University of California Courses, Cost, Admissions, Rankings & Scholarships 2022-2023

Santa Barbara, CaliforniaLocation
UniversitySchool type
Estd1891established year
23983enrollment
Public
7.2/10

Why Study in University of California-Santa Barbara?

  • Programs: University of California-Santa Barbara offers admission around 200 majors including over 90 undergraduate programs, 54 graduate programs and a couple of certificate courses. 
  • Admission Requirements: For admission to University of California-Santa Barbara, students need academic transcripts, proof of financial availability, SOP for USA, resume, standardized test scores (based on program type) and English proficiency test scores.
  • Application Deadlines: The official application deadline of UC-Santa Barbara is on November 30, 2022. 
  • Cost of Attendance: International students require approximately 62,000-67,000 USD (~46-50 lakh INR) to study in UC Santa Barbara. This cost includes tuition, living and miscellaneous expenses. 
  • Scholarships: Around 58% of the students receive some kind of financial aid from the university. The average scholarship amount awarded to the international students is over 20,000 USD (~15 lakh INR) per annum.
  • Placements: The university has an excellent placement record with Executive Management and Change being the highest paying sector demonstrating an average annual salary of 153,000 USD. Financial Services is the second highest paying sector with an average salary of 150,000 per annum.

Check: High paying jobs in USA for international students

University of California—Santa Barbara Rankings

  • #146 in QS World University Rankings, 2022
  • #68 in World University Rankings by Times Higher Education, 2022
  • #76 in US COllege Rankings by Times Higher Education, 2022
  • #28 in National Universities by US News and World Report, 2022
  • #184 in Best Value Schools by US News and World Report, 2022

Highlights

University Type Public
University Setting Suburban
Endowment 403.8 Million USD
Attendance Fee Tuition Fee: 12,750 USD Adding other expenses can extend up to 66,000 USD for some students
Total Students Total enrolment : 26,314
Undergraduates: 23,349
Graduate: 2,965
Acceptance Rate 37%
Type of Programs Undergraduate, Graduate and PhD
Mode of Program Full time; Part time; online
Housing Capacity Residence Halls: Total at 9 locations (Capacity: 5425)
Student Apartments: Total at 8 locations (Apartments:1291)
Financial Aid Available via Grants, Loans and scholarships.
Total alumnus Around 2,20,000
Admission Helpdesk admissionsreply@ucsd.edu;
858-534-4831

University of California—Santa Barbara Campus

  • UC-Santa Barbara campus is huge and offers various amazing campus life with over 500 student organizations and amazing facilities.
  • The campus has amazing recreation venues like Multi-Cultural Centre, Pollock Theatre, and the Art, Design & Architecture Museum.
  • From tennis to swimming, basketball to baseball to the track and back, UCSB has amazing athletics facilities.
  • Situated very close to the Pacific residence halls have ocean, lagoon, and mountain views.

University of California—Santa Barbara Student Housing

  • UC Santa Barbara provides residence facilities to students both on and off the campus, the on-campus residence facilities are capable to provide room for about 38% of the total students.
  • The university provides residence facilities for students in Residence halls, apartments and student family homes.
  • 1291 apartments for graduate and undergraduate students and residence halls that can incorporate around 5500 students.
  • There are a number of off-campus housing entities available to UC Santa Barbara students, located throughout Isla Vista, and are available only to the UCSB affiliated populations.
  • It provides more than 800 student jobs and leadership positions, most of which go to residents.
  • Rates for housing facilities: Various options are available that can be selected as per the financial situation of students. Rooms are viable starting USD 667 per month.
  • Various amenities are available in UCSB residence like:
    • High speed wireless internet.
    • Furnished stay apartments.
    • 24 hours housekeeping.
    • Live-in staff for student help and guidance.

