The UC Santa Barbara College of Engineering (CoE; formally Robert Mehrabian College of Engineering) is one of the three undergraduate colleges at the
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...
(UCSB). The College offers a mid-sized, interdisciplinary environment where innovation drives the development of both fundamental science and applied technology solutions.
As of Fall 2023, the College of Engineering had 162 faculty members, approximately 1,823 undergraduate students, and 733 graduate students.
According to the
Leiden Ranking, engineering and physical sciences at UCSB is ranked #1 among public universities for top 10% research citation impact. According to the
National Research Council rankings, the UCSB engineering graduate research program in Materials was ranked #1 and Chemical Engineering ranked #5 in the nation among public universities.
Departments and programs
The College of Engineering comprises the following departments:
Chemical Engineering(established in 1965)
Computer Science(established in 1979)
Electrical and Computer Engineering(established in 1962)
Materials(established in 1987)
Mechanical Engineering(established in 1964)
Technology Management(established in 2022)
The college is connected to the UCSB campus through innovative multi-disciplinary/outreach academic programs:
Biological Engineering Program(BioE)
Computational Science and Engineering Program(CSE)
Media Arts and Technology Program(MAT)
Research units
UCSB Engineering is home to the nation's first NSF-funde
Quantum Foundry a center dedicated to developing materials for quantum information-based technologies. The College operates as the West Coast hub of the American Photonics Manufacturing Institute and is a key participant in the federal Next Generation Power Electronics Institute. Notably, UCSB'
Materials Research Laboratoryis regarded as one of the top five materials research facilities in the world. Much of this work is conducted in collaboration with UCSB's interdisciplinar
research centers and institutes which include:
American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics(AIM Photonics) in collaboration with
SUNY Polytechnic Institute
The State University of New York Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Polytechnic Institute or SUNY Poly) is a public university in the Marcy, New York, town of Marcy, New York, in the Utica–Rome metropolitan area. It is part of the State University of ...
.
California NanoSystems InstituteCenter for Bio-Image InformaticsCenter for Control, Dynamical-Systems, and ComputationCenter for Information Technology and SocietyCenter for Nanotechnology in SocietyCenter for Stem Cell Biology and EngineeringComplex Fluid Design ConsortiumDow Materials InstituteInstitute for Collaborative Biotechnologies* Institute for Multiscale Materials Studies
*
Institute for Energy Efficiency
An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body.
In some countries, institutes ca ...
* Interdisciplinary Center for Wide Band-Gap Semiconductors
Materials Research LaboratoryMitsubishi Chemical Center for Advanced MaterialsOptoelectronics Research GroupSolid State Lighting and Energy Electronics CenterUCSB Nanofabrication Research Center
Academics
Undergraduate programs
The college offers the B.S. degree in
chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...
,
computer engineering
Computer engineering (CE, CoE, or CpE) is a branch of engineering specialized in developing computer hardware and software.
It integrates several fields of electrical engineering, electronics engineering and computer science.
Computer engi ...
,
computer science
Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
,
electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
, and
mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...
.
The B.S. programs in chemical engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
ABET (pronounced A-bet), formerly known as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc., is a non-governmental accreditation organization for post-secondary programs in engineering, engineering technology, computing, and appli ...
(ABET). The computer science B.S. program is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET. Jointly with the Department of Computer Science and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the college offers undergraduate degree in
computer engineering
Computer engineering (CE, CoE, or CpE) is a branch of engineering specialized in developing computer hardware and software.
It integrates several fields of electrical engineering, electronics engineering and computer science.
Computer engi ...
. The curriculum for the undergraduate programs is designed to be completed in four years.
The UC Santa Barbara College of Engineering maintains a highly selective admissions process. As of 2024, the College reported an overall acceptance rate of approximately 9%. Acceptance rates vary among specific programs:
* Computer Engineering: 7% of applicants admitted
* Electrical Engineering: 9% of applicants admitted
* Computer Science: Approximately 5% acceptance rate
Graduate programs
The college offers M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering, computer science, electrical & computer engineering, materials science, and mechanical engineering. It also offers graduate programs in technology management, bioengineering, biomolecular science & engineering, and media arts & technology.
Faculty
The college has 150 faculty members, most of whom are involved in interdisciplinary research and academic programs. Twenty-nine faculty members are in the
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...
and nine are elected to the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...
.
Three faculty members have won the
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
.
Alan J. Heeger, Professor of Physics and of Materials, won the 2000
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outst ...
"''for the discovery and development of conductive polymers''",
Herbert Kroemer
Herbert Kroemer (; August 25, 1928 – March 8, 2024) was a German-American physicist who, along with Zhores Alferov, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000 for "developing semiconductor heterostructures used in high-speed- and opto-electro ...
, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and of Materials, won the 2000
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...
"''for developing semiconductor heterostructures used in high-speed and opto-electronics''". In 2006
Shuji Nakamura
is a Japanese electronic engineer, inventor of the blue LED, a major breakthrough in lighting technology, and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2014. Nakamura specializes in the field of semiconductor technology, and he is a professo ...
, a professor of Materials and Computer Engineering, won the
Millennium Technology Prize
The Millennium Technology Prize () is one of the world's largest technology prizes. It is awarded once every two years by Technology Academy Finland, an independent foundation established by Finnish industries, academic institutions, and the st ...
for developing blue, green, and white LEDs and the blue laser diode as well as receiving a 2014
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...
for his contribution to the invention of blue light-emitting diodes.
In 2015, Professor
Arthur Gossard Arthur C. Gossard (June 18, 1935 – June 26, 2022) was a professor of materials and electrical engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 1982, he co-discovered the fractional quantum Hall effect. His research is related to mol ...
was awarded the
National Medal of Technology and Innovation
The National Medal of Technology and Innovation (formerly the National Medal of Technology) is an honor granted by the president of the United States to American inventors and innovators who have made significant contributions to the development ...
by the Obama Administration.
Publications
''Convergence'' is the magazine of Engineering and the Sciences at UC Santa Barbara. Sponsored by the College of Engineering and the Division of Mathematical, Life, and Physical Sciences in the College of Letters and Science, ''Convergence'' was begun in early 2005 as a three-times-a-year print publication, with the goal of bringing stories of interest from engineering and the sciences to the desks and coffee tables of a wide range of alumni, friends, partners, funding agencies, corporations, donors and potential supporters. This publication prints annually.
See also
*
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...
*
Engineering colleges in California
References
{{California engineering colleges with ABET-accredited programs , state=expanded
College of Engineering
Engineering universities and colleges in California
Universities and colleges established in 1964
University subdivisions in California
1964 establishments in California