University of California, Irvine

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The University of California, Irvine is a public research university primarily situated in suburban Irvine, California; a significant portion of the campus falls into the neighboring community of Newport Beach. It is one of ten University of California campuses and is commonly known as UCI or UC Irvine. UC Irvine is named after the Irvine Company, which donated 1,000 acres (4 km²) and sold another 500 acres (2 km²) to the University of California. Together, the University of California and the Irvine Company planned a city around the campus, which was incorporated as the city of Irvine in 1971.

Serving Orange County, UCI also maintains the UC Irvine Health Sciences system (with its flagship Medical Center in Orange), the UCI Arboretum, and a portion of the University of California Natural Reserve System.

In 2006 U.S. News ranked UCI as the 44th best university in the United States, and 4th best of all the UC schools (after UCB, UCLA, and UCSD). [1]

The UC Irvine Anteaters participate in Division I NCAA athletic tournaments and they have fielded numerous successful teams over the course of their history.

Contents

History

Early Years

During the 1950s, the University of California saw the need for new campuses to handle both the large number of college-bound World War II veterans (largely due to the G. I. Bill) and the expected increase in enrollment from the post-war baby boom. One of the new campuses was to be in the Los Angeles area; the location selected was Irvine Ranch, an area of agricultural land bisecting Orange County from north to south. This site was chosen to accommodate the county's growing population, complement the growth of nearby UCLA and UC Riverside, and allow for the construction of a master planned community in the surrounding area.[2]

Irvine was one of three new campuses established in the 1960s under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the others being San Diego and Santa Cruz.[3] In 1960 The Irvine Company sold one thousand acres of the Irvine Ranch to the University of California for one dollar, since a company policy prohibited the donation of property to a public entity.[4] The University purchased an additional 510 acres in 1964 for housing and commercial developments. During this time, the University also hired William Pereira and Associates as the Master Planner of the Irvine Ranch area. Pereira intended for the UC Irvine campus to complement the neighboring community, and the two grew in tandem. Soon after UC Irvine opened in 1965, the City of Irvine became incorporated and established in 1971 and 1975, respectively.[5]

UC Irvine's first Chancellor, Daniel G. Aldrich, developed the campus' first academic plan around a College of Arts, Letters, and Science, a Graduate School of Administration, and a School of Engineering. The College of Arts, Letters, and Science was composed of twenty majors in five "Divisions": Biological Sciences, Fine Arts, Humanities, Physical Sciences, and Social Sciences (which transformed into the present-day "Schools").[6] Aldrich was also responsible for implementing the wide variety of flora and fauna on the campus that fit the local Mediterranean climate zone, feeling that it served an "aesthetic, environmental, and educational [purpose]."[7]

On June 20, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson dedicated UC Irvine before a crowd of 15,000 people, and on October 4, 1965 the campus began operations with 1,589 students, 241 staff members, 119 faculty, and 43 teaching assistants.[8][9] However, many of UCI's buildings were still under construction and landscaping was still in progress, with the campus only at 75% completion.[10] By June 25, 1966, UCI held its first Commencement with fourteen students, which conferred ten Bachelors of Arts, three Masters of Arts, and one Doctor of Philosophy degree.[11]

Present Day

A view of suburban Irvine. The white tower in the foreground is part of University Center, and everything to its left and right is part of UCI.

UC Irvine itself has grown with its surroundings, with the university earning national acclaim in academia that reflects its status as a nationally-ranked public research university. This fast-paced growth has made UC Irvine the educational and cultural center of Orange County, as well as making a popular translation of the abbreviation "UCI" as "Under Construction Indefinitely".Template:Fact The University is also a central component of southern California's Tech Coast and the OCTANe technology initiative, fueling corporate and technological development that reflects its history as a planned campus. As the -second-largest employer in Orange County, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $3.3 billion. Its extramural funding, which has shown exponential annual growth, was a record $263 million in 2005.[12]

In 2006, UC Irvine operated 68 undergraduate degree programs, 53 minors, 45 master's degree programs, and 43 doctorate programs (including one M.D., two Ed.D. programs).[13][14] At UC Irvine's 2005 Commencement ceremonies, the university conferred 6,759 degrees to what was at the time its largest graduating class.[15]

Currently and in the past two decades, the ethnic breakdown at UCI was:

