Academic Divisions
The academic divisions at UC Santa Cruz emphasize interdisciplinary inquiry and experiential learning. Investments in divisional priorities are key to maintaining and growing UC Santa Cruz’s commitment to academic excellence and to work that is as disruptive as it is extraordinary.
Arts Division
The Arts Division at UC Santa Cruz unites world-class research and creative practice to transform lives and challenge how we see the world. Artists, innovators, and changemakers collaborate here to address society’s most pressing needs—expanding representation, preserving untold stories, and shaping the future through artistic excellence.
Your support for the Arts Division fuels creators leading at the intersection of artistic innovation and social justice—making real change that transforms our world.
Baskin Engineering
The Baskin School of Engineering inspires engineers to elevate the world through bold and socially responsible innovation. Founded in 1997, Baskin Engineering is uniquely positioned to tackle modern challenges—advancing rare disease diagnosis, creating genomics tools used worldwide, and engineering sustainable climate solutions.
Your support for Baskin Engineering fuels this extraordinary community of innovators building a better future through world-class research that protects our environment and creates technology that serves society.
Humanities Division
The Humanities Division at UC Santa Cruz explores fundamental questions about what it means to be human—guiding scholarship that shapes humanity’s most valued beliefs about ourselves and our world. The Humanities incubate innovative research and cultivate critical thinkers who grapple with complexity while preparing the next generation of leaders.
Your support for the Humanities Division builds a future based on equity and social justice—ensuring all students access high-impact practices that amplify learning and problem-solving skills.
Science Division
The Science Division at UC Santa Cruz is a global engine of high-impact science, empowering students to change the world through discovery and innovation. Our interdisciplinary framework spans from atoms to distant galaxies—from abstract number theory to new chemical compounds, evolution to plate tectonics—as faculty and students collaborate to explore, discover, and improve our world.
Your support for the Science Division creates the next generation of scientists and innovators, continuing UC Santa Cruz’s tradition of leading at the intersection of discovery and social impact.
Social Sciences Division
Ranked 1st in the nation among public universities for research productivity, the Social Sciences Division at UC Santa Cruz tackles complex issues from racism and economic inequity to environmental degradation as global society transforms. Students experience rigorous education preparing them for productive careers, while faculty conduct leading-edge research in collaborative clusters linking departments and research centers.
Your support for the Social Sciences Division creates real change through scholarship in the public interest.
University Library
The UC Santa Cruz University Library provides Banana Slugs with spaces for quiet study and collaborative innovation in two locations—McHenry Library and the Science and Engineering Library. Beyond traditional collections, the Library offers digital archives, cutting-edge maker spaces with 3D printers and laser cutters, scenic forest reading porches, a video game lab, and more.
Your support of the Library fuels transformative programs in digital scholarship and emerging technologies—ensuring students develop skills to explore, discover, and create real change.
Graduate Division
The Graduate Division at UC Santa Cruz offers 66 graduate programs across 41 academic fields, where students flourish in leading-edge research environments with close faculty mentorship and interdisciplinary collaboration. We foster lively intellectual exchange where people from different walks of life come together to explore, discover, and contribute new knowledge in overlapping realms of personal and professional growth.
Your support of the Graduate Division empowers the next generation of scholars leading careers of meaning, purpose, and impact that transform our world.