University of California, Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz at a Glance
Reviewed by James A. Barham, PhD, Vice President and Academic Editor. Influence ranks come from our InfluenceRanking™ methodology; other figures come from federal data, with the year shown under each section. Report an error
University of California, Santa Cruz Featured Rankings
About University of California, Santa Cruz
According to Wikipedia, The University of California, Santa Cruz 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 of rolling, forested hills overlooking the Pacific Ocean. In Fall 2022, its ten residential colleges enroll some 17,500 undergraduate and 2,000 graduate students.
University of California, Santa Cruz Admissions, Retention, and Graduation Information
| Annual Applications | Acceptance | Retention Rate | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 68,845 | 66% | 88% | 74% |
Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); acceptance rate for fall 2024; test scores for fall 2024; applications and enrollment for fall 2023; retention for students who started in fall 2023; graduation rate within six years for students who started in 2019.
How Much Does University of California, Santa Cruz Cost To Attend?
| Tuition and fees (in-state) |
|---|
| $16,585 |
| Income | Average Net Cost |
|---|---|
| 0 - 30K | $9,973 |
| 30K - 48K | $10,713 |
| 48K - 75K | $13,446 |
| 75K - 110K | $18,220 |
| 110K+ | $35,350 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); tuition and fees for 2025–26; net price for 2024–25, for first-time, full-time students receiving financial aid.
How Much Do University of California, Santa Cruz Graduates Make?
Ten years after starting college, former University of California, Santa Cruz students who received federal financial aid earn a median of $73,362 a year, and 92% of those not still in school are working.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard; students who started college in 2011–12 or 2012–13, measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars.
University of California, Santa Cruz's Demographics
Students enrolled at any time during the 2023–24 school year, including part-time and online students.
| Student Body | Under-Grads | Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| 21,313 | 19,258 | 2,055 |
Source: National Center for Education Statistics; 12-month enrollment for 2023–24.
Where is University of California, Santa Cruz?
University of California, Santa Cruz is located at 1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA 95064-1011.
How Safe is University of California, Santa Cruz?
Like every college that receives federal student aid, University of California, Santa Cruz publishes an annual security report with its campus crime statistics and safety policies. Its figures can also be looked up in the U.S. Department of Education’s Campus Safety and Security database.
Relative to its enrollment, University of California, Santa Cruz has a violent crime rate of 0.26% and a property crime rate of 0.13%. Santa Cruz has a violent crime rate of 0.62% and a property (including theft) crime rate of 2.61%. Sources: campus: U.S. Department of Education Campus Safety and Security data, on-campus offenses in 2024 (violent: murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property: burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson, which excludes ordinary theft); city: FBI Crime Data Explorer, offenses reported to the city police in 2024.
What Is University of California, Santa Cruz Known For?
University of California, Santa Cruz is known for its academic work in the following disciplines:
- Sociology
- Anthropology
- Physics
- Computer Science
- Biology
- Psychology
- Philosophy
- Communications
- Mathematics
- Economics
- Literature
- Earth Sciences
- Political Science
- History
- Chemistry
- Education
- Engineering
- Religious Studies
- Business
- Law
- Medical
University of California, Santa Cruz's Top Areas of Influence With Degrees Offered
Each rank compares how much University of California, Santa Cruz's faculty and alumni have shaped a field with other schools, using Wikipedia, Wikidata and scholarly citation databases such as Crossref and Semantic Scholar. World and U.S. ranks reflect modern influence; the historical rank counts influence across all time. How we rank influence
University of California, Santa Cruz ranks #19 in the U.S. and #57 worldwide for influence in Sociology.
sociology DegreesUniversity of California, Santa Cruz ranks #25 in the U.S. and #60 worldwide for influence in Anthropology.
anthropology DegreesUniversity of California, Santa Cruz ranks #30 in the U.S. and #105 worldwide for influence in Physics.
physics DegreesUniversity of California, Santa Cruz ranks #36 in the U.S. and #92 worldwide for influence in Computer Science.
