The University of California Santa Barbara, is an American public university belonging to the University of California campus system.

The campus is located near Santa Barbara, 160 km northwest of Los Angeles. It was founded as a college by independent teachers. In 1944, it merged with the University of California to become the fourth oldest campus in the system.

Current UCSB faculty includes 6 Nobel Prize laureates, 1 Fields Medalist, 39 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 27 members of the National Academy of Engineering, and 34 members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The faculty also includes two Academy and Emmy Award winners and recipients of a Millennium Technology Prize, an IEEE Medal of Honor, a National Medal of Technology and Innovation and a Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.

UCSB is located on cliffs directly above the Pacific Ocean. UCSB's campus is completely autonomous from local government and has not been annexed by the city of Santa Barbara, and thus is not part of the city. UCSB is known for its extensive biking system.

A recent survey says that 53% of UCSB students get around by cycling. Bicycles have exclusive right of way on a series of specifically designated paths throughout East Campus. Bicycle stands and lockers are ubiquitous.

There is a bicycle registration service at the Community Service Organization office in order to prevent theft and increase the likelihood of bike recovery. UCSB is unique among bicycle-heavy areas in that most travel is done within a small radius.

According to the UCSB Office of Research, UC Santa Barbara budgeted $235.3 million on research and development in fiscal 2020, with the National Science Foundation contributing $60.5 million; Department of Defense-$40 million; UC General Fund-$28 million; Industry- $19.5 million; National Institutes of Health-$17 million; Department of Energy-$9 million; Non-Profit-$8.7 million; Other-$20 million.

Corporate research partners in the College of Engineering include military contractors Raytheon Vision Systems, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. The mascot of UCSB is the Gaucho and the school colors are blue and gold.

UCSB's sports teams compete in the Big West Conference, with the exception of the men's water polo, men's and women's swimming, and the men's volleyball teams, which are in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.