UCI 101

Quick Facts

Founded in 1965, the University of California, Irvine combines the strengths of a major research university with the bounty of an incomparable Southern California location. Despite this year’s unprecedented fiscal challenges, UCI’s unyielding commitment to cutting-edge research, teaching, learning and creativity makes the campus a driving force for innovation and discovery that benefits our local, national and global communities in many ways.

With nearly 28,000 students, 1,100 faculty members and 9,000 staff, UCI is among the most dynamic campuses in the University of California system. Increasingly a first-choice campus for students, UCI ranks among the top U.S. universities in the number of undergraduate applications and continues to admit freshmen with highly competitive academic profiles. Orange County’s largest employer, UCI generates an annual economic impact on the county of $3.9 billion.

Excellence in Academics & Research

UCI is a center for quality education that fosters the passionate and enthusiastic expansion of knowledge. Our graduates are equipped with the tools of analysis, expression and cultural understanding necessary for leadership in today’s world.

UCI is consistently ranked among the nation’s best universities – public and private – with achievements in a broad range of fields that have garnered high national rankings for many schools, departments and programs. Three UCI researchers have won Nobel Prizes – two in chemistry and one in physics.

The university is noted for its excellent research and graduate programs, an extensive commitment to undergraduate education, and a growing number of professional schools and programs of academic importance and social significance. Recent additions include public health, pharmaceutical sciences and nursing science programs, as well as a new School of Law that welcomed its first students in fall 2009.

A Prime Resource for the Community

UCI reaches beyond its classrooms and laboratories to address societal issues and support human development. UC Irvine Medical Center, Orange County’s only university hospital, recently opened a new world-class facility, UC Irvine Douglas Hospital, housing the latest technologies and strengthening UCI’s ability to provide specialized medical and surgical treatments.

A major intellectual and cultural center, UCI engages the community through many public activities and events. Renowned individuals speaking on campus include world leaders and Nobel Peace Prize winners, such as former President Jimmy Carter, His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Iranian human rights advocate Shirin Ebadi.

Fueling Growth & Prosperity

In 2008-09, the university invested $129 million in capital construction projects, with additional upgrades under way or in the planning stages. Extramural funding – money coming from outside sources, including federal and state agencies, industry contracts and private foundations in support of UCI research – totaled $318 million in 2008-09.

Underscoring strong community support, private giving to UCI reached nearly $84 million in 2008-09. With an endowment valued at $213 million as of June 30, 2009, the University of California, Irvine Foundation spearheads private fundraising efforts for the campus and, with the assistance of alumni and community leaders, helps ensure UCI’s future as a world-class research university.

UCI benefits the community and the world in countless ways through its scholarly, scientific, creative and economic contributions. UCI now has embarked on a $1 billion fundraising campaign in support of a strategic plan that will leverage our greatest strengths to shape our future and ensure the campus continues to inspire excellence in research, teaching and public service.

For more campus accolades and distinctions, see UC Irvine TODAY.