Your years at Santa Cruz, anchored in Christ
From your first week to your final semester, the undergraduate ministry is a family that prays with you, studies Scripture with you, and helps you carry your faith into every residence hall, classroom, and corner of campus. Santa Cruz has no religious-college housing system — so we gather around where you live, what you study, and who God is calling you to become.
First-Year Welcome
Starting at Santa Cruz is exciting and overwhelming all at once. The First-Year Welcome exists so no student walks in alone. We help you find Christian friends in your first weeks, connect you to a fellowship near your residence hall, and give you a rhythm of prayer and Scripture to steady the whole year.
- Welcome Week meetups & a first-year group chat
- Move-in help and a friendly face in the residence halls
- A first-year discipleship track you can start anytime
Forming for the coming year — sign-ups open through our channels.
Transfer Student Welcome
Transfers arrive with less runway and a full course load — and often skip the “freshman” on-ramps entirely. We build community that fits the transfer timeline: fast friendships, practical support, and a spiritual family that meets you where you already are.
- Transfer-specific welcome & group for continuing students
- Connections near transfer & continuing-student housing and off-campus
- Mentors who understand the two-year sprint to graduation
Residential Fellowship Network
UC Santa Cruz is built around ten residential colleges, each with its own culture and calling. We are planting a Christ-centered fellowship in every college — a home for worship, Scripture, prayer, and friendship right where you live. Fellowship status is shown as Forming, Active, Paused, or Needs Leaders as we grow this year.
Cowell College
Truth & friendship.
Stevenson College
Self, society & public life.
Crown College
Science, tech & wisdom.
Merrill College
Global cultures & mission.
Porter College
Arts, creativity & worship.
Kresge College
Community & identity.
Oakes College
Justice & mercy.
Rachel Carson College
Creation care & stewardship.
College Nine
International & cross-cultural.
John R. Lewis College
Social justice & reconciliation.
Graduate & Off-Campus
Science Hill, grad housing & the city.
Don't see yours?
Help start oneEngineering & Computing
Faith, technology & building for good.
Sciences & Research
Wonder, truth & the created order.
Business, Law & Policy
Justice, ethics & public life.
Arts & Humanities
Beauty, story & the human heart.
Fellowships launch as students step up to lead — tell us your field and we'll help gather your people.
Undergraduate Discipleship Cohorts
Small, consistent groups where real growth happens. Cohorts read Scripture together, pray for one another, and walk through the everyday questions of following Jesus at a demanding university. This is where the ministry becomes family.
- Weekly cohort of 4–8 students
- Scripture, prayer & honest accountability
- A clear path from new believer to disciple-maker
Campus Witness Teams
Santa Cruz has always been a place of ideas, debate, and movements. Witness teams carry the Gospel into that arena with courage and grace — on Quarry Plaza, in the residence halls, and in everyday friendships — sharing the hope of Jesus clearly and lovingly.
- Conversational evangelism & prayer on Quarry Plaza
- Training in sharing faith with clarity & respect
- Serving the campus & downtown Santa Cruz in mercy
Study & Prayer Rhythms
Faith and academics are not rivals. We build shared rhythms that keep prayer and study side by side — so the pressure of Santa Cruz drives you toward God, not away from Him.
Morning Prayer Watch
Start the week at the Great Meadow — outdoor & online.
Study Halls with Prayer
Focused study near Doe & S&E Library, bookended by prayer.
Midweek Bible Study
The whole ministry gathers around the Word midweek.
Exact rooms & times are confirmed after campus reservation approval and posted on our channels.
Mentorship & Leadership Track
Every student is invited to grow — and then to lead. The leadership track pairs you with a mentor, trains you in Scripture, prayer, and character, and gives you real responsibility in the ministry: leading a cohort, a residential touchpoint, or a witness team.
Grow in a cohort with a mentor.
Learn to lead Scripture & prayer.
Serve & disciple the next student.
Watch Altars at Santa Cruz is a student-led campus chapter of Watch Altars and is separate from the University of California, Santa Cruz.