University of California, Santa Barbara

The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a 1,022-acre campus in Santa Barbara, California, 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Founded as an independent teachers' college, UCSB joined the University of California system in 1944 and is the fourth-oldest general-education campus in the system.

UCSB is a comprehensive doctoral university and is organized into five colleges offering 87 undergraduate degrees and 55 graduate degrees. The campus is the 5th-largest in the UC system by enrollment with 18,429 undergraduate and 2,981 graduate students. The university granted 5,442 bachelor's, 576 master's, and 310 Ph.D. degrees in 2006-2007. The four-year, full-time undergraduate program is classified by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as "more selective, higher transfer-in" and was ranked 44th among "National Universities" by U.S. News and World Report.

UC Santa Barbara is a "very high activity" research university and spent $191.2 million on research expenditures, 97th-largest in the United States^. UCSB houses eleven national research centers, including the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, Southern California Earthquake Center, and Material Research Laboratory. Five faculty members have won the Nobel Prize, 29 have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, 27 to the National Academy of Engineering, and 23 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. UCSB was elected to the Association of American Universities in 1995.

The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos compete in the NCAA Division I Big West Conference. The Gauchos have won NCAA national championships in men's soccer and men's water polo.

UCSB is located on cliffs directly above the Pacific Ocean. UCSB's campus has not been annexed by the city of Santa Barbara and thus is not technically part of the city. While it appears closer to the recently formed city of Goleta, a parcel of the City of Santa Barbara that forms a strip of "city" through the ocean to the Santa Barbara airport, runs through the west entrance to the university campus. Although UCSB has a Santa Barbara mailing address, as do other unincorporated areas around the city, only this entry parcel is in the Santa Barbara city limits. Like all other UC and CSU campuses, it is self-governing and cannot be incorporated into either city. The campus is divided into four parts: Main campus (708 acres that houses all academic units plus the majority of Undergraduate housing), Storke campus, West campus and North Campus. The campuses surround the community of Isla Vista.

UCSB is one of a few universities in the United States with its own beach. The campus, bordered on three sides by the Pacific Ocean, has miles of coastline as well as its own lagoon. The campus has numerous walking and bicycle paths across campus, around the lagoon and along the beach.

The Lagoon is a large man-made body of water adjacent to the coastline, between San Rafael and San Miguel Residence Halls. It was created from a former tidal salt marsh flat and is fed by a combination of run-off and ocean water used by the Marine Science Building's aquatic life tanks; thus, it is a unique combination of fresh and salt water. Many of the older campus buildings are being replaced with newer, more modern facilities. The UCSB Libraries, consisting of the Davidson Library and the Arts Library, hold 2.8 million bound volumes and millions of microforms, government documents, manuscripts, maps, satellite and aerial images, sound recordings, and other materials. The 24 Hour Study Room, formerly known as the RBR (Reserved Book Room), is adjacent to the Davidson Library, which is located in the middle of the UCSB campus.

Campbell Hall is the university's largest lecture hall with 860 seats. It is also the main venue for the UCSB Arts and Lectures series, which presents special performances, films, and lectures for the UCSB campus and Santa Barbara community.

Storke Tower, completed in 1969, is the tallest building in Santa Barbara County. It can be seen from most places on campus, it over looks a wide plaza aptly named Storke Plaza. It is home to a five-octave, 61-bell carillon. All UCSB students used to be free to access the top of Storke Tower once they checked out a key from the Visitor's Center, but this program has been put on hold by the fire marshal. KCSB 91.9 broadcasts from beneath Storke Tower.

The University of California Santa Barbara has a reputation for its "party life". While the Halloween parties in Isla Vista are quite popular among students, the annual tradition has come under fire from school administration and local police in recent years.

UCSB is also a politically active campus. The UCSB Campus Democrats and the UCSB College Republicans are among the most active organizations on campus. Over the years, other political parties and organizations have also been known to be active on campus, such as the Environmental Affairs Board, Green Party, and Libertarians.

UCSB is the only UC campus with its own Paramedic Rescue Unit. It is staffed by full-time professional paramedics and part-time undergraduate EMTs.