by our College Data Analytics TeamFind out more about how University of California-Santa Barbara ranks, how diverse it is, what majors it offers, and other essential facts below.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
University of California-Santa Barbara was awarded 392 badges in the 2026 rankings.
College Factual ranked University of California-Santa Barbara as #39 out of 3,449 colleges and universities in the country on its 2026 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 5% of all schools in the nation.
Within the state, University of California-Santa Barbara holds the #8 spot on the Best Colleges in California ranking.
See all of the rankings for University of California-Santa Barbara.
University of California-Santa Barbara has an acceptance rate of 33%, which means the school is serious about who it admits. Take your time in putting together a strong application that highlights why you are a good fit for University of California-Santa Barbara.
The student to faculty ratio at University of California-Santa Barbara is about average at 17 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.
In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at University of California-Santa Barbara is 90%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
University of California-Santa Barbara has a freshmen retention rate of 92%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At University of California-Santa Barbara the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 85%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at University of California-Santa Barbara.
In the current academic year, there are 23,205 undergraduates at University of California-Santa Barbara.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at University of California-Santa Barbara.
The typical net cost at University of California-Santa Barbara is $16,772. 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 University of California-Santa Barbara
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $7,745 | $8,910 | $11,398 | $16,839 | $30,085 |
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 price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of University of California-Santa Barbara, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At University of California-Santa Barbara, approximately 18% of students took out student loans averaging $5,045 a year. That adds up to $20,180 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 3.0%. 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.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from University of California-Santa Barbara make about $74,915 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. That’s great news for University of California-Santa Barbara students since it is 52% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at University of California-Santa Barbara make the most money.
University of California-Santa Barbara is an public institution found in Santa Barbara, California. University of California-Santa Barbara is located in a safe and convenient suburb. Get more details about the location of University of California-Santa Barbara.
Get in touch with University of California-Santa Barbara can be found below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 5221 Cheadle Hall, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 |
| Phone: | 8058938000 |
| Website: | www.ucsb.edu |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/ucsantabarbara |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/ucsantabarbara |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 20 majors graduated from University of California-Santa Barbara. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 7,895 | NA |
| Economics | 729 | $59,465 |
| Child Development & Psychology | 676 | $28,978 |
| Sociology | 661 | $28,687 |
| Communication & Media Studies | 649 | $41,054 |
| Natural Resources Conservation | 434 | $36,246 |
| Statistics | 405 | $46,652 |
| General Biology | 381 | $30,350 |
| Political Science & Government | 337 | $35,379 |
| Computer Science | 245 | $86,276 |
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.
1,219 students took at least one online class at University of California-Santa Barbara.
Learn more about online learning at University of California-Santa Barbara.
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.
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