University of California

This article is about the university system. For the first campus, see University of California, Berkeley. For other uses, see California University.

University of California
MottoFiat lux (Latin)
Motto in English
Let there be light
TypePublic research university system
EstablishedMarch 23, 1868; 156 years ago (March 23, 1868)
Endowment$29.5 billion (2024)[1]
Budget$51.4 billion (2023–2024)[2]
PresidentMichael V. Drake
Academic staff
25,400 (March 2024)[2]
Administrative staff
173,300 (March 2024)[2]
Students295,573 (Fall 2023)[3]
Undergraduates233,272 (Fall 2023)[3]
Postgraduates62,229 (Fall 2023)[3]
Location
Oakland (Office of the President)
,
California
,
United States

37°48′8″N 122°16′17″W / 37.80222°N 122.27139°W / 37.80222; -122.27139
Campus10 campuses under direct control (nine with undergraduate and graduate schools, one professional/graduate only), one affiliated law school, one national laboratory
Colors  Blue
  Gold[4]
Websiteuniversityofcalifornia.edu Edit this at Wikidata

The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, the system is composed of its ten campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz, along with numerous research centers and academic centers abroad.[5] The system is the state's land-grant university.[6]

In 1900, UC was one of the founders of the Association of American Universities and since the 1970s seven of its campuses, in addition to Berkeley, have been admitted to the association. Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and San Diego are considered Public Ivies, making California the state with the most universities in the nation to hold the title.[7][8] UC campuses have large numbers of distinguished faculty in almost every academic discipline, with UC faculty and researchers having won 71 Nobel Prizes as of 2021.[9]

The system's ten campuses have a combined student body of 295,573 students, 25,400 faculty members, 173,300 staff members and over two million living alumni.[2] Its newest campus in Merced opened in fall 2005. Nine campuses enroll both undergraduate and graduate students; one campus, UC San Francisco, enrolls only graduate and professional students in the medical and health sciences. In addition, the University of California College of the Law located in San Francisco is legally affiliated with UC and shares its name but is otherwise autonomous. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-system public higher education plan, which also includes the California State University system and the California Community Colleges system. UC is governed by a Board of Regents whose autonomy from the rest of the state government is protected by the state constitution.[10] The University of California also manages or co-manages three national laboratories for the U.S. Department of Energy: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).[11]

The University of California was founded on March 23, 1868, and operated in Oakland, where it absorbed the assets of the College of California before moving to Berkeley in 1873.[12][13] It also affiliated itself with independent medical and law schools in San Francisco. Over the next eight decades, several branch locations and satellite programs were established across the state. In March 1951, the University of California began to reorganize itself into something distinct from its campus in Berkeley, with UC President Robert Gordon Sproul staying in place as chief executive of the UC system, while Clark Kerr became Berkeley's first chancellor[14][15][16][17] and Raymond B. Allen became the first chancellor of UCLA.[18] However, the 1951 reorganization was stalled by resistance from Sproul and his allies,[19] and it was not until Kerr succeeded Sproul as UC president that UC was able to evolve into a university system from 1957 to 1960.[20] At that time, chancellors were appointed for additional campuses and each was granted some degree of greater autonomy.[21]

  1. ^ As of August 1, 2024 "Stocks and real estate power UC's investments to $180 billion at fiscal year end". August 1, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "The University of California at a Glance | March 2024" (PDF). University of California. March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Fall Enrollment At A Glance". University of California. January 19, 2024. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  4. ^ "The UC Brand | Color". Brand.universityofcalifornia.edu. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  5. ^ "The parts of UC". University of California. January 15, 2020. Archived from the original on January 9, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  6. ^ "Land-Grant Colleges and Universities". United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture. 2020. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :11 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Staffaroni, Laura. "Should You Go to a Public Ivy? 5 Factors to Consider". blog.prepscholar.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  9. ^ "University of California Nobel Laureates". UC Regents. Archived from the original on October 16, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Grodin_Page243 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "UC National Laboratories | UCOP". www.ucop.edu. Archived from the original on June 26, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  12. ^ "A brief history of the University of California | UCOP". www.ucop.edu. Archived from the original on July 26, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  13. ^ California, University of. "UC 150th Anniversary Timeline". UC 150th Anniversary Timeline. Archived from the original on January 9, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference Stadtman2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference MargaretLeslieDavis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference ClarkKerr1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ "Past Chancellors". Office of the Chancellor Berkeley. Archived from the original on April 16, 2013. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  18. ^ "Raymond Allen". UCLA's Past Leaders. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference ClarkKerr2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference ClarkKerr3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference Trombley was invoked but never defined (see the help page).