University of California (UC)
From all backgrounds, ethnicities, and incomes, UC attracts the best and brightest. UC undergraduates come from all over California, and they work hard to make it to college. In fact, 37 percent of UC students come from low-income families.
UC’s faculty are the drivers behind innovations in biotechnology, computer science, art and architecture — and they bring that knowledge, that greatness, directly to the classroom.
Thousands of California jobs, billions of dollars in revenues, and countless everyday household items — from more plentiful fruits and vegetables to compact fluorescent light bulbs — can be traced back to UC discoveries. Similarly, many of the state’s leading businesses are based on UC technology, founded by our faculty or led by UC graduates.
Besides world-class classrooms and labs, UC has dozens of museums, concert halls, art galleries, botanical gardens, observatories and marine centers — academic resources, but also exciting gathering places for the community. Another half million people benefit from UC Extension’s continuing education courses and from Cooperative Extension’s agricultural advice and educational programs located throughout the state.
Unique features of the UC System:
- 10 campuses
- 5 medical centers
- 3 national laboratories
- 160 academic disciplines
- 800 degree programs
- 280,380 students
- 227,700 employees
- 2.0 million living alumni
- 64 Nobel laureates
- 430,000 jobs supported
- $46.3 billion contributed to California economy
- Secures $7 in federal and private dollars for every $1 in research funding provided by the state of California
UC’s are very selective. They have admission requirements students need to meet before applying to any of their 9 campuses:
Students can apply during their senior year if they meet the requirements, or they can go to a community college first to fulfill general education requirements, and then transfer after 2 years:
- Apply between October 1 and November 30 of your last year in high school
- There is only 1 application for all of the UCs: https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/