Bren Life
Student Activities
Bren School students are engaged in a number of activities, both within and outside of Bren Hall. Students participate on UCSB intramural sports teams, play in the all-student band Brengrass, or take part in a number of professional organizations like Net Impact or the Environmental Justice club.
Bren students also take part in the governance of the school through participation on program committees that make changes to the master’s programs or advise the Dean on student issues. At the University level, Bren is represented by its students in the Graduate Students Association, which addresses graduate student concerns campus-wide.
Students have many opportunities to network through events such as quarterly faculty, staff and student cocktail events, student-selected speaker seminars and community colloquia. Have a look at the Bren Events Schedule to get a good idea of the happenings at Bren.
For more information on the Bren experience, visit our Bren Life page!
Transportation & Parking
No matter where you choose to live, getting around Santa Barbara is simple! Many students choose to take advantage of Santa Barbara's extensive bike lanes and UCSB's bike-friendly campus. The Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District (MTD) offers free bus rides for full-time UCSB students, with direct lines running regularly between campus and Downtown, the Mesa, and Goleta. The 24X express bus route is the most direct connection between UCSB main campus and NCEAS. The transit center is just two blocks from NCEAS.
Student parking permits are available for campus parking and UCSB provides free parking on-campus for scooters and motorcycles. UCSB offers campus community members the opportunity to participate in its Transportation Alternatives Program as well.
There is no free parking provided at NCEAS, but a city parking lot is adjacent to the building. Information on city lot locations and rates can be found here.
For information about Santa Barbara’s local attractions, please explore the "Visit Santa Barbara" website.
Health Insurance
Health insurance is mandatory for all registered UCSB students and is a condition of enrollment. All full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students are automatically enrolled in, and charged for, the University of California Student Health Insurance Plan (UC SHIP). Because UC SHIP typically covers Fall to Summer quarters of the academic year, MEDS students who participate in UC SHIP will be required to provide additional fees for coverage in Summer Session B. Students may opt out of UC SHIP by submitting an online insurance waiver confirming they have acceptable health insurance coverage.
Housing
When considering housing options, we encourage you to research both on and off-campus housing. The dual-campus nature of the MEDS program requires students to be able to attend classes at two locations, NCEAS in downtown Santa Barbara, and Bren Hall on UCSB main campus. Both San Clemente Graduate Housing and Family Housing are located West of main campus (see map below). Incoming Bren students may also find off-campus housing through Craigslist or through connecting with the Bren community.
First-year graduate students are eligible for University housing in San Clemente Villages or Family Housing. The 2024-25 Graduate Student Housing Application will be available on March 1, 2024 at 10 am, and the deadline to complete the application with priority consideration is May 15. We strongly encourage students seeking University housing to complete and submit their applications as soon as possible. For Family Housing, contracts are allocated through a waitlist process and assigned on a rolling basis. Applicants for Family Housing can place themselves on the waitlist prior to receiving an admissions decision.
Please note that due to the early start of the MEDS program including orientation (August 1-2, 2024), students must contact University & Community Housing Services at housinginfo@housing.ucsb.edu immediately after completing the housing contract and identify themselves as a MEDS student who needs an early move-in. Once MEDS student status is confirmed, HDAE will make every effort to accommodate the request. For housing-specific questions or concerns, please contact the Housing Services office at 805-893-4371. For more information on housing options, please visit their Graduate Student Housing page.