Banana Slug Day
Join Us for Banana Slug Day!
Note: Banana Slug Day 2025 has passed. Thank you to hundreds of campus partners and our over 6,500 guests! You helped make this our biggest, most special Banana Slug Day ever.
Check this website again in spring 2026 for information on our next Banana Slug Day.
Banana Slug Day
Saturday, April 12, 2025
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Check-in Tables at East Remote and near Core West Parking
Admitted students, join us for a special preview day! This will be a chance for you and your family to celebrate your admission, tour our beautiful campus, and connect with our extraordinary community. Events will include campus tours led by a student S.L.U.G. (Student Life and University Guide), Academic Division Welcomes, mock lectures by faculty, Resource Center open houses, a Resource Fair, and student performances. Come experience Banana Slug life -- we can't wait to meet you!
While you’re on campus, stop by the Baytree Store for some swag! The shop will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Banana Slug Day, and our guests will get a 20% discount off one apparel or gift item (does not include computer hardware or accessories.)
This program is open to all students consistent with state and federal law, the UC Nondiscrimination Statement and the Nondiscrimination Policy Statement for University of California Publications Regarding Student-Related Matters.
Campus Welcomes
To set the tone for the day, we are gathering in our well known Quarry Amphitheater for Campus Welcomes from UC Santa Cruz leadership. We look forward to greeting you and your family as potential new members of our campus community!
Campus Welcome #1, 9:00 - 9:30 a.m., Quarry Amphitheater
Campus Welcome #2, 1:00 - 1:30 p.m., Quarry Amphitheater
Campus Tour
East Field or Baskin Courtyard starting location, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., last tour leaves at 2:00 p.m.
Join our friendly, knowledgeable student tour guides as they lead you on a walking tour of the beautiful UC Santa Cruz campus! Get to know the environment where you may be spending your time for the next few years. Explore the residential colleges, dining halls, classrooms, libraries, and favorite student hangout spots, all in our lovely campus between the sea and the trees! Tours depart rain or shine.
Next Steps Presentation
Kresge Academic Center 3201
Every 30 minutes, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 pm, 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Ready to make UC Santa Cruz your college home? Drop by for personalized guidance on your admissions offer, the Statement of Intent to Register (SIR), housing, financial aid, and key deadlines. Our admissions advisers will be available to walk you through the enrollment process, answer your questions, and help you take your next big step toward becoming a Banana Slug.
Whether you’re ready to commit or just want to learn more about the path ahead, we’re here to support you. A Presentation and Q&A will run every 30 minutes.
Divisional Welcomes
Find out more about your intended major! Representatives from the four academic divisions and the Jack Baskin School of Engineering will welcome you to campus and help you learn more about our vibrant academic life.
Arts Divisional Welcome, 10:15 - 11:00 a.m., Digital Arts Research Center 108
Engineering Divisional Welcomes, 9:00 - 9:45 a.m. and 10:00 - 10:45 a.m., Engineering Auditorium
Humanities Divisional Welcome, 9:00 - 9:45 a.m., Humanities Lecture Hall
Physical and Biological Sciences Divisional Welcomes, 9:00 - 9:45 a.m. and 10:00 - 10:45 a.m., Kresge Academic Building Room 3105
Social Sciences Divisional Welcome, 10:15 a.m. - 11:00 a.m., Classroom Unit 2
Mock Lectures
Find out more about our exciting teaching and research! These professors have volunteered to share their expertise with admitted students and families for just a small sample of our wide-ranging academic discourse.
Assoc. Professor Zac Zimmer: “Artificial Intelligence and Human Imagination,” 10:00 - 10:45 a.m., Humanities Lecture Hall
Asst. Professor Rachel Achs: “Introduction to Ethical Theory,” 11:00 - 11:45 a.m., Humanities & Social Sciences Room 359
Distinguished Professor and Director of the Institute for the Biology of Stem Cells Lindsay Hinck: “Stem Cells and Research in the Institute for the Biology of Stem Cells,” 11:00 - 11:45 a.m., Classroom Unit 1
Engineering Events
Baskin Engineering (BE) Building, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Slideshow in Jack’s Lounge, 9:00 a.m - 4:00 p.m.
