Events

Summer Courses Listed for 2026
2026-03-20 00:00 - 23:59, 2026-03-21 00:00 - 23:59, 2026-03-22 00:00 - 23:59, 2026-03-23 00:00 - 23:59, 2026-03-24 00:00 - 23:59, 2026-03-25 00:00 - 23:59, 2026-03-26 00:00 - 23:59, 2026-03-27 00:00 - 23:59 (America/Los_Angeles) and 13 more dates | CA
Summer 2026 classes are now posted at summer.ucsc.edu. Explore courses and start planning your summer schedule over winter closure! Days and times will be in the schedule of classes on March 15. Email summer@ucsc.edu with questions.

Santa Cruz Pickwick Club presents: Bleak House
2026-03-22 13:00 - 15:00 | CA
Spontaneous human combustion! Evil lawyers! Detectives! Family intrigue! These all come together in Charles Dickens’s masterwork, Bleak House. This year, we will spend the year reading the 2026 Dickens Universe novel. Join Dickens enthusiasts and Pickwick Club members on Zoom for a series of discussions about this beloved book.
Register via Zoom
Reading Schedule:

OCT 26: Chapters 8-13
NOV 23: Chapters 14-19
DEC 28: No meeting
JAN 25: Chapters 20-25
FEB 22: Chpaters 26-32
MAR 22: Chapters 33-38
APR 26: Chapters 39-46
MAY 24: Chapters 47-53
JUN 28: Chapters 54-67 (End)

Recommended Edition: We recommend the Penguin Classics edition of the novel for its appendices and notes, but other versions are fine. First-time readers should avoid the Introduction if they don’t want spoilers. Download the novel to read at Gutenburg.org or listen to it at LibriVox.org.
The Santa Cruz Pickwick (Book) Club, a branch of the Dickens Fellowship, is a community of local bookworms, students, and teachers who meet monthly to discuss a nineteenth-century novel. The Santa Cruz Public Libraries provide support for the reading group.

Community Conversation with author Randy Ribay
2026-03-23 16:30 - 18:00 | CA
Please join us on Monday, March 23, 2026 for a community conversation with Randy Ribay, young adult fiction writer and National Book Award Finalist. During the event, Randy will discuss his recent novel, Everything We Never Had (2024), about four-generations of Filipino American men grappling with identity, masculinity, and father-son relationships. The characters’ stories traverse histories of Filipino America, including those of Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley. Randy conducted archival research using the Watsonville is in the Heart Community Digital Archive and other repositories to create intergenerational narratives of Filipino American migration, labor, and family.
Our conversation will take place in the Community Room located on the Fourth Floor of the Watsonville Civic Plaza. This event is free and open to the public. It is co-sponsored by Watsonville Public Library, UCSC’s Center for Labor and Community, Watsonville is in the Heart, The Tobera Project, and Pajaro Valley for Ethnic Studies and Justice.

March Slugs and Steins with Dean PK Agarwal
2026-03-23 18:30 - 20:00
The Future of Work in the Age of AI: Chaos, Adaptation, or Growth?
Artificial intelligence has reignited an old debate: are we approaching mass technological unemployment, or simply the next phase of economic evolution? Public discourse swings between dystopian predictions of human obsolescence and confident assurances that “new jobs will replace old ones.” This lecture steps back from speculation and examines evidence. Drawing on economic history and disruptive change, going back to the wheel and the printing press to electrification, computers, and the internet—we explore how societies have repeatedly confronted disruptive change: moments when existing skills, institutions, and expectations no longer matched the pace of innovation. The goal is not to predict the future, but to provide a framework for thinking about it—what AI may automate, what it may amplify, and why the real disruption may be the speed of adaptation rather than the disappearance of work itself. The talk concludes with implications for higher education, workforce development, and how individuals can remain resilient in an age where intelligence is no longer exclusively human.
REGISTER

Educational Therapy Program Info Session
2026-03-24 18:30 - 19:30 | Silicon Valley Campus, 3175 Bowers Avenue, Santa Clara, CA, 95054, United States
Transform learning
Join Diana Black Kennedy, chair of UCSC Silicon Valley’s Educational Therapy certificate program, to learn how this distinctive program prepares educators and professionals to create meaningful, lasting impact. As one of the few programs approved by the Association of Educational Therapists (AET), it equips you with the skills to assess learning differences and implement research-based, effective interventions with confidence.
Empower students and build your practice
Gain skills to support students with learning differences like dyslexia, ADHD, and autism using therapeutic and educational strategies. Whether you’re working in schools or starting a private practice, this program helps you create individualized plans that foster meaningful progress.
This spring info session is sponsored by the Educational Therapy Program.
Claim your seat.

