UC Santa Barbara General Catalog

Quarterly Fees and Expenses

Tuition, fees, and other charges are subject to change without notice by the Regents of the University of California. Refer to the Office of the Registrar’s website for a complete breakdown of fees and the latest fee information on the quarterly fees and expenses page. Some specific fees are described below.

Tuition

Tuition is paid by all students registered at UCSB as determined by the Regents. It provides general support for the University’s operating budget, including costs related to instruction, and funds student financial aid.

Student Services Fee

The student services fee is the same for both undergraduate and graduate students. This fee supports such student services as athletic facilities, laboratory fees, outpatient care furnished by Student Health, and counseling and placement services. This fee is charged whether or not students use these services.

Nonresident Supplemental Tuition

Students who have not been classified as legal residents of California for tuition purposes are classified as nonresidents, and are subject to payment of a nonresident supplemental tuition. Graduate doctoral students should refer to the "Reduced Nonresident Supplemental Tuition" page in the "University Policy" section of this catalog to learn about the possible reduction of the nonresident supplemental tuition. Regulations governing residence determination are outlined in UC’s Residence Policy and Guidelines. Questions concerning residence classification may be referred to the Residence Deputy in the Office of the Registrar at Residency@sa.ucsb.edu.

Professional Degree Supplemental Tuition

Students admitted to the Technology Management, Master of Environmental Data Science, or Master of Environmental Science and Management programs must also pay professional degree supplemental tuition.

Campus Based Fees

These fees help fund a variety of student related services not supported by other fees, such as student government, the construction, renovation, and repair of sports facilities. Campus-based fees are established, increased or renewed by referenda, in which students must vote in favor of the fee in order for it to be charged. Examples include:

• University Center Fee
  All students are assessed a University Center (UCen) fee used to repay construction loans. Students enrolled in 5.5 units or fewer are eligible for a full refund of this fee.
• Transit Systems Fee
  The transit systems fee provides unlimited local Metropolitan Transit District (MTD) bus service for all registered students. Students may ride MTD at no charge by showing their ACCESS card with current bus sticker.

UC Student Health Insurance Plan (UC SHIP)

All registered UCSB students are required to have health insurance that meets minimum coverage limits established by the University of California. It is a condition of enrollment AND a non-academic requirement of registration.

UCSB students are automatically enrolled in UC Student Health Insurance Plan (UC SHIP) which includes vision and dental coverage, and access to many Student Health services with no additional charges. Financial Aid awards may include a UC Health Insurance Grant to cover the UC SHIP premium for eligible students. The insurance premium will automatically be included in the quarterly BARC bill. For information about this comprehensive plan, visit the Student Health Insurance webpage.

Students who have adequate private insurance, and do not wish to enroll in UC SHIP, must submit a request for an insurance waiver and receive confirmation that their waiver was successfully granted. Failure to act will result in automatic enrollment in UC SHIP. Students will need to have their private insurance plan information available when submitting the waiver request. Please note that a Financial Aid award may change if a student waives out of UC SHIP. For more information, please review the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship’s Policy Information webpage.

Mandatory Insurance Waiver Periods

Once a waiver request has been approved, it remains in effect until the beginning of the next academic year if the insurance plan used to waive UC SHIP remains active. UCSB will periodically re-verify a student’s insurance during the academic year.

Students with approved waivers may purchase pre-paid access to many core Student Health services through the Gaucho Access Plan (GAP). More information is available on the GAP webpage.