University of California-Santa Barbara

University of California-Santa Barbara is a public research university located in Santa Barbara, California, along the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. The campus offers a wide range of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs across the arts, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering. UC Santa Barbara is a member of the Association of American Universities and is known for its research activity and interdisciplinary programs. Its coastal location and residential campus environment attract students interested in both academic study and campus life within a large public university setting.

The history of University of California-Santa Barbara dates to 1891, when it began as the Anna Blake School in Santa Barbara, California, offering training in home economics and industrial arts. In 1909, it was taken over by the state and became the Santa Barbara State Normal School. The institution expanded and was renamed Santa Barbara State College in 1921. In 1944, after local advocacy efforts, the campus joined the University of California system and became Santa Barbara College of the University of California. In 1958, the Regents designated it a general campus and adopted the name University of California-Santa Barbara. The campus relocated to its present oceanfront site in Goleta on a former Marine air station. Over the following decades, University of California-Santa Barbara developed into a major research university with broad academic programs and national research recognition.