University of California | Campuses, Berkeley, San Diego, & Facts

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<div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/University-of-California">University of California</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <span class="toc-extra-link selected link-gray-900 mt-15"> Introduction </span> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/University-of-California/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/University-of-California">Quick Facts & Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/University-of-California/images-videos">Images</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/94/121694-050-32F11799/University-of-California-Santa-Barbara.jpg" data-href="/media/1/89551/115068" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/94/121694-004-773A6E7D/University-of-California-Santa-Barbara.jpg" alt="University of California" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/93/121693-050-4AFD471E/Sather-Tower-University-of-California-Berkeley.jpg" data-href="/media/1/89551/115067" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/93/121693-004-9D0C9377/Sather-Tower-University-of-California-Berkeley.jpg" alt="University of California, Berkeley" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/27/66627-050-27B5867D/Royce-Hall-University-of-California-Los-Angeles.jpg" data-href="/media/1/89551/94485" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/27/66627-004-B5AE3A77/Royce-Hall-University-of-California-Los-Angeles.jpg" alt="University of California, Los Angeles" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/00/159800-050-F0A34BC7/University-of-California-Riverside-campus.jpg" data-href="/media/1/89551/168553" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/00/159800-004-1B30F68B/University-of-California-Riverside-campus.jpg" alt="University of California, Riverside" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/10/121710-050-F227175C/Frederick-Reines-Hall-University-of-California-Irvine.jpg" data-href="/media/1/89551/115083" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/10/121710-004-C96D99F2/Frederick-Reines-Hall-University-of-California-Irvine.jpg" alt="University of California, Irvine" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/17/159817-050-19B9AF89/campus-Mission-Bay-University-of-California-San.jpg" data-href="/media/1/89551/210709" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/17/159817-004-E1BCB02B/campus-Mission-Bay-University-of-California-San.jpg" alt="San Francisco: California, University of" height="50" /> </a> <a 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href="https://cdn.britannica.com/94/121694-050-32F11799/University-of-California-Santa-Barbara.jpg" data-href="/media/1/89551/115068">University of California</a> <span><span>University of California, Santa Barbara.</span></span> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <span class="link-blue">(more)</span> </button> </span> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </div><div class="topic-header"> <div class="d-flex align-items-top justify-content-between"> <div class="d-flex flex-column"> <div> <div> <h1>University of California</h1></div> </div> <div class="topic-identifier font-16 font-md-20">university system, California, United States</div> </div> </div> <div class="d-none d-sm-flex flex-row"> <div class="mr-10 mb-15"> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="d-none d-sm-block 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They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-11-15T00:00:00CST" >Nov 15, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/University-of-California/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="qf-title font-weight-bold font-14 mb-10 text-center"> Quick Facts</div> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Date: </dt> <dd>1855 - present</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Areas Of Involvement: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/public-education">public education</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Notable Alumni: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/Katherine-Amelia-Towle">Katherine Amelia Towle</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Saul-Perlmutter">Saul Perlmutter</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Butler-W-Lampson">Butler W. Lampson</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Owen-Chamberlain">Owen Chamberlain</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Pablo-Jarillo-Herrero">Pablo Jarillo-Herrero</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related People: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/Mario-Savio">Mario Savio</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Bill-Walton">Bill Walton</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/I-Michael-Heyman">I. Michael Heyman</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Katherine-Amelia-Towle">Katherine Amelia Towle</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/John-Wooden">John Wooden</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/University-of-California"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><div class="bg-gray-50 p-15 rounded module-spacing recent-news d-flex flex-column float-false"> <div> <h2 class="font-weight-bold font-14 m-0 d-inline"> News <span class="text-gray-600">•</span> </h2> <div class="recent-news-item first-recent-news-item d-inline"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/89551/783ea2f4ba88a8cfa2fa15c5ae5ba611" rel="nofollow">Outside report calls on UCLA to develop clear plans and policies for major protests</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 15, 2024, 4:53 PM ET (AP) <button class="btn btn-link d-inline p-0 font-12 js-toggle-recent-news"> <span class="text-gray-500">...</span><span>(Show more)</span> </button> </span> </div> </div> <div class="rest-of-recent-news-items"> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/89551/4d01dee57dd46745635fe4722856e755" rel="nofollow">No. 5 UCLA women overcome slow start to beat No. 17 Louisville 66-59 in Paris</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 4, 2024, 7:01 PM ET (AP) </span> </div> <button class="js-toggle-recent-news d-flex btn btn-unstyled font-14 pr-10 rounded-sm mt-10" aria-label="Toggle additional news items"> Show less <em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_less"></em> </button> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref113238"></span>University of California</strong>, system of public universities in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/California-state" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">California</a>, U.S., with campuses at <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Berkeley-California" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Berkeley</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Davis-California" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Davis</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Irvine-California" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Irvine</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Los-Angeles-California" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Los Angeles</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Merced" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Merced</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Riverside-California" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Riverside</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/San-Diego-California" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">San