Student Engagement

UC Santa Cruz is a large campus with a diverse community. Our students come from all over the world, have different backgrounds, and multiple interests. Finding a community can be difficult given all of the choices. The list below with links can help your student in finding their community (organization, cause, initiative, and affinity group).

The Colleges 

• One of the first choices your student will make is selecting one out of 10 colleges they will be affiliated with throughout their time on campus and beyond. They will complete core courses the first year as a cohort, introducing them to campus life, study habits, and helping transition to the academic rigor of a university.

Dean of Students Office

• With a focus on students, staff within the Dean of Students Office strive to complement your student’s academic experience with programs that promote wellness, identity development, cultural fluency, leadership development, academic success, and volunteerism.

 Student Organizations

• Cultural Arts and Diversity - Fostering a diverse community of students operating in a multitude of organizations, creating a variety of content, and transforming themselves in ways that will inform their work beyond graduation.
• Student Organization Advising Resources (SOAR) - Engaging in a student organization provides your student with a transformative learning environment. SOAR is dedicated to the empowerment and success of hundreds of registered student organizations at UC Santa Cruz. 
• Student Volunteer Center - Serves as a resource for your students to connect them with volunteer opportunities while also acting as a hub for volunteering education, workshops, and more.
• Student Media - Provides students an opportunity to explore, discover, and share local and global issues through the mediums of print and radio broadcast.

Resource Centers

UC Santa Cruz recognizes that students attend our campus from around the world with different backgrounds and interests. Our campus resource centers provide students an opportunity to connect and engage with communities with similar cultures and lifestyles.