Oakes College

Communicating Diversity for a Just Society

Congratulations and Welcome

To help prepare you to apply for housing and to live on campus, we offer this housing guide containing important information about your college, housing options, and answers to many commonly asked questions about campus housing.

It is our goal to provide you with an academically and socially supportive environment that will help you build a strong connection with the campus and get the most out of your UCSC experience.

We look forward to having you as part of our campus community!

Your College

Oakes College was the seventh college to be established at UC Santa Cruz. The living-learning community at Oakes, steeped in cultural and ethnic history, is a reflection of today's dynamic society. Your education at Oakes is based upon the shared experiences of different peoples interacting in a multi-faceted learning environment. The namesakes of our residences remind us of those individuals who committed themselves to advance the imperative for all of us to live fully in a multicultural world. Oakes students thrive as members of a diverse community where the values of individual responsibility, personal integrity, and compromise are essential to our community standards, in and out of the classroom.

Oakes Culture

Since its founding, Oakes College has been committed to intellectual, academic and personal inquiry rooted in the possibility of affecting positive change. As a multicultural community, we encourage the exchange of cross-cultural perspectives. Our efforts to understand, accept and celebrate human diversity are a source of exceptional strength.

Oakes students in field
 
Happy Oakes students

Oakes Events

The Oakes College Programs Office provides educational, social and recreational programs for Oakes students, including fall orientation and Oakes Commencement. A variety of cultural and social awareness programs promote dialogue and communication between the Oakes and UC Santa Cruz communities. Other events coordinated during the academic year are: Spirit Week, Slam Poetry Nights, barbecues, Underdome three-on-three basketball tournament, movie nights on the lawn, College Night community dinners, faculty discussions and more.

Oakes College Map

 

Facilities and Activities

The Student Government of Oakes College, Oakes Senate, is open to any affiliated student who wishes to become part of the student leadership of the college.

The Guzman Room, adjacent to the Oakes Café, provides comfy couches, art gallery space, as well as a big screen TV. Grab some food, hang out, and enjoy movie nights and other events.

Oakes Study Center is a quiet room to study in, especially between classes. The study center offers quiet and group study space for Oakes students all day and into the evenings.

The Learning Center, a multipurpose room at Oakes, offers study space, activity space, tutors, and more. A computer lab is also located here.

Happy Oakes students
Field behind Oakes College
Frida Kahlo mural at Oakes College
Students at the Rachel Carson/Oakes Dining Hall