University of California Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, CA 93106 United States |

Summary

The University of California—Santa Barbara, or UCSB, is a public university that traces its roots back to 1891. The school became part of the University of California system in 1944. The West Coast university's campus overlooks the Pacific Ocean and is about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles. In a recent year, the institution enrolled more than 20,000 students, and upward of 85 percent of them were studying at the undergraduate level. Top countries of origin for UCSB's international students that year included China, India and South Korea. Non-California residents pay a supplemental tuition at UCSB. University housing is available and guaranteed for four years for new freshmen undergrads and for two years for transfer students.

UCSB has five colleges and schools – creative studies, engineering, letters and science, environmental science and management, and education – as well as a graduate division. In all, the institution offers more than 200 majors, degrees and credentials. The university follows a quarter-based academic calendar, and English is the primary language of instruction. UCSB has around a dozen national research institutes and centers on its campus, including the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, the Materials Research Laboratory and the Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies, which the U.S. Army supports. More than 50 percent of the university's undergraduate students conduct research, some through programs such as the Faculty Research Assistance Program, which pairs students with UCSB researchers in their fields of interest and allows them to earn credit for their work.

Rankings

University of California Santa Barbara is ranked #67 in Best Global Universities. Schools are ranked according to their performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence. Read more about how we rank schools.

Global Universities Rankings

#67
in Best Global Universities (tie)

Subject Rankings

2022-2023 Indicator Rankings

Thirteen indicators were used to calculate this institution's overall Best Global Universities rank. Here is a breakdown of how this institution ranked relative to other schools for each indicator.

Read the Methodology

#67
in Best Global Universities (tie)

Global score

73.3

Global research reputation

#62

Regional research reputation

#36

Publications

#290

Books

#158

Conferences

#227

Normalized citation impact

#95

Total citations

#204

Number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#195

Percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#39

International collaboration - relative to country

#148

International collaboration

#718

Number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#166

Percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#80

#89
in Arts and Humanities

Arts and Humanities overall score

59.9

Arts and Humanities global research reputation

#70

Arts and Humanities regional research reputation

#26

Arts and Humanities publications

#110

Arts and Humanities books

#138

Arts and Humanities normalized citation impact

#176

Arts and Humanities total citations

#121

Arts and Humanities number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#125

Arts and Humanities percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#172

Arts and Humanities international collaboration - relative to country

Arts and Humanities international collaboration

#115

#218
in Biology and Biochemistry (tie)

Biology and Biochemistry overall score

42.7

Biology and Biochemistry global research reputation

#153

Biology and Biochemistry regional research reputation

#58

Biology and Biochemistry publications

#527

Biology and Biochemistry normalized citation impact

#132

Biology and Biochemistry total citations

#396

Biology and Biochemistry number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#294

Biology and Biochemistry percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#28

Biology and Biochemistry international collaboration - relative to country

#87

Biology and Biochemistry international collaboration

#297

Biology and Biochemistry number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#253

Biology and Biochemistry percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#73

#59
in Chemistry

Chemistry overall score

74.6

Chemistry global research reputation

#36

Chemistry regional research reputation

#20

Chemistry publications

#267

Chemistry normalized citation impact

#51

Chemistry total citations

#140

Chemistry number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#126

Chemistry percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#61

Chemistry international collaboration - relative to country

#206

Chemistry international collaboration

#410

Chemistry number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#140

Chemistry percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#144

#104
in Computer Science

Computer Science overall score

60.6

Computer Science global research reputation

#101

Computer Science regional research reputation

#33

Computer Science publications

#296

Computer Science conferences

#176

Computer Science normalized citation impact

#33

Computer Science total citations

#153

Computer Science number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#113

Computer Science percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#24

Computer Science international collaboration - relative to country

#395

Computer Science international collaboration

#403

Computer Science number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#321

Computer Science percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#444

#94
in Condensed Matter Physics (tie)

Condensed Matter Physics overall score

53.5

Condensed Matter Physics publications

#82

Condensed Matter Physics conferences

#174

Condensed Matter Physics normalized citation impact

#107

Condensed Matter Physics total citations

#94

Condensed Matter Physics number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#85

Condensed Matter Physics percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#100

Condensed Matter Physics international collaboration - relative to country

#255

Condensed Matter Physics international collaboration

#155

Condensed Matter Physics number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#65

Condensed Matter Physics percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#70

#179
in Economics and Business (tie)

Economics and Business overall score

38.4

Economics and Business global research reputation

#158

Economics and Business regional research reputation

#73

Economics and Business publications

#321

Economics and Business normalized citation impact

#33

Economics and Business total citations

#202

Economics and Business number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#214

Economics and Business percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#76