University of California—Santa Barbara Programs

  • International students can choose from an array of courses to study in UC-Santa Barbara including over 90 undergraduate and 50 graduate majors through 5 schools and colleges.
  • The most popular majors are - Social Sciences; Biological and Biomedical Sciences; Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies; Psychology; and Communication, Journalism.
  • The institute provides a specaual California State University Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology (CSUPERB) which aims at creating a professional biotechnology workforce in the country.
  • The university also provides over 30 online courses that can be accessed online across its 23 campuses by all its candidates enrolled at any campus.
  • It also offers several pre-doctoral and professional master's courses in the field of science.

University of California Santa Barbara Application Process

The institute only accepts applications in the fall quarter and is closed for winter and spring admission. Applications from first-time freshman and junior-level transfer students are accepted except for College of Creative Studies, it accepts applications for senior-level transfer.

How to apply?

Application process for the university has following steps:

  • Fill online application form.
  • Complete the eligibility criteria for university applications.
  • Select the courses and the schools you want to apply for
  • Students can apply for fee waiver depending on financial condition in such case application for 4 UC campus is free after that USD 70 for each application is charged
  • Submit the fee as per requirement.

Following are some key points for UCSB admissions:

  • Selection Criteria: 50% academic & 50% non-academic
  • Test Scores Required: SAT/ACT/GRE/GMAT as per program requirement
  • English Proficiency Tests: IELTS, TOEFL, Duolingo and equivalents
  • Additional Requirements: 
    • Academic transcripts
    • Resume
    • SOP
    • Financial statement.

English Proficiency Requirements

International students need the following English proficiency test scores for admission to University of California Santa Barbara.

Exams Minimum Scores Required
TOEFL PBT 550
TOEFL iBT 80
IELTS 6.5
Duolingo 115
SAT 31 or higher in writing with essay
ACT 24 or higher

University of California Santa Barbara Cost of Attendance

Cost of attendance may vary according to living choices and type of programs of the aspirant enrolled at the institute. The distribution of expenses in the form of an estimated cost of living in USA is provided below.

Expense Type Cost in USD
Tuition $12,570
Campus based fees $1,821
Books and supplies $1,260
Health care allowance $3,537
Loan Fees $96
Roam and Board $6,633 / $15,039
Food $3,807
Telephone/ Cell Phone $276 / $351
Transportation $933 / $573
Personal Expenses $1545 / $1,371
Non-Resident Tuition fee $29,754
Total $62,232 / $66,372

For undergraduate students who are not California Residents:

  • University Apartments: 62,232 USD
  • University Residence Halls: 66,372 USD.

For Graduate students

For graduate students the tuition fee is the same USD 12,570 but the total fee may vary upon choice of residence and other choices.

University of California—Santa Barbara Scholarships

The university provides financial aid like awards and scholarships for international students in USA. Financial aid is also available for international or undocumented students via the Dream Act application (CADAA). Applicants are advised to submit applications before March 2.

Students receive over USD 2.2 million in scholarships per year. Over 58% of students are provided with financial aid yearly. The average annual need-based scholarships awarded is 20,029 USD.

Awards available for international candidates include Beinecke, Rhodes, Marshall, Mitchell, Goldwater, Truman, and Udall Scholarships etc. However, these are campus specific scholarships and just be applied for through the Division of Undergraduate Education as per deadlines declared by the campus.

Financial aid is provided in forms of Work Study: Student work to earn paycheque to fund their education.

University of California—Santa Barbara Alumni Network

UC Santa Barbara has a great Alumni base with over 2,20,000 alumnus who receive lifelong benefits, like access to university publications and resources, vacation and hotel discounts also the alumnus empower students to reach their academic goals by awarding numerous annual scholarships in recognition of achievement and potential.

University of California—Santa Barbara Placements

The students at the university reflect impressive salary trends. The average salaries across various degrees offered by UC Santa Barbara are tabulated below.

Programs Salaries in USD
Masters in Science 154,000
Bachelor of Science 107,000
Bachelor of Arts 105,000

University of California—Santa Barbara admissions are also provided to Transfer Students who have begun their undergraduate program from a different college and wish to complete the rest of the course from University of California—Santa Barbara. Financial Aids provided to fresh admissions and eligible existing students attracts international students to avail the opportunity to study their desired program in a reputed institute of USA.