- Welcome to UCSC’s innovative, influential engineering school! In the spirit of Silicon Valley – only 30 minutes from campus – our engineering school is a forward-thinking, collaborative incubator of new ideas and technologies.
- 9:00 - 9:45 a.m., and 10:00 - 10:45 a.m., Engineering Divisional Welcomes, Engineering Auditorium
- 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., Tabling by BE student organizations and departments/faculty, Engineering Courtyard
- 10:20 a.m. - First Slugworks Tour departs, Engineering Lanai (Slugworks Tours depart every hour from 10:20 a.m. to 2:20 p.m.)
- 10:50 a.m. - First BE Tour departs, Engineering Lanai (BE Tours depart every hour from 10:50 a.m. to 2:50 p.m.)
- 12:00 p.m. - Game Design Panel, Engineering Auditorium
- 12:00 p.m. - Biomolecular Engineering Panel, E2 Building, Room 180
- 1:00 p.m. - Computer Science/Computer Engineering/Network and Digital Design Panel, Engineering Auditorium
- 1:00 p.m. - Career Success Presentation, E2 Building, Room 180
- 2:00 p.m. - Electrical Engineering/Robotics Engineering Panel, Engineering Auditorium
- 2:00 p.m. - Technology and Information Management/Applied Mathematics Panel, E2 Building, Room 180
Coastal Campus Tour
Coastal Biology Building 1:00 - 4:30 p.m. Location is off campus – Google Maps Link. Map of Coastal Science Campus.
Are you attending the Coastal Campus events below? Please RSVP to help us plan! Thank you.
Located less than five miles from the main campus, our Coastal Campus is a center for exploration and innovation in marine research! Find out more about our innovative Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) programs, as well as the Joseph M. Long Marine Laboratory, the Seymour Center, and other UCSC marine science programs – all on our gorgeous coastal campus right on the ocean!
- 1:30 - 4:30 p.m., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) Labs tabling
- 1:30 - 2:30 p.m., Welcome by EEB faculty and undergraduate panel
- 2:30 - 4:00 p.m., Rotating tours
- 4:00 - 4:30 p.m. - Recap for additional questions & post-tour poll
- After 4:30 p.m., weather conditions permitting - Fireplace and s’mores!
Please note: To visit our Coastal Campus, we recommend that you attend morning events on the main campus at 1156 High Street, then drive to our Coastal Science Campus (130 McAllister Way) for the afternoon. Parking at the Coastal Science Campus is free.
Career Success
Classroom Unit 2
11:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. session and 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. session
Our Career Success team is ready to help you succeed! Find out more about our many services, including jobs and internships (both before and after graduation), job fairs where recruiters come to campus to find you, career coaching, preparation for medical school, law school, and graduate school, and much more!
Housing
Classroom Unit 1
10:00 - 11:00 a.m. session and 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. session
Where will you live for the next few years? Find out about the wide variety of on-campus housing opportunities, including residence hall or apartment living, themed housing, and our unique residential college system. You will also learn about how students receive assistance finding off-campus housing, as well as dates and deadlines and other important information. Meet with the Housing experts and get your questions answered!
Check out a model dorm room on the 2nd floor of the Baytree Campus Store in Quarry Plaza!
Financial Aid
Humanities Lecture Hall
1:00 - 2:00 p.m. session and 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. session
Bring your questions! Find out more about next steps with the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office (FASO) and how we can help make college affordable for you and your family. FASO distributes over $295 million every year in need-based and merit-based awards. If you haven’t filled out your FAFSA or Dream App, do it now!
Financial Aid advisers are also available for drop-in individual advising from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. in Cowell Classroom 131.
More Activities
Microbiology Tours
Tours leave at 12:00 p.m., 12:20 p.m., and 12:40 p.m.
BioMedical Sciences Building
See the UCSC Microbiology lab facilities, where undergraduate students work with graduate students and faculty to gain valuable research experience.
Sesnon Art Gallery
Open 12:00 - 5:00 p.m., Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery, Porter College
Come see the beautiful, meaningful art of our on-campus Sesnon Art Gallery! The gallery is open from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays, and admission is free and open to the public.
