Student Experience
UC Santa Cruz debuts on CodeSignal’s University Report
A new ranking demonstrates Banana Slugs’ software engineering career readiness
A new ranking shows UC Santa Cruz students are among the top coders in the country.
The campus made its debut on CodeSignal’s 2026 University Report, a data-driven ranking of universities based on the demonstrated programming and software engineering skills of their graduates.
Built on tens of thousands of verified, proctored coding assessments, the ranking shows that UC Santa Cruz is among the top 50 universities in the nation producing graduates with the skills today’s top employers are hiring for. Among public universities, UC Santa Cruz lands in the top 30.
“Our graduates are entering the workforce with the ability to translate strong technical skills into real-world contexts,” said Jim Whitehead, Associate Dean for the Undergraduate Experience at the Baskin School of Engineering. “As AI transforms the software engineering landscape, proven career readiness is more crucial than ever.”
CodeSignal is a leading technical interview and assessment platform, analyzing job applicants’ coding and programming skills. It’s used by top-tier tech companies like Meta, Netflix, and Dropbox when hiring entry-level engineers.
UC Santa Cruz’s proximity to Silicon Valley enables students to combine their proven coding skills with access to the heart of the tech industry.
UC Santa Cruz joins UC Berkeley, UC Los Angeles, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, and UC Irvine on the list.