About

UCSC is a world-class research and teaching university highlighting interdisciplinary learning and a distinctive residential college system. From building more efficient solar cells to researching personalized care for cancer patients, our focus is on improving our planet and the lives of all its inhabitants. Celebrated for its extraordinary beauty, our oceanside campus is a center of learning, research, and the free exchange of ideas. We are near Monterey Bay, Silicon Valley, and the San Francisco Bay Area -- an ideal location for internships and future employment.

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General Walking Tour

This tour takes you through each spot that one of our Student Life & University Guides (SLUGs) would take you on a guided tour of campus! From housing and dining, to the health center, to classrooms and labs, get an overview of campus here.

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The Residential Colleges

Find community and engage! Whether you live on campus or not, you will be affiliated with one of our 10 residential colleges, providing many opportunities for activities, advising, and leadership. The colleges are not associated with your major. So for example, you can major in computer engineering but be affiliated with Porter College, where the theme is arts-centered. Year-after-year, our alumni identify their residential college experience and student group involvement as central to their core identities and connection to campus. The people you will live with in these communities, the shared experiences, your growth academically and personally, are all fostered by the close-knit, home-away-from-home structure our residential colleges provide.

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Campus Dining & Eateries

Our dining halls provide a place for community and shared experiences. There are five dining halls on our main campus, along with different cafe options at key locations. Regardless of where you find yourself during the day, you may choose to eat at any one of our dining halls. Not only do we have different rotating menus for each dining hall every month offering produce sourced from our campus and local organic farms, we provide complete nutritional breakdowns and a simple system to easily identify dietary restrictions.

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Transfer Student Tour

UC Santa Cruz welcomes transfer applicants from California community colleges and other institutions. Transferring to UCSC is a great way to earn your University of California undergraduate degree. This tour will show you resources, support services, and facilities dedicated to our transfer students.

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Resource Centers

UCSC Resource Centers offer counter-spaces for students who are queer, trans, nonbinary, womxn, and people of color, as well as impact institutional policies and campus climate. The Resource Centers engages the broader campus on issues and challenges facing our communities, and provide programs, physical spaces, and services to foster student’s academic, personal, and professional growth, through community-based leadership development.

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Group Tour

This tour takes you through all stops on the General Walking Tour but is designed for larger groups visiting campus. The tour begins at Cowell Circle and ending at the Cowell/Stevenson Dining Hall.

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Photo Gallery

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Questions?

Speak with a University of California, Santa Cruz admissions team member.

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