<p>Hi, sorry I didn’t find this sooner! I have just graduated from CCS physics and strongly recommend the program. I’d say there are slightly over 300 students in the College, unevenly distributed across the 8 majors. In physics, there are typically 20 students in a year (although it starts out larger and sometimes ends smaller). Literature is larger, everything else is smaller. There is a separate application, which is available on the CCS website. The deadline is in February but you can also transfer in once you arrive at UCSB.</p>
<p>Our Dean seems to dislike calling CCS an honors college, and prefers to succinctly describe it as a ‘graduate school for undergraduates’. UCSB has an Honors program in Letters and Science separate from CCS. The difference is that in CCS, students know what they want to do when they start, sometimes even more exactly than “I want to study marine biology”. The focus is really on doing your own work as soon as possible. In physics this is done by accelerating the lower division classes. (Almost) everyone has taken some calculus in high school, and problem sets are very difficult. We are also required to take the honors sophomore lab class. This allows us to get a head start on upper division electives and research. I started research the winter quarter of my freshman year (probably not typical) and took my first upper division physics class winter of my sophomore year. I’ve had great experiences in labs at UCSB–the Professors are very supportive and approachable. I completed my senior thesis with Dr. Tommaso Treu, and it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my college career.</p>
<p>Are we integrated into the rest of UCSB? It really depends on the student. I lived in the CCS interest house (in the Manzanita dorms) my freshman year so most of my friends were fellow CCS students, but its really up to you. I got to know the L&S physics majors once I started taking upper division physics (where we are all together), and met people through the fencing club, ballroom dancing, and the Society of Physics Students.</p>
<p>CCS students are well-qualified for a professional or graduate career. Most of my classmates are in graduate school or (like me) are taking a year off and applying for next year. My friends were accepted at Harvard, Princeton, MIT, etc. One was also awarded a Churchill scholarship for one year’s study at Cambridge. We’ve also had a graduate who was awarded a Nobel in biology (as I think you saw) and another who was awarded a MacArthur Genius grant. I also know several classmates who have been able to find jobs in industry.</p>
<p>CCS is, as far as I’m concerned, the best place in the country to study physics (at least as an in-state student). It’s not really designed as an interdisciplinary program-you come because you want to do physics and that is essentially what you do. On the other hand, it is possible to do a double major–physics/math is fairly common, and there has been at least one physics/literature. Other combinations can get tricky though. The various CCS privileges (early pass time so you can get what you want, late-drop so you can take risks) give you lots of room to take extra classes, if you just want to explore other topics.</p>
<p>If you have any questions, I recommend giving the CCS front office a call (or an email). They are usually very good about responding, and can help you arrange a visit to UCSB. I’m leaving the country in a few days so probably won’t be able to respond! (Also, for the record, my mother made me apply to UCSB and CCS; I think I was still set on an Ivy League at that point in the year. I ended up choosing UCSB over Stanford and Brown. I don’t regret it and am glad my mother bugged me about it.)</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>