UC Santa Cruz operates on the quarter system, with most courses being offered during the Fall, Winter, or Spring (academic) quarters. Course offerings during summer quarter are much more limited.
Students who are in their junior or senior year are encouraged to participate in Field Quarter, in which they register for a block of academic credit and spend the entire quarter exploring off campus.
approximately ten weeksAcademic Calendar A full academic year consists of three quarters: fall, winter, and spring. Each quarter consists of approximately ten weeks of instruction and one week of final exams. The summer quarter is an optional term. For additional calendars, visit https://registrar.ucsc.edu/calendar/future.html.
Full-Time Status The minimum load for a full-time student is 10 units of graduate and/or upper-division undergraduate course work. Part-time students can enroll for 5-8 units of graduate and/or upper-division undergraduate course work.
Undergraduates may take one such leave during their academic career at UC Davis and that leave is limited to one quarter in duration. For graduate students the maximum leave is up to one year.
At UC Santa Cruz, the academic year is organized on the quarter system. Three quarters—fall, winter, and spring—constitute the regular academic year. Most UCSC courses are equivalent to 5 quarter credits and require approximately equal amounts of work: about 15 hours per week per course.
The Quarter System and Why I LOVE it! Instead of having two semesters, the UC's (with the exception of Cal and UC Merced) run off a 10-week quarter system. We have fall quarter, winter and spring. The quarter system is often an adjustment for new students but…
Taking Summer Session classes does not count towards your total allowable quarters. Students who entered as first years and who need more time to complete requirements are allowed a maximum of 225 credits and 15 quarters (five academic years) of enrollment.
Undergraduate students are expected to take a minimum of 15 credits and may enroll in up to 19 credits. Graduate students are expected to enroll in at least 10 credits and no more than 19 credits.
The final letter grades for courses at UCSC are A (excellent), B (good), C (fair), D (poor), F (fail). The grades of A , B, C, and D may be modified by a plus (+) or minus (-). You will not earn any credit toward graduation for a course in which you receive a final grade of F.
17 unitsIn general students carry a minimum of 12 units and a maximum of 13 units of approved UC Davis credit courses. However, due to our special partnership, UC Davis will allow students from your institution to take up to 17 units per quarter at no additional fee (a cost savings of $340 per unit).
All students receiving Pell Grants or Cal Grants will have those grants reduced if they are enrolled in less than 12 units. Additionally, students who receive UCSB Scholarship will have their award reduced if they are in less than 6 units.
Unit Enrollment Guidelines The normal course load for graduate students is 12 units per quarter.
UC Santa Cruz is on the quarter system. Three quarters—fall, winter, and spring—constitute the regular academic year. Most courses are 5 quarter credits and require approximately 15 hours of work per week in a 10-week quarter (three hours per week, per credit). You are normally expected to enroll in 15 credits each quarter; enrolling in fewer than 12 or more than 19 credits requires approval. If you maintain a B average, you may enroll in more courses without special approval.
Upper-division courses (numbered 100–199) are designed for junior and senior students, but may be open to first-year and sophomore students who have sufficient background, or instructor support. Graduate courses (numbered 200–299) are generally restricted to graduate students.
To do so, you must pass an average of 45 credits per year, to reach a total of 180 credits, the minimum total credits for graduation. Transfer students generally enter with 90-105 credits, and may need more than two years to complete all requirements, depending on their major.
Every candidate for a bachelor’s degree must demonstrate knowledge of American history and institutions. Fulfill this requirement in one of the following ways:*
Every candidate for a bachelor’s degree must demonstrate an acceptable level of ability in English composition. Before the end of your third quarter of enrollment, you must fulfill the Entry Level Writing Requirement in one of the following ways:
Every candidate for a bachelor’s degree must be registered at UCSC for a minimum of three quarters. In addition, of the final 45 quarter credits, 35 must be in regular courses of instruction taken as a registered student at UCSC (including during the summer session).
Registration fees are set by the UC Board of Regents of the University of California. Fees, tuition, and other charges are subject to change without advance notice.
For information on billing statements, see the Student Business Center. You can view your account activity on MyUCSC by going to My Account $ or by going to Student Center, and then selecting Account activity
Information on Financial Aid disbursement, billing, and application dates is available on the Financial Aid website.