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University of California Ranking

20242023202220212020201920182017

Times Higher Education logo

Overall 69 out of 1600 in Global Ranking

Engineering 46 out of 1374 in Global Ranking
Arts 83 out of 691 in Global Ranking
Humanities 83 out of 691 in Global Ranking
Natural Sciences 101 out of 1059 in Global Ranking

View More >>

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QS World University logo

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University of California Ratings

Based on 6 Students Rating

7.2 out of 10
8.3/10Academic
6.3/10Accommodation
8.0/10Faculty
6.3/10Infrastructure
5.8/10Placement
8.3/10Social Life

University of California Reviews


StreamDegree TypeStudent StatusNationalityBatchCourse
Sort By :
Newest First

Arts (1)
Social Studies (1)
Campus (4)
Choice (4)
Internship (4)
Quarter (4)
Scholarship (4)
Structure (4)
Tuition (4)
Barbara (3)
Course (3)
Program (3)
School (3)
Career (2)
Experience (2)
Knowledge (2)
California (1)

6 Reviews Found

H
8.2 /10

I originally applied to UCSB because I wanted to attend UC Berkeley. When I realized the applications were the same, I decided to apply to both! The fees are normally $80 I think but I was in the free/ reduced lunch program at school so I had a few waivers for applications. I applied to eight schools all on the west coast, including UCSB, UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, SDSU, Cal Poly SLO, University of Washington, and University of Oregon. I was accepted to all except UCLA. When it came down to choosing a college, UCSB was the clear choice. They offered me significant financial aid, it's located on a beach, only a train ride away from home, and academically prestigious! We were ranked the 5th best public school in the nation and the happiest college students in California by Princeton Review! While cost is very important, I needed to choose somewhere I felt like I could be happy. The social, athletic, and academic aspects of the school were very appealing to my extroverted side. I had a 4.2 GPA overall in high school, played varsity women's lacrosse, and competed in the academic league. While I did take several AP classes, I would consider myself a medium, to the above-average student in high school. I got a 1420 on my SAT and a 30 on my ACT. The university seems to prioritize outside commitments and personal statements much higher than test scores through the admissions process in my opinion

Fees:

I pay on BARC about two weeks before the start of every quarter. The only loans I have used were given by the university and accessed on FinAid.ucsb.com. I have received the cal grant A award for 12,600 dollars, the federal Pell grant award for 3,000, and a UCSB scholarship for 4,000. All of which were given due to my family's financial need and military status.

academic: 8/10
faculty: 8/10
infrastructure: 7/10
accomodation: 10/10
placement: 6/10
extracurricular: 10/10

JL
8.8 /10

One of the reasons I chose UC Santa Barbara as a college to go to is because of its close proximity to the ocean and because I wanted to experience the social life on campus which I heard was pretty good at UC Santa Barbara. My experience was amazing because there were tons of things to do like go out for dinner, party on the weekend or going to town for great food. Also, I chose UCSB as my college because before I came here I visited the campus just once and fell in love with the scenery.

Fees:

Coming to UCSB was pretty expensive but you have financial aid and many come here with scholarships which lower cost down. Also, dorm rooms keep going up that is why it's better to live outside of campus.

academic: 10/10
faculty: 9/10
infrastructure: 9/10
accomodation: 8/10
placement: 7/10
extracurricular: 10/10

JH
6.8 /10

UCSB has a great reputation and a diverse student body. Its campus is located right on the beach and students are friendly and fun. There is a good party scene as well as great academics and there is always something to do around campus.

Fees:

Tuition, room, and board, textbook fees, lab fees. Student fees that go towards bus pass, Rec center memberships, and funding the school newspaper.

academic: 8/10
faculty: 7/10
infrastructure: 6/10
accomodation: 8/10
placement: 2/10
extracurricular: 10/10

K
7.2 /10

The financial aid, the location, and the reputation of the school. I didn't expect to be admitted into UCSB but after I did, I jumped at the chance to attend because they also gave me pretty decent financial aid. I also liked the college and the fact that it had the majors I wanted to study (English and Chicano Studies).

