Research Facilities

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The CineMedia Project (CMP) is a non-circulating research archive dedicated to the study of Latin American and Latino film and video. The CMP is located on the 1st floor of the Casa Latina, and is open to UCSC faculty, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates. Non-campus users of the facility are invited to become CineMedia Project Associates.

The Geographic Information Systems and Interdisciplinary Sciences Computational Laboratory (GIS/ISC) offers separate teaching and research facilities with a variety of current hardware and software resources. Both facilities are located in the Interdisiplinary Science Building (ISB) on the UC Santa Cruz campus. These facilities are available to students, faculty, staff, and non-profit organizations working on GIS related research or projects.

Since 1979 the Life Lab Science Program has supported science and garden-based education through publications, professionial development, and innovative programs. A non-profit, Life Lab's mission is to inspire learning and conservtion by engaging students and educators in the natural world.

Museum of Natural History Collections (MNHC) is dedicated to cultivating an increased understanding of and appreciation for the natural world by promoting the use of its natural science collections for teaching, research, and aesthetics. The museum, part of the Environmental Studies Department, is the main repository for natural science collections at UC Santa Cruz. Collections include specimens of plants, fungi, insects, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

The laboratories of Physical Anthropology and Archaeology are dedicated to teaching and research in both physical (biological) anthropology and archaeology. Within the labs are spaces for the study of comparative anatomy, osteology, forensic anthropology, zooarchaeology, ceramics, lithics, and Monterey Bay archaeology. The laboratories maintain collections of comparative vertebrate osteology and taphonomic specimens.

The Plant Growth Facility (greenhouse) is the core support facility for plants used in the instructional and research programs for the Departments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB), Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology (MCDB), and Environmental Studies (ENVS). The Plant Growth Facility is comprised of three separate growing areas all located on Science Hill in the center of the University of California Santa Cruz campus.

Students in the Social Sciences have the unique opportunity to get media training and equipment access at the Social Sciences Media Lab. Some of the services the Media Lab offers are:  media training, equipment loans, darkroom facilities, video production facilities, Social Sciences Media Lab Grant, and technical consultation and support. 

The Center for Agreoecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS) manages the UCSC Farm and the Alan Chadwick Garden, both internationally known sites for training and research in organic horticulture and agriculture. These facilities are organically certified in accordance with the California Organic Foods Act of 1990. Students, faculty, and researchers use both the Farm and Garden as research and teaching sites. Both facilities are also open to the public daily from 8 am to 6 pm.