Diego</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/San-Francisco-California" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">San Francisco</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Santa-Barbara-California" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Santa Barbara</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Santa-Cruz-California" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Santa Cruz</a>. The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/university" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">university</a> traces its origins to the private College of California, founded in 1855 in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Oakland-California" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Oakland</a>. In 1868 the college merged with the Agricultural, Mining, and Mechanical Arts College (which had been established as a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/land-grant-university" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">land-grant</a> school in 1866) to form the University of California; in 1873 the university moved to Berkeley. Over time, other schools became part of the system. A 26-member board of regents governs the system, which has a total enrollment of approximately 300,000.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="115067" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/93/121693-050-4AFD471E/Sather-Tower-University-of-California-Berkeley.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/89551/115067"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/93/121693-050-4AFD471E/Sather-Tower-University-of-California-Berkeley.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/93/121693-050-4AFD471E/Sather-Tower-University-of-California-Berkeley.jpg?w=300" alt="University of California, Berkeley" data-width="1600" data-height="1067" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/93/121693-050-4AFD471E/Sather-Tower-University-of-California-Berkeley.jpg" data-href="/media/1/89551/115067">University of California, Berkeley</a><span>Sather Tower, University of California, Berkeley.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Berkeley, the main campus of the system, has about 45,000 students. Its 15 schools and colleges include those for optometry, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/public-health" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">public health</a>, social <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="welfare" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/welfare" data-type="EB">welfare</a>, public policy, natural resources, journalism, and environmental design and offer more than 350 degree programs. A major research institution, it operates the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, the Energy Institute, the Cancer Research Laboratory, and the Space Sciences Laboratory; the system also operates (under federal contract) the nearby Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The campus has museums devoted to such topics as art, botany, anthropology, and science. Its faculty has included many distinguished scientists, such as Nobel laureates <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Luis-Alvarez" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Luis W. Alvarez</a> (physics) and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Glenn-T-Seaborg" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Glenn T. Seaborg</a> (chemistry).</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="94485" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/27/66627-050-27B5867D/Royce-Hall-University-of-California-Los-Angeles.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/89551/94485"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/27/66627-050-27B5867D/Royce-Hall-University-of-California-Los-Angeles.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/27/66627-050-27B5867D/Royce-Hall-University-of-California-Los-Angeles.jpg?w=300" alt="University of California, Los Angeles" data-width="1600" data-height="1178" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/27/66627-050-27B5867D/Royce-Hall-University-of-California-Los-Angeles.jpg" data-href="/media/1/89551/94485">University of California, Los Angeles</a><span>Royce Hall, University of California, Los Angeles.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">The Los Angeles campus (UCLA) was founded in 1919 as the Southern Branch of the university and acquired its present title in 1927. The system’s largest campus, it enrolls about 46,000 students in the College of Letters and Science and in 12 professional schools in fields such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/medicine" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">medicine</a>, dentistry, nursing, public health, law, and engineering and applied science; the world-renowned School of Theatre, Film, and Television has an extensive archive of films, newsreels, and television programs. Undergraduate degrees are available in more than 125 <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="disciplines" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disciplines" data-type="MW">disciplines</a>, and graduate and professional degrees are offered in more than 120 areas. UCLA is one of the country’s top research universities, and its more than 290 research institutes include the Southern California Earthquake Center, the Institute of the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="Environment" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Environment" data-type="MW">Environment</a> and Sustainability, the AIDS Institute, and the Institute of Transportation Studies. In addition, the university is known for its athletic teams, which have won more <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/National-Collegiate-Athletic-Association" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">NCAA</a> championships than almost all other schools in the country; especially prominent were the men’s basketball teams under coach <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Wooden" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">John Wooden</a> (1948–75). Notable UCLA athletes have included <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Kareem Abdul-Jabbar</a> (basketball), <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Arthur-Ashe" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Arthur Ashe</a> (tennis), <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Evelyn-Ashford" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Evelyn Ashford</a> (track), and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jackie-Robinson" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Jackie Robinson</a> (baseball).</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The San Diego campus, located at La Jolla, was founded as a marine station and became part of the university in 1912. Its 7 schools and divisions serve some 43,000 students in fields such as engineering, physical sciences, and arts and humanities. <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="Undergraduates" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/Undergraduates" data-type="EB">Undergraduates</a> enroll in one of seven semiautonomous residential colleges. Among its research facilities are the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the San Diego Supercomputer Center.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The Davis campus, a farm in 1908 and then part of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/university-college" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">university’s College</a> of Agriculture, became a general campus in 1959. