Recent grad Vann Jones looks forward to showcasing the wide range of experiences transgender people have and hopefully bring more understanding.

In her lifetime, recent grad Allison Nguyen hopes everyone feels like they belong in academia, is supported, and has the chance to reach their dreams and goals.

Graduating senior Miguel Tamayo plans to work with rockets, and he hopes to make space more accessible to everyone in the world.

UC Santa Cruz scientists, along with a consortium of researchers, released a draft of the first human pangenome, which better represents human genetic diversity—and ultimately could help diagnose disease and guide treatments.

The designation marks more than 50 years of industry-leading research in organic agriculture and sustainable farming practices.

The STEM Diversity Research Programs at UC Santa Cruz support students from underrepresented and underserved backgrounds by preparing them to pursue and attain higher degrees in STEM.

Crown College is dedicated to promoting intellectual, personal, and social success within an ethical and inclusive living and learning environment.

Congratulations, Class of 2022! Check out the 2022 Slug Crossings highlight reel. It's pure joy!

We are so proud of you! Go out and change the world, Slugs!

Graduating Slugs will cross the stage for commencement June 9–12, and we can't wait to celebrate this milestone with them and their families!

With the naming of College Ten as John R. Lewis College, we affirm our deep commitment to helping students become agents for justice, equity, inclusivity, and social change, and embrace the spirit of activism shared by our campus and the late Rep. Lewis.

The first truly complete sequence of a human genome has just been published in Science and is now accessible through the UCSC Genome Browser.

Celebrating Alumni Voices with both virtual and in-person events—a mixtape of our favorite hits we've made just for you! April 19–24.

UC Santa Cruz was founded on the vision of creating transformative change. With clear-eyed focus, we affirm what we stand for now and always have—giving voice to people through research and education.

As 2021 came to a close, Chancellor Larive was thinking about the many accomplishments of the UC Santa Cruz community over the past 12 months—and also making some New Year's resolutions with her friend Sammy.

UC Santa Cruz announced in October that College Ten—an undergraduate residential learning community founded on principles of social justice and community—will be named in honor of the late congressman and civil rights icon John R. Lewis.

Welcome back, Banana Slugs! We are so excited to have you all back on campus. Here's to a great fall quarter!

Merrill College's central values are to stimulate respect for all world cultures, in general, and for the cultural heritage of each Merrill student in particular. The social atmosphere at Merrill—situated in a beautiful, compact pocket of redwood trees—is friendly, focused, engaged, and accepting.

Santa Cruz City Councilmember Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson and student Claire Donovan-Suguitan talk about the positive impacts UC Santa Cruz students have in the Santa Cruz community.

Founded in 1966 on a hill overlooking Monterey Bay, Stevenson is one of the first colleges at UC Santa Cruz. Its theme, "Self and Society," emphasizes the goals of both self-understanding and active participation in one‘s community.

Founded in 1965, Cowell was the first residential college at UCSC. Cowell has focused not on a theme or a specific set of disciplines, but on a motto: The Pursuit of Truth in the Company of Friends.

Since its creation in 1972, Rachel Carson College (founded as College Eight) has been a crucial component of UC Santa Cruz's world renowned environmental, ecological, and sustainability programs and initiatives.

Take a walk through College Ten—one of UC Santa Cruz's 10 residential colleges. Consistent with UCSC's founding vision, College Ten creates an integrated living-and-learning environment through engaging academic and extracurricular programs focusing on the theme of Social Justice and Community.

Take a walk through College Nine—one of UC Santa Cruz's 10 residential colleges. Opened in 2000, College Nine's theme of international and global perspectives recognizes the importance of cultural competency in the 21st century. The College Nine community offers students opportunities to explore these issues and to develop skills as dynamic leaders.

Take a walk through Porter College -- one of UC Santa Cruz's 10 residential colleges on campus. Porter College was founded in 1969 and is especially dedicated to achievement in the arts, believing that creative inquiry is an essential part of a rigorous and broad-minded education, a flourishing society, and a happy life.

Take a walk through Oakes College, first in our "This Is The Colleges" series—weekly one-minute montages of each of UC Santa Cruz's 10 colleges. Oakes, founded in 1972 with the theme "Communicating Diversity for a Just Society," prepares students to become active citizens and future leaders.

