UCLA is a public land grant university in Los Angeles, California…hence the name University of California, Los Angeles. The school is a powerhouse of a university, and is home to more than 33,000 undergraduate students and nearly 50,000 students total. Students at UCLA are idealistic, and feel a sense of purpose. They want to be part of something bigger than themselves in life, but also in their college experience. The campus itself is a huge community within Los Angeles, and students have access to everything they could ever want — including over 125 majors to choose from. The acceptance rate is about 9%.
Almost all admitted undergraduate students, around 80%, are admitted to The College, the school of arts and sciences at UCLA, so we’re going to focus on the top five majors through The College for this post. That means we’re not looking at the Samueli School of Engineering; the School of Theater, Film & Television; the School of Arts and Architecture; the Herb Alpert School of Music; or the School of Nursing. Each of these separate undergraduate colleges is amazing, but as they make up such a minority of applicants, we feel it makes sense to focus this list on the college most people consider: The College.
In the Fall 2023 freshman profile for UCLA, we can see that most students apply to study majors that fall under the life sciences or social sciences divisions. Twice as many students applied for each of those divisions as applied for the Physical Sciences or the Humanities. Notably, the Physical Sciences division also had the highest admit rate for the students beginning in Fall 2023, at 14%.
Now, they do say that “For The College, the applicant’s major is not considered during the review process.” But they don’t say that their division isn’t, and building a well-distributed freshman class is an important part of how the admissions office decides who to accept. While this isn’t a big enough deal to use as a reason to change your major on its own, and we haven’t picked the top 5 based on that statistic, it is worth noting if UCLA is your dream school.
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What do we mean by best major?
UCLA has more than 100 majors in the College alone — and that’s a lot. All of these majors are great programs, but some stand out. We’ve selected the top five based on resources, focus, the depth of the program, and post-graduation resources. We’ve also awarded bonus points for majors that are unique to UCLA, or for which UCLA offers something that is hard to find anywhere else.
Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, B.S.
This major has research at its core, and Los Angeles is an outstanding place to study oceans, after all. The major is led by leading scientists, which means it’s always on the cutting edge, remaining “exciting, timely, and relevant.” Students go deep into the maths and sciences before focusing in on a particular area of interest through courses like “Air Pollution,” “Climates of Other Worlds,” and “Climate Change Assessment.” They even offer practical career-oriented courses like “How to Write and Publish Scientific Papers,” which may sound pedantic as you consider what to major in but that really makes a big difference when you are ready to translate your diploma into a career.
Chicana and Chicano Studies, B.A.
This is a major you can’t find at most schools, and that is truly made for the Los Angeles experience that UCLA offers. The mission of the major, “is to train a new generation of scholars to research and analyze the life, history, and culture of Mexican-origin people within the U.S., as well as of other Latina/Latino and indigenous populations in the Americas.” The major is geared towards students who are interested in, or already practicing in, the literary or visual arts, and is meant to prepare students for graduate school with the ultimate goal of serving their community in the U.S. and abroad. The program was founded 30 years ago, but actually dates back to the 1970s and movements within UCLA in response to student organizing. The final push to create the major was a 14-day hunger strike protesting for this very major, making the program founded in community organizing and social justice. Today, more than 600 students pursue the major. Prospective majors should know that there is a Spanish language requirement that can be fulfilled either through strong high school scores or grades, or by taking courses in at UCLA.
Disability Studies, B.A.
The Disability Studies program at UCLA is a new major that is an Interdepartmental Degree Program (IDP) that pulls courses and resources from diverse arenas and perspectives, “including arts and humanities, health sciences, social sciences, public policy, technology, and education.” The result is a groundbreaking program that includes the Inclusion Labs aimed at advancing a more just and inclusive society and “embraces a methodology that examines disability as a social, cultural, and aesthetic construct.” While this is a new program, it is already a powerhouse as the faculty packs a punch.
Linguistics, B.A.
The Linguistics program at UCLA is deep. They offer a long list of majors for students who aspire to go into foreign language teaching, bilingual education, speech pathology and therapy, translating and interpreting, or any other field where language skills form a foundational component for growth and success. Which major you pick within the Linguistics program really depends on which of these avenues you want to take, which is why we’ve grouped them together here. Students have options like Linguistics and Anthropology, Linguistics and Computer Science, Linguistics and Philosophy, and more. Students also have access to courses in American Sign Language.
Human Biology and Society, B.S./B.A.
This is a biology major, but also more than that. Housed within the Institute for Society & Genetics, the Human Biology and Society major is unique in the United States for integrating science and the philosophical and legal study of the implications of understanding ourselves on a genomic level. The program was born in the beginning of the 21st century out of concerns related to the Human Genome Project, and has continued to evolve and grow as the implications of genomic research have also expanded. Students considering a career in law, business, or public policy do best through the B.A., while the B.S. is best for those considering careers in medicine or other health services fields. All students in the major are required to complete research experiences and internships, which can include things like “Society and Genetics” or a community or corporate internship.
Before wrapping this up, we want to throw some statistically-driven wildcards in the mix from outside of The College.
For the Class of 2027, the admit rate for prospective Materials Engineering majors was quintuple the admit rate for computer science and related majors. Same with Chemical Engineering.
In the School of the Arts and Architecture, the art major acceptance rate was only 3.8% but the World Arts and Cultures/Dance acceptance rate was 33%.
In the School of Music, the highest acceptance rate was for Ethnomusicology (50%) and in the School of Theater, Film and Television Theater had a 6.9% acceptance rate while Film and Television admitted only 1% of applicants.
We do not advise picking a major based on acceptance rate, especially when it’s in a program you’ll be locked into, but it is useful to know these numbers if you are unsure of what avenue you want to go down academically, but you know you want to be at UCLA.
Most importantly, never apply undecided. Keep your options open, but always apply with a clear direction — even if you may change your mind.
And if you’re looking for direction in the college admissions process, we can help.