Economics and Business international collaboration - relative to country

#86

Economics and Business international collaboration

#230

Economics and Business number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#122

Economics and Business percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#37

#69
in Education and Educational Research (tie)

Education and Educational Research overall score

52.1

Education and Educational Research publications

#137

Education and Educational Research conferences

#146

Education and Educational Research normalized citation impact

#23

Education and Educational Research total citations

#97

Education and Educational Research number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#109

Education and Educational Research percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#57

Education and Educational Research international collaboration - relative to country

#17

Education and Educational Research international collaboration

#113

Education and Educational Research number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#26

Education and Educational Research percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#209
in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (tie)

Electrical and Electronic Engineering overall score

53.0

Electrical and Electronic Engineering publications

#277

Electrical and Electronic Engineering conferences

#150

Electrical and Electronic Engineering normalized citation impact

#139

Electrical and Electronic Engineering total citations

#233

Electrical and Electronic Engineering number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#198

Electrical and Electronic Engineering percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#113

Electrical and Electronic Engineering international collaboration - relative to country

#434

Electrical and Electronic Engineering international collaboration

#281

Electrical and Electronic Engineering number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#261

Electrical and Electronic Engineering percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#285

#178
in Engineering (tie)

Engineering overall score

61.5

Engineering global research reputation

#68

Engineering regional research reputation

#34

Engineering publications

#394

Engineering conferences

#213

Engineering normalized citation impact

#196

Engineering total citations

#314

Engineering number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#297

Engineering percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#235

Engineering international collaboration - relative to country

#423

Engineering international collaboration

#421

Engineering number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#277

Engineering percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#277

#20
in Environment/Ecology

Environment/Ecology overall score

87.0

Environment/Ecology global research reputation

#24

Environment/Ecology regional research reputation

#16

Environment/Ecology publications

#95

Environment/Ecology normalized citation impact

#26

Environment/Ecology total citations

#51

Environment/Ecology number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#60

Environment/Ecology percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#74

Environment/Ecology international collaboration - relative to country

#106

Environment/Ecology international collaboration

#326

Environment/Ecology number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#24

Environment/Ecology percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#27

#71
in Geosciences

Geosciences overall score

66.8

Geosciences global research reputation

#24

Geosciences regional research reputation

#13

Geosciences publications

#130

Geosciences normalized citation impact

#89

Geosciences total citations

#100

Geosciences number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#83

Geosciences percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#57

Geosciences international collaboration - relative to country

#200

Geosciences international collaboration

#294

Geosciences number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#111

Geosciences percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#160

#84
in Materials Science (tie)

Materials Science overall score

66.1

Materials Science global research reputation

#18

Materials Science regional research reputation

Materials Science publications

#213

Materials Science normalized citation impact

#133

Materials Science total citations

#144

Materials Science number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#141

Materials Science percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#150

Materials Science international collaboration - relative to country

#505

Materials Science international collaboration

#351

Materials Science number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#116

Materials Science percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#123

#324
in Mathematics (tie)

Mathematics overall score

35.7

Mathematics global research reputation

#339

Mathematics regional research reputation

#69

Mathematics publications

#291

Mathematics normalized citation impact

#194

Mathematics total citations

#278

Mathematics number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#294

Mathematics percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#256

Mathematics international collaboration - relative to country

#162

Mathematics international collaboration

#246

Mathematics number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#202

Mathematics percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#179

#95
in Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences (tie)

Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences overall score

54.9

Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences regional research reputation

Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences publications

#129

Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences conferences

#122

Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences normalized citation impact

#22

Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences total citations

#97

Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#96

Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#28

Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences international collaboration - relative to country

#119

Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences international collaboration

#119

Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#68

Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#27

#150
in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (tie)

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology overall score

41.4

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology publications

#155

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology conferences

#235

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology normalized citation impact

#156

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology total citations

#148

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#153

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#170

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology international collaboration - relative to country

#174

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology international collaboration

#160

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#132

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#131

#315
in Neuroscience and Behavior

Neuroscience and Behavior overall score

28.0

Neuroscience and Behavior global research reputation

#185

Neuroscience and Behavior regional research reputation

#43

Neuroscience and Behavior publications

#458

Neuroscience and Behavior normalized citation impact

#187

Neuroscience and Behavior total citations

#403

Neuroscience and Behavior number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#363

Neuroscience and Behavior percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#180

Neuroscience and Behavior international collaboration - relative to country

#335

Neuroscience and Behavior international collaboration

#356

Neuroscience and Behavior number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#378

Neuroscience and Behavior percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#290