New research shows that energy spent avoiding humans is linked to smaller home ranges for male pumas—a worrisome shift that could affect population health.

A generous gift from community members Bud and Rebecca Colligan has provided crucial funding to expand UC Santa Cruz's COVID-19 testing capacity and construct new, dedicated lab space at the Westside Research Park.

UCSC Molecular Diagnostic Lab honored for their contributions to the community for quickly setting up a COVID-19 testing lab.

The health and wellbeing of our Banana Slug community comes first, and requires us all to do our part. Everyone in our community should be adopting Slug Strong habits that help to prevent COVID-19 from spreading.

Christopher Villalpando Estrada talks about building a wireless sensor network to measure the flow of water.

UC Santa Cruz Minute is a weekly video series connecting you to campus wherever you are.

Your friends and family have some special messages for you as you graduate and embark upon the world.

A computational approach inspired by growth patterns of a slime mold enables a team of astronomers and computer scientists to trace the filaments of the cosmic web.

Children's museums can be a challenging environment for parents who feel the urge to explain the science behind all the novel activities that dazzle youngsters.

Learn how the renovated space will enhance different types of study, student support, and collaboration.

Journey through the cosmic history of the universe and learn how supernovas forged the elements of life to create everything from the air you breathe to the very atoms that make you.

You've got 31 days to build a robot that can navigate the field, get to the other side, turn around, locate its opponent and shoot ping pong balls. Easy right? Welcome to UC Santa Cruz's Mechatronic's class.

UC Santa Cruz researchers are making robots socially assistive and helping people with accessibility needs.

Located on the UC Santa Cruz Coastal Science Campus, the natural reserve’s 25-acre lagoon provides unparalleled opportunities for students to learn about the environment.

New reseach shows that many people with autism express a deep longing for social connection.

The 400-acre UC Santa Cruz Campus Natural Reserve offers students the opportunity to walk outside their classrooms and study nature in nature.

UC Santa Cruz commencement weekend was a time for graduates to honor those who helped them along the way—the mentors, friends, colleagues, extended family, parents, and children who cheered them on and guided their path.

Young people from Watsonville are learning the basics of broadcasting and publishing their own podcasts thanks to a unique partnership between UC Santa Cruz's Research Center for the Americas, KZSC, and Digital NEST.

Sandra Faber, who received the National Medal of Science in 2013, is renowned for her contributions to the understanding of dark matter, galaxy formation, and the large-scale structure of the universe.

Researchers at UC Santa Cruz have developed a speech therapy game for children with cleft lip or cleft palate and are now partnering with the international charity Smile Train to make the game, called SpokeIt, a resource for affected children worldwide.

The biggest galaxy data release of its kind from Sloan Digital Sky Survey includes galaxy maps, new data access and visualization tools, and a huge 'stellar library.'

The UC Santa Cruz Natural Reserve System supports long-term research and teaching on protected lands. We manage over 10,000 acres of natural lands at five natural reserves: Año Nuevo, Campus, Fort Ord, Landels-Hill Big Creek, and Younger Lagoon.

A new report by Chris Benner at UC Santa Cruz and Manuel Pastor at USC, "From Resistance to Renewal: A 12-Step Program for Innovation and Inclusion in the California Economy," highlights how to reboot California's economy

In this Year of Alumni, please enjoy this holiday video celebrating our incredible Banana Slug family.

Baskin School of Engineering student Aitanna Rene Parker (Technology and Information Management) talks about her plans to use her degree to help further accessibility online.

Baskin School of Engineering student Aitanna Rene Parker (Technology and Information Management) talks about her plans to use her degree to help further accessibility online.

An aerial tour of the UC Santa Cruz campus! Video by: Shubham Modi (Porter '19, Film and Digital Media)

UC Santa Cruz philosophy lecturer Kyle Robertson taught inmates at San Quentin State Prison a course in Ethics Bowl.The courses culminated in a very unusual debate between seven philosophy students from UC Santa Cruz and a team of prison inmates from San Quentin. Watch what happened.

