Engineering at UC Santa Barbara
Engineering is the 8th most common field at UC Santa Barbara: 270 graduates in 2023, or 4.2% of everyone who completed a bachelor's degree there that year. Nationally, 5.94% of bachelor's degrees are in this field, so it is less common at UC Santa Barbara (0.7x the national share). 16% of those graduates were women.
Is engineering competitive at UC Santa Barbara?
Colleges report one admission rate for the whole school; here is the bar you are actually measured against, and how the model treats this major.
UC Santa Barbara admitted 30,804 of 110,871 applicants for fall 2023 (33%). Colleges report admissions at the school level, not by major, so there is no published acceptance rate for engineering at UC Santa Barbara. CollegeCalcAI's published model treats "Engineering" as more competitive than UC Santa Barbara's overall rate (multiplier 0.92 on the effective admit rate), so an applicant declaring this field is scored against a slightly higher bar.
How to apply to UC Santa Barbara for engineering
What readers look for from applicants who declare this field, at any selectivity.
- Physics and calculus, ideally both at the highest level offered
- Evidence of making things: robotics, engineering clubs, a build you can describe
- A clear reason for engineering in the essay, not just strong STEM grades
- Run your odds with the major set: your estimate at UC Santa Barbara for engineering →
Field guide: how admissions works for this major across schools.
Where else to study engineering
Other colleges in California and at a similar selectivity that award bachelor's degrees in this field.
Every college ranked by engineering graduates: colleges that graduate the most engineering majors → · Engineering colleges in California →
More majors at UC Santa Barbara
The other fields UC Santa Barbara graduates the most students in, 2023.
Questions about engineering at UC Santa Barbara
How many students major in engineering at UC Santa Barbara?
270 students earned a bachelor's degree in engineering at UC Santa Barbara in 2023, 4.2% of that year's 6,429 graduates (IPEDS completions, first majors).
Is engineering competitive at UC Santa Barbara?
UC Santa Barbara admitted 30,804 of 110,871 applicants for fall 2023 (33%). Colleges report admissions at the school level, not by major, so there is no published acceptance rate for engineering at UC Santa Barbara. CollegeCalcAI's published model treats "Engineering" as more competitive than UC Santa Barbara's overall rate (multiplier 0.92 on the effective admit rate), so an applicant declaring this field is scored against a slightly higher bar.
What is the acceptance rate for engineering at UC Santa Barbara?
There is no official major-level acceptance rate; UC Santa Barbara reports one school-wide figure, 33%. Some programs (direct-admit nursing, engineering and business schools) select separately and can be more selective than the school overall. CollegeCalcAI's calculator applies its published per-major adjustment and shows your estimate for this school with the major set.
Is UC Santa Barbara known for engineering?
By output, engineering is the 8th most common field at UC Santa Barbara and less common there than at the average U.S. college (4.2% of graduates versus 5.94% nationally).
Source: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS 2023 Completions (bachelor's degrees, first majors, CIP 2-digit series). Admissions counts: IPEDS 2023. Built 2026-09-19. Estimates from CollegeCalcAI are not predictions or guarantees.