Welcome to UC Santa Barbara for the 2007-08 academic year. This catalog will serve as your guidebook for the year ahead. I encourage you to refer to it often, and to invest the time to become familiar with all the exciting and diverse courses, programs, and extracurricular activities available to you here.

UC Santa Barbara is an extraordinary place. We are one of only 62 institutions elected to membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities. Our distinguished professors are leaders in their fields and recipients of numerous accolades, including five Nobel Prizes since 1998. Our faculty, staff, and students are collaborators in advancing UC Santa Barbara’s quality and reputation as one of the top research institutions in the world.

Of course, learning at UCSB is not confined to our classrooms, laboratories, and libraries. We also learn a great deal from each other. The diversity of our community is a treasured resource for all of us: students, faculty, and staff. There are many wonderful ways for you to get involved and make connections with other students, such as through research and creative projects, student government, campus organizations, intercollegiate athletics and intramural sports, volunteer work in our community, and much more.

We are glad to have you as part of our UCSB community. As you continue on your journey of discovery, please remember that we are here to support and encourage you every step of the way.

Again, welcome!


Henry T. Yang