Irvine, CA 92697, Top 100 Universities in USA 2014 – Rank – 44, University of California, Irvine In California

University of California, Irvine

Irvine, CA 92697, United States

The University of California, Irvine (UCI, UC Irvine, or Irvine), is a public research university located in Irvine, California, and one of the 10 general campuses in the University of California (UC) system. UCI’s Orange County campus is the fifth-largest in the UCsystem, with over 29,000 students, 1,100 faculty members and 9,000 staff. Times Higher Education in 2013 ranked UC Irvine 1st among all US universities and 5th among the top 100 global universities under 50 years old.^[7]

UC Irvine is considered a Public Ivy and offers 80 undergraduate degrees and 98 graduate and professional degrees. The university is designated as having very high research activity in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, and in fiscal year 2012 had $350 million in research and development expenditures according to the National Science Foundation.^[8] UC Irvine became a member of the Association of American Universities in 1996, and is the youngest university to hold membership.^[9] The university also administers the UC Irvine Medical Center, a large teaching hospital; the UC Irvine Health Sciences system in the City of Orange; the University of California, Irvine, Arboretum; and a portion of the University of California Natural Reserve System.

UCI was one of three new UC campuses established in the 1960s to accommodate growing enrollments across the UC system. A site in Orange County was identified in 1959, and in the following year the Irvine Company sold the University of California 1,000 acres (400 ha) of land for one dollar to establish the new campus. President Lyndon B. Johnson dedicated the campus in 1964.

Rankings and distinctions

UC Irvine is considered a Public Ivy. For 2012-2013, US News & World Report ranked UC Irvine 44th among national universities and 12th among public universities in the US.^[55] In addition, many of UC Irvine’s graduate programs consistently receive top 50 rankings from US News & World Report, earning distinction in literary criticism and theory (1), criminology (5), creative writing (6), health care management (9), organic chemistry (11), information systems (11), physical chemistry (12), drama and theater (12), psychology-neurobiology and behavior (12), psychology – cognitive science (16), theoretical chemistry (18), experimental psychology (19), cell biology/developmental biology (21), English (22), sociology (25), business-part-time (25), chemistry (26), computer science (28), aerospace engineering (29), psychology (29), mechanical engineering (30), physics (30), civil engineering (31), biological sciences (34), environmental engineering (34), political science (36), history (36), education (36), engineering (39), biomedical engineering (40), economics (46), mathematics (43), medicine-research (44), materials science engineering (45), psychology and social behavior (47), business (49), and electrical engineering (49).^[56]

Times Higher Education ranked UC Irvine 1st in the US among universities under 50 years old in 2012, 2013, and 2014. The university also ranked 4th, 5th, and 7th among all universities in the world under 50 years old in the same publications.^[7]

Kiplinger ranked UC Irvine 16th out of the top 100 best-value public colleges and universities in the nation in 2013.^[57]

The Daily Beast ranked UC Irvine 16th among “The 100 Happiest Colleges.”^[58]

CBS News MoneyWatch listed UC Irvine as the 11th happiest public university, based on the greatest percentage of freshmen who remain for their sophomore year.

The UC Irvine Anteaters compete in 18 men’s and women’s sports in the NCAA Division I as members of the Big West Conferenceand the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The university has won 28 national championships in nine different sports and has had 63 individual national champions.