UC Santa Barbara acceptance rate by major
UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) admitted 38.2% of its 110,173 first-year applicants for fall 2025, against 44.4% of 55,258 in fall 2012. Below is the rate in every major and discipline UC reports for UC Santa Barbara, every fall since 2012, from the University of California’s own table.
Applying to UC Santa Barbara? Book a free call with a Specialist to talk through which major to list.
UC Santa Barbara by the numbers, fall 2025
Admit rate
38.2%
42,094 of 110,173
Applicants
110,173
Every residency
Enrolled
5,081
Of 42,094 admitted
Admitted GPA, middle half
4.09 to 4.28
UC weighted, capped
From California high schools alone, 72,777 applied and 23,786 were admitted for fall 2025 (32.7%), by UC’s count of admissions by source school.
UC Santa Barbara acceptance rate by major, fall 2025
Hardest first. UC reports first-year applicants by the broad discipline of the major they listed, not by single major. Each link has that discipline’s rate in every fall UC printed.
| Discipline | Applied | Admitted | Admit rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering | 12,679 | 2,694 | 21.2% |
| Other/Interdisciplinary | 5,201 | 1,553 | 29.9% |
| Computer Science | 5,865 | 1,989 | 33.9% |
| Arts & Humanities | 10,271 | 3,619 | 35.2% |
| Social Sciences | 33,738 | 12,720 | 37.7% |
| Undeclared | 7,051 | 2,890 | 41.0% |
| Life Sciences | 21,225 | 8,909 | 42.0% |
| Business | 383 | 162 | 42.3% |
| Physical Sciences/Math | 13,760 | 7,558 | 54.9% |
A discipline has its own page when UC printed both its applicants and its admits in at least 3 falls, including fall 2025, with at least 250 applicants in fall 2025.
How UC Santa Barbara admits: does the major matter?
Neither UC's discipline table nor any page from UC Santa Barbara that we have on file says whether UC Santa Barbara weighs the intended major in first-year review, so this page does not say either. Ask UC Santa Barbara's admissions office before reading this rate as the odds for one major.
Every UC campus reads the same UC application, and the counts on this page include applicants from California, other states and other countries together, because that is how UC publishes this table.
UC Santa Barbara acceptance rate every fall since 2012
| Fall | Applied | Admitted | Admit rate | Admitted GPA, middle half |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 110,173 | 42,094 | 38.2% | 4.09 to 4.28 |
| 2024 | 110,259 | 36,347 | 33.0% | 4.13 to 4.29 |
| 2023 | 110,871 | 30,804 | 27.8% | 4.13 to 4.29 |
| 2022 | 110,995 | 28,688 | 25.8% | 4.15 to 4.31 |
| 2021 | 105,631 | 30,823 | 29.2% | 4.10 to 4.29 |
| 2020 | 90,961 | 33,384 | 36.7% | 4.03 to 4.27 |
| 2019 | 93,446 | 27,626 | 29.6% | 4.04 to 4.28 |
| 2018 | 92,306 | 29,724 | 32.2% | 4.00 to 4.27 |
| 2017 | 81,824 | 26,845 | 32.8% | 3.96 to 4.25 |
| 2016 | 77,107 | 27,581 | 35.8% | 3.92 to 4.23 |
| 2015 | 70,536 | 23,026 | 32.6% | 3.92 to 4.24 |
| 2014 | 66,816 | 24,284 | 36.3% | 3.90 to 4.22 |
| 2013 | 62,425 | 24,812 | 39.7% | 3.86 to 4.20 |
| 2012 | 55,258 | 24,556 | 44.4% | 3.81 to 4.16 |
High schools that send the most students to UC Santa Barbara
Admits to UC Santa Barbara by California high school, fall 2023 to 2025, from UC’s admissions by source school.
| High school | Applied | Admitted | Admit rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canyon Crest Academy, San Diego | 1,142 | 426 | 37.3% |
| Dougherty Valley High School, San Ramon | 1,676 | 412 | 24.6% |
| Lowell High School, San Francisco | 1,160 | 404 | 34.8% |
| Lynbrook High School, San Jose | 999 | 342 | 34.2% |
| Arcadia High School, Arcadia | 1,086 | 325 | 29.9% |
| American High School, Fremont | 961 | 311 | 32.4% |
| Monta Vista High School, Cupertino | 1,021 | 300 | 29.4% |
| Mira Costa High School, Manhattan Beach | 882 | 295 | 33.4% |
| Granada Hills Charter High School, Granada Hills | 1,045 | 292 | 27.9% |
| Del Norte High School, San Diego | 890 | 287 | 32.2% |
| Troy High School, Fullerton | 796 | 280 | 35.2% |
| Palisades Charter High School, Pacific Palisades | 958 | 277 | 28.9% |
UC Santa Barbara admissions questions
- What is the UC Santa Barbara acceptance rate?
- UC Santa Barbara admitted 42,094 of 110,173 first-year applicants for fall 2025, 38.2%, counting every applicant in state and out.
- Which major is hardest to get into at UC Santa Barbara?
- Of the disciplines with a page here, Engineering had the lowest admit rate in fall 2025 (21.2%, 2,694 of 12,679) and Physical Sciences/Math the highest (54.9%).
- Does UC Santa Barbara admit by major?
- Neither UC's discipline table nor any page from UC Santa Barbara that we have on file says whether UC Santa Barbara weighs the intended major in first-year review, so this page does not say either. Ask UC Santa Barbara's admissions office before reading this rate as the odds for one major.
More on UC Santa Barbara and the UC
- How to get into UC Santa Barbara: GPAs, test scores and activities of admits
- UC acceptance rates for every California high school
- UC acceptance rates by major at every campus
Other campuses: UC Berkeley · UCLA · UC San Diego · UC Irvine · UC Davis · UC Santa Cruz · UC Riverside · UC Merced
Choosing a major for the UC Santa Barbara application?
A Specialist can read your student’s file against these numbers and talk through which major and campus fit it.
Sources: University of California Information Center, Freshman admission by discipline, fall 2012 to 2025; high school counts from University of California Information Center, Admissions by source school. UC leaves a number blank when it is too small to print, and this page never fills one in. GPAs are UC’s weighted, capped GPA. Aristo Scholars is not affiliated with the University of California.