University of California, Irvine facts for kids
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| Motto | Fiat lux (Latin) |
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Motto in English
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"Let there be light" |
| Type | Public land-grant research university |
| Established | October 4, 1965 |
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Parent institution
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University of California |
| Accreditation | WSCUC |
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Academic affiliations
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| Endowment | $1.3 billion (2022) |
| Chancellor | Howard Gillman |
| Provost | Hal Stern |
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Academic staff
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5,596 (2019) |
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Administrative staff
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6,426 (2019) |
| Students | 36,505 (2021) |
| Undergraduates | 30,222 (2019) |
| Postgraduates | 5,849 (2019) |
| Location |
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United States
33°38′44″N 117°50′33″W / 33.64556°N 117.84250°W |
| Campus | Large city, 1,527 acres (618 ha) |
| Other campuses | Orange |
| Newspaper | New University |
| Colors | Blue and gold |
| Nickname | Anteaters |
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Sporting affiliations
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| Mascot | Peter the Anteater |
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The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a big public university in Irvine, California. It's one of ten campuses in the famous University of California system. UCI offers many different degrees for both undergraduate and graduate students. In Fall 2019, about 30,000 undergraduate students and 6,000 graduate students attended UCI.
UCI is known for its high level of research. It spent over $523 million on research in 2021. The university also runs the UC Irvine Medical Center, which is a large teaching hospital. UCI was even called one of the "Public Ivies" in surveys. This means it offers an education similar to the top Ivy League schools, but it's a public university.
The sports teams at UCI are called the UC Irvine Anteaters. They compete in NCAA Division I. The Anteaters have won 28 national championships in nine different sports. Many students have also won individual national championships. Plus, 53 Anteaters have competed in the Olympics, winning 33 medals! Many famous people have been connected to UCI. This includes 5 Nobel Prize winners and 7 Pulitzer Prize winners.
Contents
History of UCI
How UCI Started
The University of California, Irvine was one of three new UC campuses built in the 1960s. This was done to handle the many students expected after World War II. A good spot was found in Orange County. It was a large area of farmland called Irvine Ranch. This location was chosen to help the growing population of the county. It also supported the growth of nearby UCLA and UC Riverside.
On June 20, 1964, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson officially opened UC Irvine. About 15,000 people came to the event. The campus welcomed its first students on October 4, 1965. There were 1,589 students, 241 staff, and 119 teachers. Many buildings were still being built at that time. By June 25, 1966, UCI had its first graduation ceremony.
Growing and Changing
Unlike most UC campuses, UCI was not named after the city it was in. The city of Irvine didn't even exist yet when the university started! The name "Irvine" comes from James Irvine. He was a landowner who owned the large Irvine Ranch. In 1960, The Irvine Company sold 1,000 acres of the ranch to the University of California for just one dollar.
The first leader of UCI, Daniel G. Aldrich, chose many different plants and animals for the campus. He wanted them to be beautiful and educational. The university also bought more land in 1964 for student housing and shops. This helped the area around the university grow quickly. The City of Irvine was officially created in 1971. Today, UCI is the second-largest employer in Orange County. It brings in about $5 billion each year.
UCI's first academic plan included a College of Arts, Letters, and Science. It also had a Graduate School of Administration and a School of Engineering. In 1967, the California College of Medicine joined UC Irvine. In 1976, the university bought the Orange County Medical Center. It was renamed the UC Irvine Medical Center.
UCI Campus
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The main part of UCI's campus looks like a big circle. In the middle is Aldrich Park. A road called Ring Mall goes around the park. This road is used by students and teachers to get around. It's exactly one mile long! The different schools and libraries are located along this road.
Aldrich Park has over 11,120 trees. There are more than 24,000 trees on the whole campus! The park is a popular spot for student events. These include "Wayzgoose," a medieval festival, and "Celebrate UCI" open house.
Other parts of the university, like the School of Arts, are connected by pedestrian bridges. Beyond the main circle, the campus looks more like a regular neighborhood.
What's Around UCI?
Irvine, California is known as one of the safest cities in the United States. UCI is close to beaches, mountains, and fun places in Southern California. Disneyland is only about 20 minutes away by car. The campus is right next to the city of Newport Beach.
The "North Campus" has different university departments. It's also next to the UCI Arboretum. Both are about 1 mile from the main campus.
Even though it's in a city, many animals live on campus. You might see cougars, hawks, golden eagles, great blue herons, squirrels, and rabbits. The UCI Arboretum has many plants from California and other places with similar climates. Rabbits are especially common around campus!
Campus Buildings
The first buildings at UCI were designed by a team of architects. The main park was designed to look like Frederick Law Olmsted's Central Park in New York City. When the campus opened in 1965, only half of the inner circle and park were finished. There were only nine buildings.
Building slowed down after 1974. But then, in the late 1980s, there was a huge building boom! This new construction had a more colorful and modern look. Famous architects like Frank Gehry designed some buildings. As of 2005, the campus has over 200 buildings. It covers most of the university's 1,525 acres.
