On a campus renowned for interdisciplinary study and research, the sciences at UCSB offer graduate students a unique experience that stems from the removal of barriers between the mathematical, life, and physical sciences, and engineering, the social sciences, and education. In addition to graduate  programs in mathematics and statistics, psychology and biology, chemistry and biochemistry, earth science, and geography,  UCSB offers special interdisciplinary programs in biomolecular science and engineering and marine science. Students may also pursue interdisciplinary Ph.D. emphases in cognitive science, human development, quantitative methods in the social sciences, and computational science and engineering, 

The science faculty includes four Nobel laureates, as well as numerous elected members or fellows of the National Academy of Sciences (29), the National Academy of Engineering (25), the Institute of Medicine (2), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (25), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (60). Twenty-one young faculty members have active Faculty Early Career Development Awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Based on total citations in scientific papers, Science Watch in 2007-08 ranked UCSB second among the top 20 institutions in the world in environment and ecology (1998-2008), second in materials science and engineering (1996-2006), fifth in engineering (1997-2007), and ninth in physics (1995-2005). The Academic Ranking of World Universities in 2008 ranked UCSB 11^th among U.S. universities and 36^th among world universities. The campus was ranked as 5^th among U.S. public universities and 18^th worldwide in natural sciences and mathematics and 7^th  among U.S. universities and 13^th  worldwide in engineering, technology and computer sciences by US News and World Report..

A group of remarkable centers and institutes on campus offer unique opportunities for furthering interdisciplinary work and for interactions with distinguished visiting scientists from around the world. These include the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, the Marine Science Institute, the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (one of the few world centers for exploration and utilization of remote sensing techniques), the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, the Vernon and Mary Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration, the Center for the Study of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Aging, the Institute for Quantum and Complex Dynamics, the Institute for Computational Earth Systems Science, the Institute for Crustal Studies, the Center for Polymers and Organic Solids, the Sage Center for the Study of the Mind, and the affiliated Brain Imaging Center, the Neuroscience Research Institute, the California NanoSystems Institute, and the Materials Research Laboratory.