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.