Fees:

The fees for this include housing, meal plan, books and tuition, and even parking if you are bringing a car. It's somewhat costly living in SB.

academic: 8/10
faculty: 7/10
infrastructure: 7/10
accomodation: 5/10
placement: 6/10
extracurricular: 10/10

JA

It was a good fit considering my major, career path, and overall personality. The economics program is one of the best out of the UCs, plus it was the best Econ program I got into. Since I want to work on Wall Street, I thought networking at UC was a vital part of my education. My personality is not only academic but outgoing so when I visited and saw that the atmosphere fit my personality perfectly, I knew it was going to be a good fit.

Fees:

The fees are pretty straight forward including tuition, room and board, CA resident fee and other university ones.

academic: 8/10
faculty: 7/10
infrastructure: 5/10
accomodation: 4/10
placement: 7/10
extracurricular: 7/10

MW
5.8 /10

They offered the best financial aid package. Also, the beachside location of Isla Vista, the college town adjacent to the school, was very appealing. Academics were also important when choosing school.

Fees:

Different quarters have different expenses. I don't know what the fee structure means in the question, but if you're interested in the tuition and the like, you can check out UCSB?s page and there's all the info there an estimated cost of attendance.

academic: 8/10
faculty: 10/10
infrastructure: 4/10
accomodation: 3/10
placement: 7/10
extracurricular: 3/10

University of California Scholarships


NameScholarship Per StudentLevel of StudyType
QS Leadership ScholarshipScholarship per student₹ 8.3 L/Yr$10,000Level Of StudyMasterTypeMerit-Based
Chuan Ai Lu Engstrom Memorial ScholarshipScholarship per student₹ 82,890/Yr$1,000Level Of StudyBachelorTypeMerit-Based
KC Mahindra ScholarshipScholarship per student₹ 4.6 L/Yr$5,542Level Of StudyMasterTypeMerit-Based
ASID Foundation Legacy ScholarshipsScholarship per student₹ 3.3 L/Yr$4,000Level Of StudyBachelorTypeMerit-Based
Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship ProgramScholarship per studentVariable AmountLevel Of StudyMasterTypeMerit-Based
Microsoft ScholarshipsScholarship per studentVariable AmountLevel Of StudyBachelorTypeMerit-Based

FAQs


Ques. With a GRE score of 306, can I get admission to the University of California at Santa Barbara for an MS in CS?

● Top Answer By Sunita Garg on 16 Apr 22

Ans. For Fall 2022 applicants, the UCSB Computer Science department eliminated the GRE requirement. Here is the basic admission requirement for 2022. GPA in undergraduate  At least 3.0  TOEFL 600 - Paper-based test  100 - Internet-based  IELTS  7.0  Good undergraduate performance, references, and recommendation letters with a solid personal statement will help with your candidature. If you have pursued research at a well-known university during your undergraduate, mention that in your application. Read more

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Ques. How good is the University of California, Santa Barbara's Computer Science department for undergraduates?

● Top Answer By Eugene Cooper on 16 Apr 22

Ans. UCSB has a decent Computer Science department. The department is smaller compared to the other UCs. Students get equal attention from faculties. Overall, UCSB campus is friendlier, you can adjust easily to the environment. US News ranking ranked the CS department of UCSB 28th in the country.  The curriculum is a combination of basic programming, surveys of numerical methods, programming languages and compilers, automata theory, algorithm and data structures, etc. UCSB CS faculties are accomplished researchers and teach well.  As per Payscale, CS graduates from UCSB earn around $76k - $137k.  Being a small department, it isn’t good in all domains of CS. For instance, there aren’t any faculty members at UCSB who are pursuing research in hardcore Machine Learning. So, if you are interested in a particular area of CS, take it into consideration while choosing the institute. Read more

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Ques. How are the job opportunities in California for students with MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of California- Santa Barbara?

● Top Answer By Anna McGrath on 14 Apr 22

Ans. Job opportunities for MS Electrical Engineering graduates from the University of California Santa Barbara are pretty good. This branch has a better placement record than other branches of the institute. Majority of students get placements in the storage industry.   Goleta has a decent technology industry. There are many reputed corporate horses like AppFolio, Toyon Research, Control Point, etc. Read more

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Ques. Is it worth doing a Ph.D. in Materials Engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara?

