University of California - Santa Barbara Data & Information Overview
Find out more about how University of California - Santa Barbara ranks, how diverse it is, what majors it offers, and other essential facts below. All you need to do to learn more about a stat is click on its tile, and you'll be taken to another page that analyzes that data more closely. Also, you can use the links below to scroll to any section of this page.- Rankings
- Admission and Acceptance
- Faculty
- Retention and Graduation Rates
- Diversity
- Cost
- Student Debt
- Average Earnings
- Location
- Majors
- Online Learning
- Related Schools
Featured schools near , edit
How Well Is University of California - Santa Barbara Ranked?

2021 Rankings
In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.
University of California - Santa Barbara was awarded 152 badges in the 2021 rankings. The highest ranked major at the school is natural resources conservation.
Overall Quality
College Factual ranked UCSB as #133 out of 1,715 colleges and universities in the country on its 2021 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation.
Out of the 116 colleges in California, UCSB is ranked at #16.
See all of the rankings for University of California - Santa Barbara.
Is It Hard to Get Into UCSB?
Acceptance Rate
The acceptance rate at University of California - Santa Barbara is a competitive 33%, so make sure you take your application seriously when putting it together. Even leaving out a minor detail could be a reason to move you to the rejection pile.
Average Test Scores
About 75% of students accepted to UCSB submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 600 and 680. Math scores were between 590 and 720.
Learn more about University of California - Santa Barbara admissions.
University of California - Santa Barbara Faculty
Student to Faculty Ratio
The student to faculty ratio at University of California - Santa Barbara is about average at 18 to 1. This ratio is often used to gauge how many students might be in an average class and how much time professors will have to spend with their students on an individual level. The national average for this metric is 15 to 1.
Percent of Full-Time Faculty
When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at University of California - Santa Barbara is 85%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
Retention and Graduation Rates at University of California - Santa Barbara
Freshmen Retention Rate
The freshmen retention rate of 93% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like University of California - Santa Barbara enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That's certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.
Graduation Rate
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor's degree is typically four years. This rate at UCSB for first-time, full-time students is 68%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at University of California - Santa Barbara.
Excellent Overall Diversity at UCSB
During the 2017-2018 academic year, there were 23,070 undergraduates at UCSB with 22,601 being full-time and 469 being part-time.
UCSB Diversity Score
For each college and university, College Factual calculates an overall diversity score that takes four factors into account: gender, ethnicity, age, and home location of the student. Then, the schools with the best mixtures of students with respect to these factors are ranked the highest.
With an overall score of 96.04 out of 100, UCSB is one of the most diverse schools in the nation.
How Much Does University of California - Santa Barbara Cost?
The overall average net price of UCSB is $16,236. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.Net Price by Income Group for UCSB
$0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
---|---|---|---|---|
$10,733 | $11,760 | $14,984 | $21,096 | $31,436 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.Note that the net price is typically less than the published for a school. For more information on the sticker price of UCSB, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
Student Loan Debt
It's not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At UCSB, approximately 37% of students took out student loans averaging $6,168 a year. That adds up to $24,672 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at UCSB is 2.3%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.
Get more details about paying for University of California - Santa Barbara.
How Much Money Do UCSB Graduates Make?
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor's degree from UCSB make about $55,300 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is good news for future UCSB graduates since it is 39% more than the average college graduate's salary of $39,802 per year.
See which majors at University of California - Santa Barbara make the most money.
Location of University of California - Santa Barbara
Located in Santa Barbara, California, University of California - Santa Barbara is a public institution. Santa Barbara is considered a suburb and offers tranquility and safety near the excitement of a city center.Get more details about the location of University of California - Santa Barbara.

Contact details for UCSB are given below.
Contact Details | |
---|---|
Address: | 5221 Cheadle Hall, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 |
Phone: | 805-893-8000 |
Website: | www.ucsb.edu |
Facebook: | https://www.facebook.com/ucsantabarbara |
Twitter: | https://twitter.com/ucsantabarbara |
University of California - Santa Barbara Majors
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 60 majors graduated from University of California - Santa Barbara. Of these students, 6,327 received undergraduate degrees and 868 graduated with a master's or doctor's degree. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.Most Popular Majors | Bachelor’s Degrees | Average Salary of Graduates |
---|---|---|
Child Development & Psychology | 696 | $30,000 |
Sociology | 627 | $30,200 |
Economics | 582 | $59,200 |
Communication & Media Studies | 445 | $36,300 |
General Biology | 352 | $30,100 |
International Studies | 333 | $32,200 |
Natural Resources Conservation | 329 | $34,400 |
Political Science & Government | 273 | $34,700 |
Statistics | 158 | $43,400 |
Film, Video & Photographic Arts | 154 | $27,800 |
Online Learning at UCSB
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
In 2017-2018, 365 students took at least one online class at University of California - Santa Barbara. This is an increase from the 246 students who took online classes the previous year.
Year | Took at Least One Online Class | Took All Classes Online |
---|---|---|
2017-2018 | 365 | 0 |
2016-2017 | 246 | 0 |
2015-2016 | 164 | 0 |
2014-2015 | 162 | 0 |
2013-2014 | 85 | 0 |
Learn more about online learning at University of California - Santa Barbara.
Find Out More About University of California - Santa Barbara
Related Schools
If you’re considering University of California - Santa Barbara, here are some more schools you may be interested in knowing more about.
- Rutgers University - New Brunswick
- University of California - Riverside
- University of Iowa
- University of Missouri - Columbia
- University of South Carolina - Columbia
Curious on how these schools stack up against UCSB? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare college on the features that matter most to you!
Notes and References
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References
- National Center for Education Statistics
- College Scorecard
- Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System
- Image Credit: By Nandaro under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
Featured Schools
![]() |
Southern New Hampshire University
You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More > |
![]() |
Purdue University
Building on Purdue’s mission to provide greater access to affordable, world-class education, Purdue University Global delivers a fully personalized online experience that’s tailored to working adults. By opening the doors to adults who need flexibility to fit learning into their busy lives, we make it possible to achieve a high-quality education from the prestigious Purdue University system—completely online ... Learn More > |
![]() |
Grand Canyon University (GCU)
With a spotlight on intellectual creativity and innovation for the 21stcentury, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at GCU provides a job focused education. It blends the study of traditional humanities in a modern context. Through academic inquiry and beyond the box thinking, the college advances our society and its accomplishments ... Learn More > |
![]() |
Northcentral University
Northcentral University (NCU) was founded to provide accessible, high-quality, online graduate degrees to working professionals. As a regionally accredited, online university, NCU serves students worldwide, focusing on Doctoral and Master's degree programs in the Schools of Business and Technology Management, Education, Psychology, and Marriage and Family Sciences ... Learn More > |
![]() |
Colorado Technical University (CTU)
CTU could help you connect to what matters most: a powerful professional community, aculty who are real-world professionals, and innovative technology ... Learn More > |