The University of California, Santa Cruz, opened in 1965 and grew, one college at a time, to its current (2007-08) enrollment of more than 15,000 students. Undergraduates pursue 63 majors supervised by divisional deans of humanities, physical & biological sciences, social sciences, and arts. Graduate students work toward graduate certificates, master's degrees, or doctoral degrees in 34 academic fields under the supervision of the divisional and graduate deans. The dean of the Jack Baskin School of Engineering oversees the campus's undergraduate and graduate engineering programs.

Faculty and emeriti who have been attracted to Santa Cruz include 13 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 22 members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and two members of the Institute of Medicine. Overall faculty strength enables UCSC to offer high-quality programs in letters, arts, and science.

The September 2003 issue of Outside magazine ranked UCSC 1st out of 40 colleges "that turn out smart grads with top-notch academic credentials, a healthy environmental ethos, and an A-plus sense of adventure."

In an analysis reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education in 2007, UCSC ranked 3rd nationally on the Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index among doctoral programs in music. In the same analysis, UCSC ranked 3rd nationally on the Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index among doctoral programs in environmental health engineering (environmental toxicology).

In a survey of U.S. engineering schools reported in the January 2007 ASEE Prism, UCSC ranked 3rd in the nation in the percentage of master’s degrees awarded to women (44.2 percent). The Jack Baskin School of Engineering celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2007.

In competition with scholars throughout the United States, UCSC students and alumni have won National Science Foundation Fellowships, Fulbrights, and other prestigious awards in numbers that far exceed expectations for a campus of this size.