Antioch University, Santa Barbara

Antioch University Santa Barbara (AUSB) is a private liberal arts university in Santa Barbara, California. It is part of the Antioch University system that includes campuses in Keene, New Hampshire; Seattle, Washington; Los Angeles, California; and Yellow Springs, Ohio, also home to Antioch College. Antioch University has operated in Santa Barbara since 1977.

Programs

Degree programs include the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Liberal Studies, in which "adult students engage in a wide range of learning activities" with academic work taking place in various settings including on-campus classes, schools, health agencies, art organizations, businesses, and other community settings. In addition the university awards a Master of Arts (MA) in Clinical Psychology. The university offers a Master of Arts in Education with additional course work for Teacher Credential Program, a Multiple-Subject Teaching Credential, a Social Justice and Educational Leadership Emphasis, Educational Specialist Mild/Moderate Credential, and Educational Specialist Mild/Moderate Curriculum Design. It also offers PsyD in Clinical Psychology. The university is planning for a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Writing for Visual Media program, focusing on screenplay writing, playwriting, creative writing, and creative non-fiction.

Campus

The Santa Barbara campus of Antioch University opened in 1977 and has experienced steady growth with a current student body of almost 400 students. Located in downtown Santa Barbara, the campus offers more than 60 courses each quarter with a faculty of more than 50 full-time and part-time instructors. Antioch Santa Barbara serves local residents, commuters as well as students from around the world.Antioch Santa Barbara’s students are adults who seek a new direction in their careers or the mobility provided by earning an undergraduate or graduate degree. A diverse group of men and women ranging in age from 23 to 70, they share a serious determination to change their lives.

Michaelo Rosso-Balcazar

“For me it was just a wake up call,” says Ross-Balacazar regarding the time after a period of unemployment when he discovered his job as a family advocate for those dealing with mental illness. “It touched me in a very, very personal level.”

Rosso-Balcazar had no money to pay for tuition, but decided to visit the campus anyway. His visit was on a Thursday, and immediately he was signed up to start attending classes the following Monday. “People at AUSB said they needed more males in the field and the fact that I was bilingual was a big asset,” he says.

In fact, AUSB provided Rosso-Balcazar with financial aid that helped him immediately begin the program. Among his loans and grants, was a scholarship for Latino students. “I felt like the movie ‘Legally Blonde’ when she becomes an attorney,” laughs Rosso-Balcazar. “All of the sudden my life changed.”

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