Numerous health care providers in the Santa Barbara area offer COVID-19 testing and/or COVID-related medical care. Individuals who have symptoms of COVID-19 or believe they have been exposed to the virus should contact their healthcare providers for symptomatic testing. Asymptomatic testing, for those who are not showing symptoms and have no known exposure, is available on campus for current students and for faculty and staff members who are providing essential on-site work or services. Alumni, retirees and family members of employees are not eligible for UC Santa Barbara's COVID-19 testing. Information about the different tests can be found on the Student Health website.
Regardless of an individual's vaccination status, COVID-19 testing remains:
- Required for all undergraduate students living in campus housing, working or attending class on campus or participating in other campus activities.
- Strongly recommended for for graduate students living in campus housing, conducting research, working or attending classes on campus or participating in any other campus activities.
- Strongly recommended for faculty members, postdoctoral researchers and fellows conducting research or teaching on campus or participating in any other campus activities.
Asymptomatic Testing
Asymptomatic testing, for individuals who have no COVID-19 symptoms and no known exposure, is available at no charge to UC Santa Barbara undergraduate and graduate students and faculty and staff members who live in campus-owned housing or work, attend classes or conduct research on campus, or want to access campus facilities. Testing will be available also to all undergraduate students living off campus.
Appointments may be made through the Student Health Patient Portal Gateway using UCSBnet ID. Asymptomatic testing takes place at the campus’s Loma Pelona Center and in the Linda Vista Room at Santa Catalina residence hall.
Testing Requirements
- Weekly testing is required for all undergraduate students living in campus housing, working or attending class on campus or participating in other campus activities. Through winter quarter, the testing program will be available all undergraduate students, including those living off campus.
- Weekly testing is strongly recommended for graduate students living in campus housing, conducting research, working or attending classes on campus or participating in any other campus activities. Until further notice, testing remains strongly recommended for graduate students who have been vaccinated.
- Weekly testing is strongly recommended for faculty members, postdoctoral researchers and fellows conducting research or teaching on campus or participating in any other campus activities. If you've been vaccinated, testing remains strongly recommended until further notice.
- Weekly testing is strongly recommended for UC Santa Barbara staff members working on campus in essential on-site positions. If you've been vaccinated, testing remains strongly recommended until further notice.
- Please note: Regardless of an individual's vaccination status, testing is still required for undergraduate students described above, and is strongly recommended for graduate students and faculty and staff members described above. This will continue to be the case until we receive further guidance from the CDC and from state and local health officials.
Testing Availability and Appointments
- Testing is provided weekdays, except official holidays, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. at the campus’s Loma Pelona Center and in the Linda Vista Room at the Santa Catalina residence hall. Special hours will be provided during move-in periods for campus housing.
- Each individual is allowed one test per week.
- Information on how to schedule an asymptomatic test can be found here.
What to Expect
Testing Information
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More information about the testing, including details about the specific COVID-19 tests offered on campus can be found at Student Health Surveillance/Asymptomatic Testing.
Where to Find Your COVID-19 Test Results
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Results of campus asymptomatic COVID-19 tests can be accessed via the same Student health Portal Gateway used to make testing appointments. Click “Medical Records” from the menu on the left side of the page. More details are available here.
Asymptomatic Testing Locations
Asymptomatic testing takes place at the campus’s Loma Pelona Center and in the Linda Vista Room at Santa Catalina residence hall. Click the location icons in the map above for hours and location details. Information on how to schedule an asymptomatic test can be found on the Student Health website.
UCSB COVID-19 Viral Strain/Variant Research Project
As part of a research effort to understand which variant strains of the SARS-CoV2 virus are emerging in Santa Barbara County, campus community members who test positive for COVID-19 in the university’s testing program may volunteer to have their COVID-19 virus sequenced in order to determine which strain of the virus has infected them. All that is required is an individual’s consent.
More information is available at Student Health.
Symptomatic Testing
If you think you may have symptoms of COVID-19, you can contact any of the following providers to arrange for a COVID-19 test in Santa Barbara or to seek medical care. Please check with each provider to clarify any charges, and to be sure your health insurance is accepted. Your private health insurance may also have resources for Telehealth that can provide you with medical advice, but may not be able to order a local COVID-19 test.
The UC Santa Barbara COVID-19 Call Center at (805) 893-3113 or ucsb-covid19@ucsb.edu is also available to provide further information.
Student Health (Confidential services for UCSB students)
- COVID-19 testing with no charge for students, if symptomatic or exposed to confirmed cases; test appointments may also be scheduled through the Student Health Patient Portal Gateway or join a QLess line to receive a callback. Urgent Care and Telehealth visits available
- QLess virtual line for nurse advice.
Santa Barbara County Public Health Dept
- Free COVID-19 testing in Isla Vista and Goleta
- Information at https://publichealthsbc.org/
testing
Cottage Health CareNow Online Services
- (805) 456-6545
- Online visit, may refer out for testing if indicated
- You may submit your receipt to your insurance company, but reimbursement is not guaranteed
Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics
- (844) 594-0343
- Telehealth visits available; sliding scale fees based on income
- Four locations for medical care in Santa Barbara; one in Isla Vista
- Open evenings and Saturday
- Call first to alert them if you have COVID-19 symptoms
Sansum Clinic
- (800) 472-6786
- Sansum Urgent Care
- (805) 563-6110; 215 Pesetas Ln., Santa Barbara, CA 93111
- Telehealth visits available
- Open weekends
- Call first to alert them if you have COVID-19 symptoms
The Med Center
- Open evenings and weekends (not all locations)
- (805) 681-7411; 271 N. Fairview Ave., Suite 101, Goleta, CA 93117
- (805) 682-7411; 2954 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93105
- (805) 965-3011; 319 N Milpas Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93103
Other
- Information provided by the California Department of Public Health about additional COVID-19 testing sites in the area can be found here.
The University does not recommend, endorse, warrant or guarantee any specific provider of medical services, or any product or service that they may offer and will not be a party to any transaction between you and such providers. The names of these medical providers are for information purposes only. As with the purchase of any product or service, it is your responsibility to use your best judgment in the selection of any appropriate medical provider.
Updated 12/21/2020. Send comments to: ucsb-covid19@ucsb.edu.