computer-science DegreesUniversity of California, Santa Cruz ranks #42 in the U.S. and #126 worldwide for influence in Biology.
biology DegreesUniversity of California, Santa Cruz ranks #43 in the U.S. and #75 worldwide for influence in Psychology.
psychology DegreesUniversity of California, Santa Cruz ranks #56 in the U.S. and #177 worldwide for influence in Philosophy.
philosophy DegreesUniversity of California, Santa Cruz ranks #57 in the U.S. and #188 worldwide for influence in Communications.
communications DegreesUniversity of California, Santa Cruz ranks #57 in the U.S. and #229 worldwide for influence in Mathematics.
math DegreesUniversity of California, Santa Cruz ranks #76 in the U.S. and #283 worldwide for influence in Economics.
economics DegreesUniversity of California, Santa Cruz ranks #77 in the U.S. and #201 worldwide for influence in Literature.
literature DegreesUniversity of California, Santa Cruz ranks #78 in the U.S. and #295 worldwide for influence in Earth Sciences.
earth-science DegreesUniversity of California, Santa Cruz ranks #81 in the U.S. and #277 worldwide for influence in Political Science.
political-science DegreesUniversity of California, Santa Cruz ranks #82 in the U.S. and #203 worldwide for influence in History.
history DegreesUniversity of California, Santa Cruz ranks #84 in the U.S. and #352 worldwide for influence in Chemistry.
chemistry DegreesUniversity of California, Santa Cruz ranks #118 in the U.S. and #413 worldwide for influence in Education.
education DegreesUniversity of California, Santa Cruz ranks #119 in the U.S. and #503 worldwide for influence in Engineering.
engineering DegreesUniversity of California, Santa Cruz ranks #134 in the U.S. and #581 worldwide for influence in Religious Studies.
religious-studies-hub DegreesUniversity of California, Santa Cruz ranks #167 in the U.S. and #521 worldwide for influence in Business.
business DegreesUniversity of California, Santa Cruz ranks #182 in the U.S. and #555 worldwide for influence in Law.
University of California, Santa Cruz ranks #186 in the U.S. and #623 worldwide for influence in Medical.
medicine DegreesWho Are University of California, Santa Cruz's Most Influential Alumni?
University of California, Santa Cruz's most influential alumni include professors and professionals in the fields of Sociology, Anthropology, and Psychology. Here are some of University of California, Santa Cruz's most famous alumni:
- Richard Bandler
- An American author and trainer in the field of self-help.
- Huey P. Newton
- A Co-founder of the Black Panther Party .
- John Grinder
- An American linguist, developer of neuro-linguistic programming.
- Jesse Prinz
- An American philosopher.
- Victor Davis Hanson
- An American classicist and military historian .
- Barry Eichengreen
- An American economist.
- Ezra Klein
- An American journalist.
- Joseph Tainter
- An American anthropologist.
- Tim D. White
- An American paleoanthropologist.
- Kristen Ghodsee
- An American ethnographer and professor.
- Julie Thompson Klein
- A .
- Mark D. Shriver
- An American geneticist.
Who Are University of California, Santa Cruz's Most Influential Faculty?
University of California, Santa Cruz's most influential faculty include professors in the fields of Sociology, Anthropology, and Psychology. Here are some of University of California, Santa Cruz's most famous faculty:
- David H. D. Warren
- An Artificial intelligence researcher.
- Sabine Hossenfelder
- A German theoretical physicist, (1976 - ), Frankfurt, Germany.
- Susanna Hecht
- An American geographer.
- Marc Miyake
- An American linguist.
- Vi Hart
- An American recreational mathematician.
- Sau Lan Wu
- An American physicist.
- Anthony Aguirre
- An American cosmologist.
- Vladimir Berkovich
- An Israeli mathematician.
- Jesse Thorn
- An American radio personality.
- Beth Shapiro
- An American biologist.
- James Z. Wang
- An American computer scientist.
- Noah Wardrip-Fruin
- An American media scholar.