Just 30 minutes from UC Santa Cruz, the natural reserve provides world-renowned scientists and aspiring scholars rare marine mammal research opportunities.

Just 30 minutes from UC Santa Cruz, the natural reserve provides world-renowned scientists and aspiring scholars rare marine mammal research opportunities.

Future Garden for the Central Coast of California is a site-specific environmental art installation by UCSC emeritus arts research professors Newton Harrison and his late wife Helen Mayer Harrison--at the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum and Botanic Garden. Learn what the exhibit is about.

Stream restoration efforts along the coast of Central California are unevenly distributed, with activity more likely to occur in areas that are more highly populated and dominated by residents that are "whiter, wealthier, and more educated."

Gary Griggs, a distinguished professor of Earth and planetary sciences, received the Global Oceans Hero award honoring his lifetime of achievement.

Happy holidays! Enjoy this holiday video from UC Santa Cruz—and help us keep planting the seeds of hope all year long.

We raised more than $335 million during the campaign. From classrooms in the wild to connecting the arts and sciences, 63,064 donors came together to change the future of UC Santa Cruz.

Lick Observatory hosts La Noche de las Estrellas, a night of astronomy for Latino students and parents marking the observatory's first Spanish language event.

The UC Santa Cruz Farm and Garden celebrates its 50th anniversary of shaping the organic food movement through teaching, research and policy innovation.

The Treehouse Childhood Cancer Initiative aims to be a game-changer in pediatric cancer. Read our full special report on UC Santa Cruz's cancer research.

May you delight in the gifts of the holiday season and treasure the experience of both giving and receiving. Happy holidays from UC Santa Cruz!

College Eight at UC Santa Cruz was born embracing environmentalism. Now it has a name befitting that passion: Rachel Carson College.

When UC Santa Cruz students graduate, they join a powerful network of more than 100,000 alumni and become a Banana Slug for life.

Jim McCloskey and Pranav Anand, both professors of linguistics at UC Santa Cruz, discuss the engineering problems presented by linguistic theory.

Professor of marine ecology discusses his research to better understand the structure and dynamics of communities of nearshore marine organisms and their ecosystems.

Student Layla Cervantes is defying the statistics and becoming “a great scientist,” in the words of her proud mentor.

May the holidays and New Year shine bright for everyone in the Banana Slug family.

The Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce celebrates the unique connection between the city and UC Santa Cruz with the 2015 Organization of the Year award.

To celebrate 50 years since the founding of UC Santa Cruz, pioneer faculty and staff look back on the early years of the campus.

Science Communication Program alumnus Nsikan Akpan investigates how thousands of sea turtle species are threatened by global warming in the PBS series, The Wild Side of Sea Level Rise.

Food activist and journalist Mark Bittman had glowing words for the UC Santa Cruz Farm & Garden in this New York Times video.

This video simulation of a big tsunami spreading through San Francisco Bay by professor Steven Ward was featured in KQED's Bay Curious series.

Ocean scientist Raphael Kudela describes an extensive bloom of toxic algae along the West Coast that first appeared in early May 2015.

As the Grateful Dead's final farewell tour came to an end, UC Santa Cruz archivist Nicholas Meriwether discussed the band’s commercial legacy with Bloomberg.

Scholars and their supporters gathered for a very special edition of UC Santa Cruz commencement, falling on the year of the campus's 50th anniversary.

Phil Berman, professor of biomolecular engineering, outlines research at UC Santa Cruz to develop a vaccine for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Alumni reconnecting, networking and reliving memories at this magical place. See you next year!

Help us return the Quarry to a vibrant hub of campus life and create a performance center for the future.

UC Santa Cruz's Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz shares his theory about where gold comes from in the universe. It may have to do with the explosions of supernovae.

Fifty years ago–in 1965–UC Santa Cruz began as "the most significant educational experiment in the history of the University of California."

Director Jim Kent explains how the web-based "genome microscope" allows researchers to explore genome sequences and make cross-species comparisons.

UC Santa Cruz turns 50 in 2015. Join us as we celebrate these amazing 50 years. Let's get the party started--turn it up.

