 home
to the
banana slug
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UC Santa Cruz is
Located 80 miles
south of San
Francisco at the edge
of the coastal
community of Santa
Cruz
The campus lies on
2,001 acres of
rolling, forested hills
overlooking the
Pacific ocean and
Monterey Bay.
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UC Santa Cruz was Founded in 1965 by Dean
McHenry
Although some of the original founders had
already outlined plans for an institution like
UCSC as early as the 1930s, the opportunity
to realize their vision did not present itself
until the City of Santa Cruz made a bid to the
University of California Regents in the mid1950s to build a campus just outside town, in
the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
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UCSC offers undergraduate majors in the
Divisions of Art, Humanities, Physical and
Biological Sciences, and Social Sciences, and
the Jack Baskin School of Engineering. In
addition, many of our majors are
interdisciplinary and draw from the strengths
of our faculty and researchers in multiple
areas.
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Gus Hansen- Pro poker player, was an exchange student at UCSC in 1993
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David Lowery- Singer of Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven, Graduated from
UCSC in 1984
Paul Magid, Howard Patterson-Founders of The Flying Karamazov Brothers,
attended and met at
UCSC in 1972
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Camryn Manheim-Actress, graduated from UCSC in 1984
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Huey P. Newton- Activist, attended UCSC in 1974
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Bradley Nowell -Singer of the band Sublime, attended UCSC from 1986 to 1988
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Dana Priest- Pulitzer Prize winning writer, graduated from UCSC in 1981
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Rebecca Romijn- Model
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Maya Rudolph- Comedian on Saturday Night Live, graduated from UCSC in 1995
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Michael Shipley- TV Writer/Producer "Family Guy" & "My Name Is Earl"
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UCSC's mascot is the
banana slug. In 1981,
when the university
began participating in
NCAA intercollegiate
sports, the thenchancellor and some
student athletes declared
the mascot to be the "sea
lions." Most students
disliked the new mascot
and offered an
alternative mascot, the
banana slug
The banana slug
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According to a 2002
study of first year
students, most students
come from affluent
backgrounds and are
more likely to identify as
liberal than the national
average. The median
household income UCSC
students reported for
their families of origin
was $80,600, roughly
87.5% above the national
average in 2002.
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Dorm at UCSC
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The "Banana
Slugs" of UC
Santa Cruz are
represented by
the colors blue
and gold.
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Currently, there are three ways to qualify for admission to the
University of California. First, students can "qualify in the
statewide context." Second, students ranking in the top 4 percent
of their class in participating high schools in California may gain
admission through what is called "qualifying in the local context."
Finally, students with very high test scores may qualify by their
examination scores alone.
Students must achieve a minimum GPA of 3.00 for California
residents or 3.40 for non-California residents in the UC collegepreparatory courses known as the "a-g" courses. In addition, all
students must complete required standardized tests.
More specifically, you need:
a. History/Social Science, two years
b. English, four years
c. Mathematics, three years (four years recommended)
d. Laboratory Science, two years (three years recommended)
e. Language Other than English, two years in one language other
than English (three years recommended)
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The campus alone is breathtaking. Being on campus is
equivalent to taking a nature walk. There are paths and
shortcuts all around, leading deep into the forests of Santa
Cruz. Those poor students stuck with 8am lectures get to
see the deer, raccoons, and other small animals on a daily
basis. Yes, the campus is simply amazing--it is hilly and
wonderful, and the air alone smells so fresh and crisp!
The professors vary, as they are human beings with flaws
(who would have thought, right?). I have had some
mediocre ones & I've had some fantastic ones! My favorite
professor, Bruce Thompson (History Dept.) is one of the
sweetest and most captivating lecturers I have ever had
the pleasure of meeting.
-Nina M UCSC student
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The Office of Physical Education, Recreation,
and Sports at UC Santa Cruz provides
students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the Santa
Cruz community the opportunity to become
actively involved in an organized sports and
recreation program. Services provided by
OPERS include Intramural Sports, Sport Clubs,
Athletics, Recreation, Drop-In Recreation and
Physical Education classes.
They have soccer, softball, baseball, basket
ball, and Crockae.
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The use of theater productions in languages other than in
English has been a long tradition at UCSC. Almost every
year since that time, students of French have performed
fully staged productions in the language for campus and
community audiences.
In 2001, several lecturers in other languages joined Dr.
Ellis in creating the INTERNATIONAL PLAYHOUSE, with the
first year's program consisting of pieces in Chinese,
French, German, Italian, and Japanese. In 2002 students
performed in Chinese, French, German, Japanese and
Spanish; in 2003, Chinese, French, Latin, and Spanish were
represented. The following year saw Chinese, French,
Italian, Japanese, and Spanish and 2005 offered a program
that included Chinese, French, Japanese, Russian, and
Spanish. In 2007, a unique program of pieces in five
languages was presented to the public.
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In a culture where the
dominant form of
communication is logical and
verbal, art explores the power
of visual imagery for personal
and public communication.
The Art Department provides
students with the means to
pursue this imagery with a
foundation in visual studies.
This foundation is necessary
for students to develop
practical and theoretical
knowledge about a broad
range of visual activity, both
past and present; students are
offered courses that expose
them to the complex
relationship between theory
and practice
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Only students interested in working toward the Ph.D.
in Education will be admitted to the program. The
minimum grade-point average (GPA) established by
the University of California for admission to graduate
school is 3.0. In general, the Ph.D. in Education
program looks for potential excellence in graduate
students, whether this manifests itself in a high
grade-point average, strong letters of
recommendation, or a high Graduate Record
Examination (GRE) scores, or a strong statement of
purpose. Applicants will be evaluated on their
individual merits and also with regard to how well
their proposed doctoral projects can be supported by
the existing resources of the program.
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explore the links to the left, and learn about
the many opportunities for curricular and cocurricular engagement at UCSC, meet some of
our extraordinary faculty, and read about the
success stories of our students and alumni.
Please note that this list includes all
undergraduate majors, but some items, such
as Prelaw, Pre-medicine, and Education, are
areas of study that may be covered by a
number of different majors.
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If this is the first time you have accepted federal
student loans at UC Santa Cruz, there are three
important requirements you must complete
before you will receive funds:
Complete the on-line loan promissory note(s) this is your promise to repay the loan.
Complete on-line pre-loan entrance counseling;
this is an opportunity to learn about the terms
and conditions of the loan(s) as well as about
your rights and responsibilities as a borrower.
Check to be sure you have an "active" permanent
address in MyUCSC.
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Common Data Set (CDS) is a collaborative
effort between universities and publishers.
Data provided is used as a standard set to
help publishers compare campuses.
Student Characteristics include a broad set of
descriptive statistical information relating to
demographic characteristics of students on
the campus. Reports are provided for the fall
term, the previous academic year, and longer
historical views.