You are strongly encouraged to attend Orientation.
Orientation is not mandatory, but it gives you an important head start in preparing for your college career. If you are unable to attend, the following information will be helpful to you in preparing for your first quarter at UCSB.
Academic Advising
Freshmen
College of Letters & Science and College of Engineering:
Orientation Programs will present a one-day online advising program in late August for freshmen who are unable to attend an Orientation session during summer. The program will include an academic overview, a session on how to use GOLD and registration resources, and the opportunity to sign up for a 1:1 advising meeting with a college advisor. Participants will register for classes on their own during their designated Pass 2 time. Freshmen who did not attend Orientation will receive an email in early August with information on how to register for Advising Day. There is no cost or fee to participate in Advising Day.
College of Creative Studies: Call the college at 805-893-2364 for advising information.
Transfer Students
Contact the undergraduate advisor in your major if you need further assistance after completing the Transfer Student Module.
The transfer module contains contact information for each major department.
Course Registration
Students will register for courses using GOLD - Gaucho On-Line Data, the UCSB online course registration system. New students who did not attend an orientation session will register online for fall classes during their Pass 2 registration time in late August or early September.
Please view GOLD for your assigned Pass 2 registration time. The College of Letters and Science has created a video tutorial for finding pass times and important deadlines using this important registration tool.
The UCSB General Catalog contains major requirements, course descriptions, and prerequisites. Twelve units per quarter is the minimum to maintain full-time registered status. Incoming students in the College of Letters and Science will register for 12-15 units in their first quarter, while incoming students in the College of Engineering will register for 16-17 units in their first quarter. Freshmen should enroll only in lower division courses which are numbered between 1 - 99 (e.g., History 4A).
Transfer students can obtain advice on course selection by completing the transfer student module.