An explanation of the University of California system

Kings Los Angeles' Martha Turner explains what the University of California system is, and what makes it so attractive to students.

University of California is a system of public universities in California with nine campuses - Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz.

The UC schools are large public research universities, and they are generally considered to be some of the best public universities in the country. The UC system includes more than 238,000 students and more than 190,000 faculty and staff, with more than 1.7 million alumni living and working around the world.

Transfer requirements to each university are highly competitive and demand rigorous academic studies. Students are required to complete a minimum of 60 transferable general and major requirements, while maintaining excellent GPAs.

Around the world students are drawn to these universities due to their world rankings. U.S. News and World Reports ranks UC campuses as some of the best in the nation and places them among the top universities in the world (U.S. New and World Report, 2016).

Students are attracted to the UCs year after year because they see quality, value, and access in the UC system. The UC system offers and excels in each of its particular academic programs of interest, such as liberal arts and STEM majors. Each university has high academic rankings and a strong academic reputation in certain areas specific to student interest; making them popular institutions for undergraduate and graduate studies. For example, UC Berkeley is the oldest of the UCs and is known for its academically gifted students and renowned faculty. Berkeley has been ranked the #1 public national university by US News for 18 straight years and on UCLA’s faculty there are 13 Nobel Prize winners, and UCLA’s hospitals have been ranked #1 in California by US News.

Overall, each UC campus offers students a unique academic experience that will be shaped by a diverse student body and faculty focused on exploring different fields of study.