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other cities. Highway 101, California's major coastal route, passes about a mile from UCSB, with clearly marked exits for the campus. Santa Barbara is served by Amtrak and Greyhound. Local bus service includes express lines that link downtown Santa Barbara with the campus, just eight miles away.

UCSB's Donald C. Davidson Library is a major research facility. As a member of the Association of Research Libraries and the Center for Research Libraries, it participates in cooperative programs and policy development with other major research libraries to provide collections and services for the UCSB community.

The library's top-ranked Map and Imagery Lab features sophisticated technology, such as this Z240 stereoscope, which aids students and researchers in aerial photo interpretation.

The library has approximately 2.6 million books and bound journals. The collection grows by about 50,000 volumes annually. In addition, the library has an extensive collection of maps, technical reports, satellite imagery, government
documents, manuscripts, and microformat materials.

UCSB's library collection is housed in two buildings: the Davidson Library and the Arts Library. Davidson Library houses the general collection as well as several specialized units and services, which offer materials on specific subject areas or in specialized formats. Examples include the Science and Engineering Library (which provides more than 5,000 current serial subscriptions, 300,000 volumes, and 550,000 technical reports), the Map and Imagery Laboratory, the Curriculum Laboratory, and the Ethnic and Gender Studies Library. Also located in the main library is the Department of Special Collections, which houses rare books and manuscripts as well as several distinguished collections, including the Wyles Collection on the American West, the Skofield Printers' Collection, the California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives, and other research collections.

Some of the special services in the Davidson Library include computerized access to the catalogs of all UC libraries; electronic access to databases and electronic journals in all subjects; general internet access; and services to disabled users.

The Arts Library is a full-service branch library that supports academic programs in art and music. In addition to the substantial book and journal collections, special materials include art auction and exhibition catalogs, more than 60,000 sound recordings, and a collection of music scores.

UCSB's Student Access computing initiative provides all students with electronic mail services as well as on-line acces to their own academic records, and makes a wealth of educational resources from throughout the world available through the Internet.

Computing facilities on campus are readily available to all registered UCSB students. Instructional Computing (IC) has an Open Access lab with both Macintosh and IBM computers for general student use. Access to instructional labs are designated by course requirements. Computing facilities set aside for the use of classes are IC labs (Macintosh: G3 & G4 labs; PC: Pentium 333, 866, 1300, and 2400 labs; Open Access Lab; and the Media Center and Language Lab in Kerr Hall), the Humanities and Social Sciences Computing facility (limited to faculty, staff, and graduate students), the Life Sciences Computing Facility, the Oceanography computing facility, the Storke Pentium lab, and the Engineering Computing Infrastructure (ECI). Hours and restrictions vary with individual labs.

For additional information visit our website: www.ic.ucsb.edu (will open in a new browser window).

Instructional Development enhances teaching and research with its two branches of Instructional Consultation and Instructional Resources.

The Office of Instructional Consultation offers expertise in various teaching methods, curriculum development, testing, and evaluation. The Instructional Improvement Program provides financial backing to faculty involved in innovative instructional projects. All of this enables faculty to teach in the most effective manner and to bring to students the fruits of their latest research.

Instructional Resources provides numerous technological aids to support the educational process. Sophisticated student learning and language laboratories, comprehensive media production, and presentation support are among the many services offered.

The University Art Museum is located in the shadow of Storke Tower, adjacent to the University Center. Three galleries are devoted to the Museum's permanent collections and two feature regularly changing exhibitions. The exhibition program, balanced between historical and contemporary art, architecture, and design traditions, features art and artists of diverse global cultures. Exhibitions complement academic programs, particularly in the arts and humanities.

George Rickey, American 1907-2002 Annual Eclipse VI 2000 Gift of the Artist

At the end of each academic year, the Museum showcases the work of undergraduate students in the Department of Art Studio. The Museum student docents learn about museum practices and study both the permanent collection and current exhibitions in order to serve as gallery guides for Museum visitors. In conjunction with its innovative, challenging and culturally diverse exhibitions, the Museum organizes interdisciplinary programs including gallery talks, artist lectures, academic symposia and special performances.

The permanent collections include approximately 8,500 art objects, ranging from ancient terra cottas to old master drawings to contemporary sculpture, with work produced in Europe, America, Africa, and Asia. The Sedgwick Collection of 15^th- 16^th- and 17^th-century European paintings and the Morgenroth Collection of Renaissance medals and plaquettes are featured in the "The Renaissance Revealed" Gallery. The Architecture and Design Collection contains historic materials forming the archives of over 40 significant Southern California- based architects, landscape architects, urban planners, and designers.

The University Art Museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums. It is open Tuesday, 12:00-8:00 p.m., Wednesday-Sunday, 12:00-5:00 p.m., and is closed on Monday and major holidays. Docent tours are available at 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays. Call the Museum at (805) 893-2951 for information on tours and special programs, or visit our website: www.uam.ucsb.edu (will open in a new browser window).

Understanding that the arts are an essential component of education, Arts & Lectures serves the university and the Santa Barbara community by presenting approximately 125 cultural events each year. These entertaining and innovative performances, films and lectures enhance the intellectual life of the campus and help to sustain an inclusive and diverse community.

During its 2003-04 season, UCSB Arts & Lectures will present over thirty great performances including a recital by the superb virtuoso Yo-Yo Ma playing Bach's Unaccompanied Cello Suites.

Arts & Lectures' performing arts season features more than 30 international professional artists and ensembles of the highest calibre. Exceptional dancers, musicians (traditional, classical and jazz artists from all over the world), actors and theater companies give public performances and participate in master classes, meet-the-artists discussions and workshops on campus and in the community.

Arts & Lectures presents prominent and provocative speakers who lecture on a wide range of subjects including science, national and world affairs, outdoor adventure, history, the arts and contemporary culture. Frequently, notable writers read from, discuss and autograph their books.

Arts & Lectures screens high-quality and unique international films.Award-winning feature films, acclaimed documentaries and silent classics with live musical accompaniment are standard fare. Occasionally filmmakers are on hand to introduce their films and talk with audiences.

UCSB Arts & Lectures will also present the acclaimed Julio Bocca and Ballet Argentino, a dance company that thrills audiences with its dramatic flair and technical brilliance.

Arts & Lectures presents most of its events at UCSB in Campbell Hall. Other campus venues are used as well, particularly for lectures and writers' readings. In collaboration with other Santa Barbara organizations, A&L presents events downtown at the Arlington Theatre, Lobero Theatre, Natural History Museum, Unitarian Society, and other community sites.

For more information: (805) 893-3535. The Arts & Lectures Ticket Office is located in Building 402 and is open Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm. Visit Arts & Lectures' website: www.artsandlectures.ucsb.edu (will open in a new browser window).

Return to Top of Page