The College of Letters and Science is the largest center of teaching, research and learning at UC Santa Barbara. Within the context of a major research University, the College provides a comprehensive liberal arts education to some 17,000 undergraduates and also has some 1800 students enrolled in Masters’s degree or Ph.D. programs. Because teaching and research go hand in hand at UC Santa Barbara, our students are full participants in an educational journey of discovery that stimulates independent thought, critical reasoning, and creativity. Our academic community of faculty, students, and staff is characterized by a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration that is responsive to the needs of our multicultural and global society. Our commitment to public service is manifested through the creation and distribution of knowledge that advances the well-being of our state, nation, and world.

Offering instruction and professional training in more than forty fields of scholarship, the campus is the site of numerous laboratories, centers, institutes, an art museum, and libraries containing 2.5 million volumes in specialized and wide-ranging collections, including the Tibetan Studies Room. Throughout the year the campus is the scene of cultural programs including concerts, films, art exhibits, and dance and theater events.