The Long Family and the Joseph and Vera Long Foundation receive the 2014 Fiat Lux Award for their volunteer leadership and generosity to UC Santa Cruz.

Elisabeth Remak-Honnef explains Daniel Essig's 2009 piece called Bower Bird, a bird-shaped structure with miniature books and miniature scrolls.

Toni Morrison receives the 2014 UC Santa Cruz Foundation Medal for her extraordinary vision, literary achievement, and commitment to social justice.

High-tech collars enable scientists to record the energetics of mountain lion behavior, showing why cats use 'stalk and pounce.'

Professor Josh Stuart discusses groundbreaking pan-cancer research at the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute.

The Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems brings locally and sustainably grown food to campus diners.

The Genome 10K project intends to assemble a "Noah's Ark" of genomic data to save dying species.

Graduate students share their fascinating research in the form of poster, oral, live or multimedia presentations.

Congratulations to all of our 2014 graduates! Here is Shon Bollock's unique view of last year's Kresge commencement ceremony.

A commerative slideshow to celebrate 50 years of innovative and original thinking at UC Santa Cruz.

'Likes,' laughs and memories await the returning Banana Slugs during Alumni Weekend 2014.

Pete Raimondi talks about the effort to track the extent and cause of Sea Star Wasting Syndrome and its impacts on sea star populations.

Simulation shows what happens during the destruction of a star as it falls into a black hole.

This fund has been established to support undergraduate students in the Division of Social Sciences.

"My message today is that cancer is actually a digital disease," says UCSC's David Haussler in this TED-style talk.

TED-style talked by History Professor Alan Christy, a 2012 recipient of the Dizikes Faculty Teaching Award in Humanities.

Don and Diane Cooley, winners of the 2013 Fiat Lux award for their longstanding passion, commitment, and support to UC Santa Cruz.

Since its founding almost 50 years ago, UCSC has been an incubator for new ways of thinking, learning, and taking action in the world.

Great moments — beautiful instants, crystallized memories, learning, growth — don't just happen. You make it happen.

Hydrogeologist Andy Fisher leads an expedition to explore fluid flow and microbial habitats deep within the ocean crust.

Congratulations, you made it! All our best to the 4,665 UCSC students who officially joined the ranks of triumphant Banana Slugs.

UCSC alumna Cassandra Brooks' two month time-lapse video of the Nathaniel B. Palmer icebreaker traveling through the Ross Sea of Antarctica.

Sean Campbell (College Eight '14) and Casey Dayan (College Eight '14), blew away the crowd at UCSC's Got Talent with their song titled "Mother."

A history and tour of the Cowell Lime Works Historic District at UCSC.

The student-run Carbon Fund fights waste and encourages green practices across the UCSC campus.

A fascinating look into the process UCSC researchers use to track, capture and collar mountain lions.

The 10th Annual Scholarship Benefit Dinner celebrates a decade of community achievement and generosity.

A tribute to astronomer Sandra Faber, awarded a National Medal of Science winner by President Obama on February 1.

Marine biologist Terrie Williams talks about her research with marine mammals at Long Marine Lab in a KQED profile.

UCSC students and faculty talk about their experiences at Big Creek Natural Reserves.

Gordon and Betty Moore were recently awarded UCSC's Foundation Medal for their philanthropic leadership in support of science and the environment.

2012 Alumni Achievement Award winner for her groundbreaking research and writing on health care and policy, particularly affordable care.

David Haussler, Director of the Center for Biomolecular Science and Engineering, speaks about cancer research at Techonomy 2012.

"Today was the first time I've ever been that close to a dolphin" -Sierra Edelson, UCSC undergraduate

Onward California follows professor Terrie Williams as she provides students with the hands-on knowledge they need to make a difference.

UC's 'Onward California' follows professor Steve Vogt into the Lick Observatory where he conducts research to find earth-like planets.

Steve Vogt, Professor, Astronomy and Astrophysics, UC Santa Cruz, shares how he got his start in astronomy and gives a tour of the Lick Observatory.

UCSC professor Dan Costa had been awarded a National Science Foundation grant to study the winter foraging ecology of Weddell seals in Antarctica.

Across UC, remarkable people are reinventing the California Dream. The Onward California video series celebrates their visionary work.

