UC Santa Cruz is a leading public research university, located in the redwoods near the California Coast. We are ranked in the top 10 public universities for undergraduate teaching, and for students that make a difference. The quality of our research, graduate, and undergraduate programs has earned us membership in the Association of American Universities, and we are a founding member of the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities. UC Santa Cruz faculty have access to world-class resources on campus and throughout the University of California system.