What's new in clinical research careers?
2026-03-25 17:00 - 18:00 | Silicon Valley Campus, 3175 Bowers Avenue, Santa Clara, CA, 95054, United States
Advance your career in the global clinical research industry.
As the demand for safe, effective therapies grows, so does the need for professionals who can lead clinical trials with scientific precision and regulatory expertise. Learn how experts design and manage studies that bring medical innovations from the lab to the marketplace—applying biostatistics, good clinical practices, and international regulations to ensure safety and compliance.
Join Karim Sajwani, chair of the UCSC Silicon Valley Extension Clinical Trials Design and Management program, for an inside look at how our courses prepare you to coordinate cross-functional teams, oversee global trials, and navigate complex approval processes that shape the future of healthcare.
This event is sponsored by the Clinical Trials Design and Management certificate program.
Claim your seat.

Learn more about high school health pathways
2026-03-25 18:00 - 19:00 | Silicon Valley Campus, 3175 Bowers Avenue, Santa Clara, CA, 95054, United States
Introducing the new High School Health Pathways Summer Academy!
At this interactive info session about our new program for college-bound high schoolers, Dr. Deepthi Nair, senior director of the UC Santa Cruz Premed Postbacc Program, will talk about the UC Santa Cruz High School Health Pathways Summer Academy, a six-week session of transformative learning, in-person, at the Silicon Valley Campus of UC Santa Cruz.
Learn more about the summer academy, which offers hands-on learning in diverse topics such as:

Human biology
Microscopy
Public health advocacy
Expert mentorship
Field experiences
Capstone project

High school students, parents, and advisors are invited to join the discussion and bring questions.
Claim your seat today.

From upskilling to career shifting: Education that moves you forward
2026-03-26 17:30 - 18:30 | Silicon Valley Campus, 3175 Bowers Avenue, Santa Clara, CA, 95054, United States
Join Dean PK Agarwal in this hybrid session as he explores how professional certificates, bootcamps, and extension programs can create new pathways for career growth. Learn how flexible education models help adult learners and working professionals build momentum and navigate change with confidence.
You’ll gain insight into how to:

Use flexible learning options to support career growth at any stage
Stay competitive through targeted, skills-focused education
Leverage nontraditional pathways to build confidence and move forward with purpose.

This event is part of the Dean Conversations: Pathways to professional success series.
Claim your seat.

First Saturday Tour at the Arboretum
2026-04-04 11:00 - 12:00 | Arboretum, 122 Arboretum Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
First Saturday Tours are a wonderful way to introduce yourself to the Arboretum or to deepen your knowledge of the Arboretum’s plant collections. Each tour is a little different depending on the time of year, the interests of the tour guide, and the people who join in. For example, you might learn about the birds and mammals that make this land their home or about the amazing physical adaptations that plants have evolved to better deal with our extreme weather and climate conditions. Tours are free with paid admission.

What's new in AI?
2026-04-08 18:00 - 19:00 | Silicon Valley Campus, 3175 Bowers Avenue, Santa Clara, CA, 95054, United States
Lead innovation as a machine learning engineer
Want to learn what’s new in AI? Join Praveen Krishna, chair of the Artificial Intelligence Application Development certificate program, in an informal discussion about the AI topic of the month and an open Q&A. You’ll get an insider’s look at what you need to know for where you want to go. Bring your questions. Share your experience. Plan your learning.
Every 2nd Wednesday | Online
Visit our program page for a closer look at our AI App Development courses and offerings.
Register.
