University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located on Monterey Bay, on the edge of the coastal community of Santa Cruz, the campus lies on 2,001 acres (810 ha) of rolling, forested hills overlooking the Pacific Ocean. As of Fall 2022, its ten residential colleges enroll some 17,500 undergraduate and 2,000 graduate students.
| Motto | Fiat lux (Latin) |
|---|---|
Motto in English | "Let there be light" |
| Type | Public land-grant research university |
| Established | 1965 |
Parent institution | University of California |
| Accreditation | WSCUC |
Academic affiliations | |
| Endowment | $294 million (2021) |
| Chancellor | Cynthia Larive |
| Provost | Lori Kletzer |
| Students | 19,161 (fall 2020) |
| Undergraduates | 17,207 (fall 2020) |
| Postgraduates | 1,954 (fall 2020) |
| Location | , , United States 37.00°N 122.06°W |
| Campus | Small city, 6,088 acres (2,464 ha) |
| Other campuses | |
| Newspaper | City on a Hill Press |
| Colors | Blue and gold |
| Nickname | Banana Slugs |
Sporting affiliations | |
| Mascot | Sammy the Slug |
| Website | www |
Founded in 1965, UC Santa Cruz began with the intention to showcase progressive, cross-disciplinary undergraduate education, innovative teaching methods and contemporary architecture. The residential college system consists of ten small colleges that were established as a variation of the Oxbridge collegiate university system.
Among the faculty are Nobel Prize laureates, Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences recipients, 12 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 28 members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and 40 members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Nine UC Santa Cruz alumni are Pulitzer Prize winners, with a total of 11 Pulitzers awarded. UC Santa Cruz is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". The university is also a member of the Association of American Universities.