Shakespeare Santa Cruz artistic director Marco Barricelli introduces the 2012 summer season and invites you to attend.

UCSC’s Summer Orientation was attended by 3,585 incoming first-year students and 1,113 transfer students, joined by an additional 3,700 family members.

UCSC's Natural History Field Quarter program celebrated its 40th anniversary in April with a very large group rendition of the Hokey Pokey.

Prom Week is a social simulation game developed by a team of students and faculty in the Center for Games and Playable Media.

UC Santa Cruz is playing a leading role in the emerging field of "precision" medicine that holds great promise in the fight against cancer.

Four alumni describe how their experiences at UC Santa Cruz helped them learn how to think and made them who they are today.

Isadora Caffe, a senior molecular, cell, and developmental biology major, and others describe how scholarships make a difference.

UC Santa Cruz - Arboretum

UC Santa Cruz is proud to provide hands-on, real world experience for undergraduate across a wide range of subject areas.

The endowment from Deborah Seymour helps support the educational experiences offered by the Seymour Marine Discovery Center.

Investments of the heart.

Artists and scientists collaborate to create new and innovative ways to present scientific research.

Your generous support for students leads to achievement, satisfaction, pride, and the knowledge that even a small amount can make a big difference. 

The astronomy and astrophysics professor has designed, built, and used high-precision spectrometers to find new worlds outside our solar system during his 33 years with UCSC.

2011 Alumni Achievement Award winner Julia Sweig (Porter ‘86, Latin American studies), is an authority on Latin America and U.S. foreign policy.

Discover the magic of UC Santa Cruz—from the majesty of its ocean views and redwood forests to the intellectual electricity that has fueled it since its start.

3,300 incoming first-year students, 890 transfer students, and a total of 7,300 students and family members, signed up for UCSC’s Summer Orientation events.

Andy Fisher discusses his work as chief scientist on a research expedition this summer to study the seafloor off the coast of Vancouver.

Take a look at 2011 commencement ceremonies from the perspective of a proud parent.

The 7th annual Graduate Research Symposium gave graduate student researchers a chance to present their achievements to faculty, staff, friends, and colleagues.

UCSC's annual "Day by the Bay" picnic drew 1,500 alumni, students, faculty, and community members to the Cowell College Courtyard for a sunny day of activities to enjoy.

Members of Class Council 2011 are asking graduating students to contribute $20.11 each. Their goal is to raise $10,000 for scholarships for the Class of 2012.

UCTV's "State of Minds" reports on UCSC's groundbreaking research in human evolution from analyzing DNA from Neanderthal bones.

Bullfighting droids face off in a student robotics competition for the final project in the Introduction to Mechatronics class.

Alumni Joseph DeRisi, Gary Heit, Teri Jackson, Daniel Roam, and Danielle Soto tell us how their lives were shaped by their experience at UCSC.

This winter, UCSC Theater Arts majors and performers had the opportunity to workshop with acclaimed playwright, director, and filmmaker Luis Valdez.

Environmental studies researcher Winifred F. Frick explains how scientists use weather radar to detect and follow birds, bats, and insects in the atmosphere.

The members UCSC's student tango troupe work hard at their studies, then relax with the sultry dance that originated in Argentina more than a century ago.

Jonathan Fortney, a member of the Kepler science team, talks about the discovery of a six-planet system orbiting a Sun-like star and how the Kepler mission is changing planetary science.

Theater arts professor Paul Whitworth will deliver the 45th annual UCSC Faculty Research Lecture, Thursday, Feb. 3, at 6 pm in the Mainstage Theater.

Various faculty and staff of UC Santa Cruz (current and retired) spent a moment to tell their stories on why they support the campus through giving back.

Professor Ed Green explains the discovery of a previously unknown group of human relatives.

Since 1964, the S. H. Cowell Foundation has made almost $4 million in gifts to UC Santa Cruz.

Award-winning journalist Richard Harris (Crown '80) was honored with the 2010 Alumni Achievement Award for his reporting on science issues for NPR.

Sandra Faber diagnosed the problems with the Hubble Telescope and along with her team, developed a solution to fix the failure.