University of California, Irvine

Overview

One of the 10 campuses of the University of California system, the University of California, Irvine—UC Irvine or just UCI—is a public university based in Irvine, California. It was established in the 1960s to help the UC system with growing enrollments. Counting 87 undergraduate degrees along with 129 graduate and professional degrees in its program, the UCI is among those considered as "Public Ivies," publicly-funded universities whose quality of education is on par with their private Ivy League counterparts.

The quality and quantity of research at the UCI is among the best in the United States, making it one of the select few with Research I university classification. In 2018 alone, for example, it spent $436.6 million in R&D.

The university administers the UC Irvine Medical Center, a large teaching hospital in Orange, and its affiliated health sciences system; the UCI Arboretum; and a portion of the University of California Natural Reserve System.

The UCI was originally built upon 1,000 acres of land in Orange County, which was sold in 1960 to the University of California by the Irvine Company for one dollar. The company opted for the odd price since it was prohibited from donating to public entities. The university purchased an additional 510 hectares to accommodate housing and commercial purposes. In 1964, the campus was officially dedicated by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

As a peer of the best universities in the USA and the world, the UCI counts seven Nobel Prize winners associated with it. Additionally, seven Pulitzer Prize winners call UCI their home, four of them alumni and three as faculty members.

In sports, the UCI is an active member of the Big West Conference, with the UC Irvine Anteaters competing in the NCAA Division 1, up from the NCAA Division II level it previously played in. The Anteaters have won several national championships in different team sports, while many members have also won individual national championships. A large number of Anteaters have also competed in the Olympics.

The UCI Science Library is one of the largest consolidated science and medical libraries in the US. It serves as the main resource of the university's schools of physical sciences, information and computer science, biological sciences, and the College of Medicine among others.

Other notable libraries in the UCI include its Law Library, Grunigen Medical Library, the Jack Langson Library, and the Libraries Gateway Study Center. The university possesses a notable Critical Theory archive and Southeast Asian archive.

The libraries house extensive collections in Regional History and Dance and Performing Arts. Additionally, almost all of the UCI's departments and schools maintain their reading rooms and scholarly meeting rooms to complement the materials provided by the various libraries.

You can also learn more about the educational performance of University of California, Irvine in our ranking of US universities & colleges.