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and includes professional schools of law, medicine, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/veterinary-medicine" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">veterinary medicine</a>, and education. Enrollment is approximately 40,000.</p><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The San Francisco campus, originally the university’s Medical Department (1873), is the smallest of the system’s units. In addition to medicine, it has schools of nursing, dentistry, and pharmacy and operates the university medical centre and various medical clinics and research organizations. Hastings College of the Law is <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="affiliated" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affiliated" data-type="MW">affiliated</a> with the university.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="168553" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/00/159800-050-F0A34BC7/University-of-California-Riverside-campus.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/89551/168553"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/00/159800-050-F0A34BC7/University-of-California-Riverside-campus.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/00/159800-050-F0A34BC7/University-of-California-Riverside-campus.jpg?w=300" alt="University of California, Riverside" data-width="1600" data-height="1200" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/00/159800-050-F0A34BC7/University-of-California-Riverside-campus.jpg" data-href="/media/1/89551/168553">University of California, Riverside</a><span>The campus of the University of California, Riverside.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">The Riverside campus, originally the Citrus Experiment Station (1907), also became a general campus in 1959. It has more than 25,000 students in such programs as education, engineering, management, natural and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/agricultural-sciences" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">agricultural sciences</a>, and humanities, arts, and social sciences.</p><div class="module-spacing"> <DIV class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Get Unlimited Access</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more.</div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"> <a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=black-friday-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </DIV></div><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Santa Barbara, founded as a teacher’s college in 1891, became part of the university system in 1944. Approximately 25,000 students are enrolled in colleges of letters and science, creative studies, and engineering and in professional schools of education and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/environmental-science" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">environmental science</a> and management.</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="115083" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/10/121710-050-F227175C/Frederick-Reines-Hall-University-of-California-Irvine.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/89551/115083"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/10/121710-050-F227175C/Frederick-Reines-Hall-University-of-California-Irvine.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/10/121710-050-F227175C/Frederick-Reines-Hall-University-of-California-Irvine.jpg?w=300" alt="University of California, Irvine" data-width="1600" data-height="835" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/10/121710-050-F227175C/Frederick-Reines-Hall-University-of-California-Irvine.jpg" data-href="/media/1/89551/115083">University of California, Irvine</a><span>Frederick Reines Hall, University of California, Irvine.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">The campuses at Santa Cruz and Irvine were both founded in 1965. Santa Cruz features several small residential colleges as units of the parent institution. With nearly 20,000 students, it offers degrees in arts, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering. It is the headquarters of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lick-Observatory" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Lick Observatory</a>. Irvine has programs in 12 academic units, including law, engineering, information and computer sciences, and social ecology; there are more than 35,000 students.</p><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD10 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Construction on the system’s 10th campus, at Merced, began in 2002, and it officially opened in 2005. It has about 10,000 students in schools of engineering, natural sciences, and social sciences, humanities, and the arts.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD10 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD11 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Several educational centres in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/San-Joaquin-Valley" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">San Joaquin Valley</a> and one in Washington, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Washington-DC" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">D.C.</a>, are affiliated with the university system, and a branch of the medical school at San Francisco is in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Fresno" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Fresno</a>. The system’s more than 100 libraries hold more than 40 million volumes, one of the largest collections in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/North-America" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">North America</a>. The university’s Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources engages in agricultural and conservation research and operates several research centres throughout the state. In 2000 the system helped create the California Institutes for Science and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="Innovation" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Innovation" data-type="MW">Innovation</a>, which has facilities at various campuses dedicated to technology research. The system also maintains the world’s largest network of university-operated nature reserves, with units scattered throughout the state covering a total area of more than 200 square miles (520 square km). The system’s Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics operates a variety of facilities, including (under federal contract) Lawrence <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Livermore" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Livermore</a> National Laboratory in Livermore, California, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Los-Alamos-National-Laboratory" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Los Alamos National Laboratory</a> in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Los-Alamos-New-Mexico" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Los Alamos</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Mexico" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">New Mexico</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD11 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></span><span class="md-signature">This article was most recently revised and updated by <a href="/editor/Amy-Tikkanen/6393">Amy Tikkanen</a>.</span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":89551,"pageLength":918,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"MEDIUM","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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