Libraries and Study Spots
UCI has several libraries where students can study and find resources.
- Jack Langson Library: This library has books and materials for arts, humanities, education, and social sciences.
- Science Library: This is one of the largest science and medical libraries in the country. It has resources for biology, engineering, computer science, and physical sciences.
- Grunigen Medical Library: Located at the UCI Medical Center, it has many medical books.
- Law Library: This library is in the Law Building.
Many departments and schools also have their own smaller study rooms. The Gateway Study Center is a large computer lab and study area. It's open almost 24 hours a day.
The UCI Student Center is also a popular place to study. It has many study areas and food courts. UCI also has several computer labs for students. Other good study spots include Aldrich Park and the Cross-Cultural Center.
Campus Tunnels
There's a network of tunnels under many of the main buildings on campus. These tunnels carry electricity and air conditioning from a central plant. There's a main tunnel under Ring Mall, with smaller tunnels branching off. People used to tell stories that the tunnels were built to help teachers escape if there was a student riot! But they are really for maintenance staff.
UCI in Washington D.C.
The University of California, Irvine, started the University of California, Washington Center (UCDC) program in 1982. This program is for students. It's located in Downtown Washington, D.C.. The center helps UC students who are doing internships in Washington.
How UCI is Run
UCI is run by a system where the Chancellor and the faculty work together. The Chancellor is the main leader of the campus. The Academic Senate, made up of faculty, decides things like admissions and courses. The Chancellor is chosen by the Regents of the University of California.
Here are the Chancellors who have led UCI:
- 1962 Daniel G. Aldrich
- 1984 Jack W. Peltason
- 1993 Laurel L. Wilkening
- 1998 Ralph J. Cicerone
- 2005 Michael V. Drake
- 2014 Howard Gillman
The second most important person is the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost. They are in charge of all academic and operations. All the schools and departments report to this office.
Academics at UCI
Schools and Programs
UCI's academic departments are called Schools. As of the 2021–2022 school year, there are fourteen Schools and one Program in Public Health. There are also many programs that combine different subjects. The School of Law was approved in 2006. The School of Education started in 2012. In 2017, the nursing program became the Sue and Bill Gross School of Nursing thanks to a large donation. In 2020, the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences was approved.
Here are some of the academic units at UCI:
- Claire Trevor School of the Arts
- School of Biological Sciences
- Paul Merage School of Business
- School of Education
- Henry Samueli School of Engineering
- School of Humanities
- Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences
- Interdisciplinary Studies (combining different subjects)
- School of Law
- School of Physical Sciences
- School of Social Ecology
- School of Social Sciences
- School of Medicine
- Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing
- School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Program in Public Health
Health Care
The School of Medicine is a professional health science school. The UC Irvine Medical Center is one of the top 50 hospitals in the nation. It has been ranked this way for 12 years in a row! The School of Medicine has many departments. Its teachers are involved in teaching, patient care, and medical research.
Research at UCI
UCI has many research groups. Teachers lead these groups, and students often help with research. These groups create new ideas, patents, and scholarly works. Some are in school offices, while others have their own buildings.
Here are a few of UCI's research organizations:
- Beckman Laser Institute
- California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2)
- Center for Complex Biological Systems
- Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience
- Institute of Transportation Studies
- National Fuel Cell Research Center
- Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center
- Center for Machine Learning and Data Mining (CML)
Rankings of UCI
UCI is often ranked as one of the best universities.
- Times Higher Education ranked UCI 4th in the world for universities under 50 years old in 2012. It was 1st in the US for that group.
- For 2024, U.S. News & World Report ranked UC Irvine tied for 33rd among all national universities in the U.S. It was tied for 10th among public universities.
- In 2019, Forbes ranked UCI 3rd out of 300 Best Value Colleges. This was based on how much students get back from their education.
- In 2018, Sierra Magazine ranked UCI 1st for campus sustainability. This means UCI is great at being eco-friendly!
Many of UCI's graduate programs are also highly ranked. For example, criminology is ranked 3rd.
Becoming a Student at UCI
UC Irvine is a very selective school for college admissions. This means it's hard to get in. For the fall 2022 class, UCI received over 119,000 applications. Only about 21% of those students were accepted. The average GPA for new students in fall 2022 was 4.22.
The most popular major for new students is in the School of Biological Sciences. This is followed by students who are undecided about their major. The decision to accept students is based on many things. UCI looks at a student's personal situation, community involvement, and activities. They also look at grades and test scores.