#17
in Optics

Optics overall score

80.6

Optics publications

#120

Optics conferences

#57

Optics normalized citation impact

Optics total citations

#50

Optics number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#35

Optics percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

Optics international collaboration - relative to country

#96

Optics international collaboration

#113

Optics number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#28

Optics percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#17

#148
in Physical Chemistry

Physical Chemistry overall score

58.3

Physical Chemistry publications

#174

Physical Chemistry conferences

#274

Physical Chemistry normalized citation impact

#209

Physical Chemistry total citations

#158

Physical Chemistry number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#150

Physical Chemistry percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#211

Physical Chemistry international collaboration - relative to country

#140

Physical Chemistry international collaboration

#261

Physical Chemistry number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#134

Physical Chemistry percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#158

#22
in Physics

Physics overall score

82.1

Physics global research reputation

#20

Physics regional research reputation

#10

Physics publications

#64

Physics normalized citation impact

#135

Physics total citations

#39

Physics number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#26

Physics percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#96

Physics international collaboration - relative to country

#463

Physics international collaboration

#605

Physics number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#25

Physics percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#92

#191
in Plant and Animal Science

Plant and Animal Science overall score

59.7

Plant and Animal Science global research reputation

#199

Plant and Animal Science regional research reputation

#73

Plant and Animal Science publications

#333

Plant and Animal Science normalized citation impact

#54

Plant and Animal Science total citations

#204

Plant and Animal Science number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#184

Plant and Animal Science percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#84

Plant and Animal Science international collaboration - relative to country

#161

Plant and Animal Science international collaboration

#344

Plant and Animal Science number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#132

Plant and Animal Science percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#59

#44
in Polymer Science

Polymer Science overall score

63.8

Polymer Science publications

#170

Polymer Science conferences

#118

Polymer Science normalized citation impact

Polymer Science total citations

#78

Polymer Science number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#71

Polymer Science percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#18

Polymer Science international collaboration - relative to country

#48

Polymer Science international collaboration

#49

Polymer Science number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#47

Polymer Science percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#24

#131
in Psychiatry/Psychology

Psychiatry/Psychology overall score

49.4

Psychiatry/Psychology global research reputation

#49

Psychiatry/Psychology regional research reputation

#34

Psychiatry/Psychology publications

#230

Psychiatry/Psychology normalized citation impact

#153

Psychiatry/Psychology total citations

#216

Psychiatry/Psychology number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#179

Psychiatry/Psychology percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#95

Psychiatry/Psychology international collaboration - relative to country

#131

Psychiatry/Psychology international collaboration

#351

Psychiatry/Psychology number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#216

Psychiatry/Psychology percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#218

#130
in Social Sciences and Public Health (tie)

Social Sciences and Public Health overall score

58.4

Social Sciences and Public Health global research reputation

#80

Social Sciences and Public Health regional research reputation

#48

Social Sciences and Public Health publications

#205

Social Sciences and Public Health normalized citation impact

#158

Social Sciences and Public Health total citations

#183

Social Sciences and Public Health number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#161

Social Sciences and Public Health percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#105

Social Sciences and Public Health international collaboration - relative to country

#54

Social Sciences and Public Health international collaboration

#502

Social Sciences and Public Health number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#151

Social Sciences and Public Health percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#121

#30
in Space Science

Space Science overall score

73.3

Space Science global research reputation

#37

Space Science regional research reputation

#25

Space Science publications

#76

Space Science normalized citation impact

#22

Space Science total citations

#43

Space Science number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#50

Space Science percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#11

Space Science international collaboration - relative to country

#35

Space Science international collaboration

#189

Space Science number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#41

Space Science percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#32

#78
in Water Resources

Water Resources overall score

46.9

Water Resources regional research reputation

Water Resources publications

#135

Water Resources conferences

#84

Water Resources normalized citation impact

#56

Water Resources total citations

#112

Water Resources number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

#82

Water Resources percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

#27

Water Resources international collaboration - relative to country

Water Resources international collaboration

#32

Water Resources number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#70

Water Resources percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited

#50

Featured Advice

U.S. Students: Weigh a Degree Abroad

Map: Top 50 Best Global Universities

How to Impress Global Universities

4 Popular European MBA Programs

University of California Santa Barbara

Summary

More from This School

Rankings

Global Universities Rankings

Subject Rankings

2022-2023 Indicator Rankings

Global Universities

Arts and Humanities

Biology and Biochemistry

Chemistry

Computer Science

Condensed Matter Physics

Economics and Business

Education and Educational Research

Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Engineering

Environment/Ecology

Geosciences

Materials Science

Mathematics

Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Neuroscience and Behavior

Optics

Physical Chemistry

Physics

Plant and Animal Science

Polymer Science

Psychiatry/Psychology

Social Sciences and Public Health

Space Science

Water Resources

More from This School

Featured Advice