Athletics & Recreation East Field Gym Tour
Tours leave every 30 minutes at 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Hagar Drive
View the home of Banana Slugs Athletics & Recreation! Explore our exciting facilities, including our 10,500-square-foot gym with dance and martial arts studios and our Wellness Center, all with views of the East Field and Monterey Bay.
Resource Fair
Resource Fair, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., East Field
Student Performances, 9:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., Quarry Amphitheater
Want to find out more about student resources or student organizations? Stop by our tables to speak with students and staff members from those areas. You may meet a future fellow clubmate!
Resource Fair Participants:
- ABC Student Success
- Alumni Engagement
- Applied Mathematics Department
- Arab Student Union
- Arts Division
- Basic Needs
- Business Economics Academia
- Center for Advocacy, Resources, & Empowerment (CARE)
- Circle K International
- Career Success
- Cloud 9 A Cappella
- Critical Race & Ethnic Studies Department (CRES)
- Disability Resource Center
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department
- Economics Department
- Educational Opportunity Programs (EOP)
- Elections
- Environmental Studies Department
- FaithCO
- Global and Community Health Department
- Global Learning
- Haluan Hip Hop Dance Troupe
- Hermanas Unidas
- Hermanos de UCSC
- Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) Initiatives
- History Department
- Humanities Division
- IDEAS - SoMeCA
- Interfaith Council
- KZSC Community Radio/Student Media
- Latin American and Latino Studies Department
- Learning Support Services/Disability Resource Center
- Linguistics Department
- Literature Department
- Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery
- Men of Color Healing Association
- Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán (MEChA)
- National Society of Black Engineers, NSBE
- Newman Catholic Club
- Orientation
- Physical and Biological Sciences Division
- Politics/Legal Studies Department
- Pre-Optometry Society of UCSC
- Project Smile
- Pupcycled at UCSC
- Resource Centers (AARCC, AIRC, AA/PIRC, El Centro, Cantú Queer Center, Women’s Center)
- Santa Cruz Artificial Intelligence
- Services for Transfer, Re-entry, and Resilient Scholars (STARRS)
- Slug Bike Life
- The Slug Collective
- Slug Gaming
- Slugcast
- SlugCents Financial Wellness Program
- Smith Society Cowell College
- Social Sciences Division
- Sociology Department
- Stitching Slugs
- Student Health Services
- Student Housing Services
- Student Organization Advising and Resources (SOAR)
- Student Union Assembly
- Summer Session
- Transportation & Parking Services (TAPS)
- Veteran Resource Center
- UCSC Equestrian
- Writing Program
Quarry Amphitheater Schedule
- 9:00 - 9:30 a.m. - Campus Welcome with Timetra Hampton
- 9:30 - 10:00 a.m. - Haluan Hip Hop Dance Troupe performance
- 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - BREAK
- 1:00 - 1:30 p.m. - Campus Welcome with Dr. Akirah Bradley-Armstrong
- 1:30 - 2:00 p.m. - The Slug Collective musical performance
- 2:00 - 2:30 p.m. - Mother Superior musical performance
Lacrosse Match
East Field, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., award ceremony at 5:00 p.m.
After visiting our Resource Fair, you’re invited to stop by and view an exciting Women’s Lacrosse match! UCSC is hosting the Western Women’s Lacrosse League Championships April 12-13. Two divisions are represented, and UCSC will be playing Concordia at 9 a.m. Saturday morning. Games will resume on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. with the DI Championship game at 1:00 p.m. and the DII Championship at 10:00 a.m. Admission is free!
Dining Options
A variety of food and drink options will be available throughout campus. Bring a reusable water bottle with you – we’ll have refill stations at the event!
- Food trucks will be available on the west side of campus near Baskin Engineering and on the east side of campus near the East Field House.
- Inexpensive, all-you-care-to-eat lunches will also be available at the Cowell/Stevenson, Rachel Carson/Oakes, and College 9/John R. Lewis dining halls. Vegetarian and vegan options will be available.
- Cafe Ivéta and Slug Stop, both located in Quarry Plaza
- Merrill Market, located in Merrill College Plaza
- Porter Market, located next to the Porter/Kresge Dining Hall
- Stevenson Coffee House, located at Stevenson College
Find out More! Your Next Steps
