The College of Letters and Science is the largest center for teaching, learning, and research on the UCSB campus and the third largest in the University of California system, offering students an array of nearly 80 majors and interdisciplinary programs and over 30 academic minors. The college is a place of serious intellectual activity, with a faculty deeply committed to teaching as well as active in research and creative pursuits.

The college is organized into four divisions: the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts (Dean David Marshall), the Division of Mathematical, Life, and Physical Sciences (Acting Dean Steven Gaines), the Division of Social Sciences (Dean Melvin Oliver), and Student Academic Affairs (Dean Alan Wyner).

In addition to 47 academic departments and programs from Anthropology to Women's Studies, the college oversees a number of other units that enrich the intellectual life of the campus, including the Interdisciplinary Humanities Center and the University Art Museum.