College of Creative Studies
College of Creative Studies
Dean: Gerardo Aldana
Website: ccs.ucsb.edu
Telephone: (805) 893-4146
The College of Creative Studies at UCSB is unique in the University of California. The adjective “creative” is not intended to suggest that students create their own majors, although there is a great deal of flexibility in the Creative Studies programs. Rather, the Creative Studies major is for passionate students who are committed to advanced and independent work in one of the disciplines represented in the college. Each of the approximately 400 students enrolled in the college enjoys close individual advising and conscientious academic attention from a faculty advisor committed to undergraduate teaching. Courses offered by the college are designed to allow students to rigorously explore or even modify a field of knowledge rather than merely expose them to a predetermined quantity of fixed subject matter. Through intense creative work and research projects typically reserved for graduate school, students acquire a thorough comprehension of their discipline and are encouraged to begin making original contributions to the field. Most classes in the college are tutorials and small seminars.
In addition to taking courses within the College of Creative Studies, students are guided and encouraged to work within academic departments in the Colleges of Letters and Science and Engineering, taking full advantage of the many courses, extensive research equipment, facilities, and expertise available at UCSB.
Students choose one of the nine majors offered by the College of Creative Studies when they apply for admission. The flexibility in curricular design, however, allows considerable latitude. Ambitious students occasionally complete two majors. When appropriate to their educational goals, students may choose to complete both a CCS major and a major in either the College of Letters and Science or the College of Engineering. Students also have the option to complete one of the many minors now available through the College of Letters and Science.
Most Creative Studies courses are open to students from other UCSB colleges, although CCS students normally have priority. Permission of the instructor is required to remain enrolled in the course. To find more detailed course descriptions of Creative Studies course offerings than can be found on GOLD, please refer to ccs.ucsb.edu/courses.
For more detailed information about the College of Creative Studies and instructions on how to apply, please refer to our website: ccs.ucsb.edu.