● Top Answer By Anna McGrath on 13 Apr 23

Ans. If you are considering pursuing a Ph.D. in Materials Engineering, the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) is an excellent choice to consider. Here are some reasons why: Strong Research Culture : UCSB has a well-established materials engineering program with world-renowned faculty members who are leaders in the field. The program focuses on cutting-edge research in materials science and engineering and offers a wide range of research opportunities for students. State-of-the-Art Facilities : UCSB boasts state-of-the-art facilities and research centers, including the Materials Research Laboratory (MRL), which provides students with access to advanced characterization and fabrication facilities. These facilities are crucial for materials research, and students can expect to gain valuable hands-on experience working with these tools. Collaborative Environment : The materials engineering program at UCSB fosters a collaborative and interdisciplinary environment, which allows students to work with researchers across different departments and fields. This approach encourages students to develop a broad perspective on materials engineering and helps them to tackle complex problems that require a multidisciplinary approach. Career Prospects : A Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from UCSB can open up a range of career opportunities in academia, industry, and government research. Graduates from UCSB's materials engineering program have gone on to work for leading companies in the materials industry, as well as academic institutions and research labs. Lab Environment : When choosing a graduate school, the lab environment is a critical factor to consider. UCSB offers a diverse range of research labs, and you should carefully consider the lab environment and the research projects being undertaken by potential advisors. Advisor : The faculty advisor plays a crucial role in a graduate student's success. It is important to choose an advisor whose research interests align with your own, and who can provide you with the support and guidance needed to succeed in your research. Competitive Environment : It is worth noting that graduate school can be competitive, and UCSB is no exception. However, this is often a reflection of the high standards and expectations set by top universities. It is also worth noting that lab culture can vary depending on the advisor and the lab itself. Visit the School and Lab : To get a better sense of the environment and culture at UCSB, it is highly recommended that you visit the school and lab you are considering joining. This will allow you to meet with faculty and students, tour the facilities, and get a feel for the overall vibe of the program. UCSB's materials engineering program offers a strong research culture, state-of-the-art facilities, a collaborative environment, and excellent career prospects. When considering UCSB for graduate school, it is essential to carefully consider the lab environment, and faculty advisor, and visit the school and lab to get a better sense of the overall culture.Read more

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University of California Admissions

  • Early Action Deadlines

    Important Date: November1 (Application deadline)
    Important Date: April1 (Application results)
  • Regular Decision Deadlines

    Important Date: January15 (Application deadline)
    Important Date: April1 (Application results)

University of California Exam Scores

ExamsAvg. ScoreMin ScoreMax. Score%Submitted'
Language Proficiency
TOEFL-80--
IELTS-6.5--
Undergraduate
SAT12951190140075
Check Detailed Score
Evidence-Based Reading and Writing640600680-
Mathematics655590720-
ACT31283359
Check Detailed Score
English302634-
Mathematics292632-

Attendance Cost

₹3,660,340

attendance cost

The table shows average yearly cost of attendance for international students. Amount may vary with the course opted, nature of accommodation, and personal spending habits of a candidate.Check Program wise Fees

Tuition fees
Undergraduate Programs
₹3,660,340 / Year
Post Graduate Program
₹2,376,373 / Year
On Campus
Books & Supplies
₹94,743 / Year
On campus, Room & Board
₹1,257,358 / Year
On Campus, Other Expenses
₹443,296 / Year
Off Campus
Off campus (not with family), Room & Board
₹980,174 / Year
Off campus (not with family), Other Expenses
₹472,970 / Year
Off campus (with family), Room & Board
₹975,201 / Year
Off campus (with family), Other Expenses
₹1,031,981 / Year

Faculty

Total FacultyFull TimePart TimeGraduate Assistants
145461151730292045

University of California Campus Location


+1-805-893-8000
Telephone
Santa Barbara, California 93106
Address

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