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
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| Applied | 95,568 | 97,942 | 107,952 | 119,199 | 121,097 |
| Admitted | 25,361 | 29,301 | 31,239 | 25,358 | 31,184 |
| Enrolled | 6,068 | 5,765 | 6,489 | 5,664 | 6,796 |
| Selectivity rate | 26.5% | 29.9% | 28.9% | 21.3% | 25.8% |
| Yield rate | 23.9% | 19.7% | 20.8% | 22.3% | 21.8% |
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
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| Applied | 21,736 | 24,214 | 25,849 | 22,795 | 22,001 |
| Admitted | 9,556 | 9,809 | 9,756 | 9,276 | 9,581 |
| Enrolled | 3,089 | 2,723 | 2,860 | 2,575 | 2,865 |
| Selectivity rate | 44.0% | 40.5% | 37.7% | 40.7% | 43.5% |
| Yield rate | 32.3% | 27.8% | 29.3% | 27.8% | 29.9% |
Discoveries and Cool Stuff
Machine Learning Repository
UCI hosts the UCI Machine Learning Repository. This is a very popular resource for researchers who study machine learning and data mining. It was started in 1987. It has 622 datasets from many different areas. These include biology, medicine, physics, engineering, and games. These datasets have been used by thousands of students and researchers. They have helped create about 26,000 scientific articles!
Student Life at UCI
| Race and ethnicity | Total | ||
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| Asian | 37% |
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| Hispanic | 25% |
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| Foreign national | 16% |
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| White | 13% |
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| Other | 6% |
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| Black | 2% |
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| Economic diversity | |||
| Low-income | 36% |
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| Affluent | 64% |
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Clubs and Groups
There are about 600 student clubs and organizations at UCI! Throughout the year, there are many activities. These include cultural nights, art shows, and live music. Special events like Summerlands, Wayzgoose, and Earth Day happen every year.
ASUCI, the student government, often tries to break Guinness World Records. UCI has won records for the largest game of capture the flag six times! They also broke the record for the largest game of dodgeball three years in a row. Other records include the largest water pistol fight and largest pillow fight.
Where Students Live
UCI has many places for students to live on campus. The university wants to have enough housing for half of all its students.
The on-campus housing for undergraduate students includes Mesa Court, Middle Earth, and Arroyo Vista. There are also apartment-style options like Campus Village and Vista del Campo. Graduate students can live in places like Palo Verde.
UCI's two main dorms for new students are Mesa Court and Middle Earth. Mesa Court was the first housing community. It has sports courts and a community center. Middle Earth has 24 dorm buildings. Each building is named after a character or place from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings! In 2019, two new Middle Earth towers were built. They are called Telperion and Laurelin.
Arroyo Vista has 42 houses. Some of these are for sororities and fraternities. Arroyo Vista also has themed houses based on different interests.
Sports at UCI
UCI's sports teams are called the Anteaters. The students who cheer them on are called Antourage. They play in the NCAA's Division I. UCI has strong teams in baseball, basketball, volleyball, and water polo. The university has won 28 national championships in nine different sports. Many athletes have also competed in the Olympics.
The men's volleyball team won four national championships in 2007, 2009, 2012, and 2013. The men's water polo team won three national titles.
UC Irvine Anteaters baseball won national championships in 1973 and 1974. The baseball team also made it to the College World Series in 2007 and 2014.
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In 2015, the UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team played in the NCAA Division I tournament for the first time. They almost won their first game! In 2019, they made it to the tournament again. They beat Kansas State University for their first-ever March Madness win!
The Anteater Mascot
The anteater was chosen as the mascot in 1965. Students voted on different ideas. Three students came up with the anteater idea. They were disappointed with other choices like a roadrunner or a unicorn.
There's a special hand signal called "Rip'em 'Eaters." When an anteater is attacked, it sits up and uses its claws to "rip" at its attacker. The hand signal looks like the anteater's snout and ears.
In 2007, a small stuffed anteater even went to space! It traveled with astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson on the Space Shuttle Endeavour. After the men's basketball team played in the NCAA tournament in 2015, Peter the Anteater was named the winner of "Mascot Madness" by Mashable. The mascot even appeared on the TV show Conan!
Famous People from UCI
UCI has over 200,000 living alumni (former students). These include astronauts, athletes, actors, and scientists.
Eight people connected to UCI have won the Nobel Prize. In 1995, professor Frank Sherwood Rowland won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He helped discover how CFCs harm the ozone layer. Frederick Reines won the Nobel Prize in Physics for finding the neutrino. In 2004, Irwin Rose, a professor, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on protein breakdown. In 2021, former student David MacMillan won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing a new way to make chemicals.
Seven Pulitzer Prize winners have also been connected to UCI. These include authors like Michael Chabon and Richard Ford. Thomas Keneally, who wrote Schindler's Ark (which became the movie Schindler's List), was a visiting professor at UCI.
The philosophy department at Irvine has had many famous philosophers. These include Jacques Derrida and Jean-François Lyotard.
Ralph J. Cicerone, a former UCI chancellor and professor, was the president of the National Academy of Sciences from 2005 to 2016.
Three UCI teachers have won the National Medal of Science. In 2009, Professor Reg Penner won the Faraday Medal for his research with tiny nanowires.
See also
In Spanish: Universidad de California en Irvine para niños
- Anteater Recreation Center
- Center for Chemistry at the Space-Time Limit