  • Asian/Asian-American — 53.1%
  • Caucasian/White — 25.9%
  • Mexican-American — 8%
  • No response or Unknown — 4.4%
  • Spanish-American — 3.5%
  • African-American — 2.3%
  • Other — 2.1%
  • American Indian — <1%[16]

Future Growth

As part of its long-term efforts to "attain flagship status,"[17] UC Irvine has implemented construction projects (estimated to cost $1.3 billion over the next decade) that will accelerate the campus build-out and employ the remainder of the university's land grant.[18][19][20][21] The exponential increase in construction activity is a part of the Strategy for Academic Development at UCI through 2015, a master plan that outlines the vision of making UCI a first-choice university for college applicants nationwide.[22]

The Anteater as Mascot

The UCI mascot is the anteater. This 430-pound statue is a gift of the class of 1987.

A question that perplexes many students and visitors alike is the motivation behind having an anteater as UCI's mascot. The anteater was chosen in 1965 when students were allowed to submit mascot candidates, which would be voted on in a campus election. An undergraduate named Schuyler Hadley Basset III is credited with choosing the anteater and designing a cartoon representation, having been disappointed with other mascots such as a roadrunner, unicorn, and golden bison.[23]

The anteater was inspired by the Johnny Hart comic strip, "B.C." Since it was "original and slightly irrelevant," and became the mascot of UC Irvine after winning 56% of the vote. The anteater has grown to become a beloved mascot, and is the inspiration for many of UCI's athletic and campus spirit traditions.

Academics

Admissions

UC Irvine is the fifth-most selective University of California campus on the ratio of applicants versus admitted students (behind UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Diego, and UC Santa Barbara). UCI is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the fourth-best University of California campus.[24][25]

The choice to offer admission is based on the University of California's comprehensive review program. It considers a candidate's personal situation, community involvement, extracurricular activities, and academic potential in addition to the traditional high school academic record, personal statement, and entrance examination scores.[26] While residency is not a factor in admission, it is a factor in tuition expenses, with out-of-state residents spending more annually than California residents. State law prohibits UC Irvine from practicing affirmative action in its admissions process.

Of the 38,426 high school students that applied to UC Irvine for fall 2006 admission, 23,167 (or 60%) were offered admission and 4,800 were enrolled. This is an 11.3% increase in admissions compared to fall 2005, which has resulted in the largest freshman class to date. In fall 2006, 93.3% of those students identified with "Eligibility in the Local Context," a statistical indicator that identifies the top 12.5% of all California high school graduates as eligible for admission to the University of California, who applied to UC Irvine were admitted.[27]

Incoming freshmen predominantly represent the San Francisco Bay Area and the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego. The most popular major for freshmen is a major in the School of Biological Sciences (22%), followed by Undecided/Undeclared (20.6%), Social Sciences (17.4%), Engineering (11.7%), Humanities (8.8%), Physical Sciences (6.1%), Arts (5%), Social Ecology (5%), Information and Computer Sciences (3%), and Health Sciences (0.2%).[28] The average freshman's incoming high school GPA was 3.89. The average SAT scores were 602 (Critical Reasoning), 640 (Mathematics), and 612 (Writing), while the ACT composite score was 26.[29] SAT verbal scores for the middle 50% were 550 and 660, while SAT math scores ranged between 580 and 700.[30]

Governance

Michael V. Drake, M.D. is UCI's fifth Chancellor and formerly served as the UC Vice President for Health Affairs for five years.

Like other University of California campuses, UC Irvine is governed by a Chancellor who has significant authority over campus academic and planning affairs. The Chancellor, in turn, is nominated by and answers to the Regents of the University of California and the UC President. Listed below are all of UC Irvine's Chancellors since its founding:

Chancellors of UC Irvine Years as Chancellor
1 Daniel G. Aldrich (1962–1984)
2 Jack W. Peltason (1984–1992)
3 Laurel L. Wilkening (1993–1998)
4 Ralph J. Cicerone (1998–2005)
5 Michael V. Drake (2005– present)

After the Chancellor, the second most senior official is the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost.[31] He serves as the university's chief academic and operating officer. Every school on campus reports to the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost through a Dean, and all other academic and administrative units report to his office through a Vice Chancellor or chief administrator. A partial list of these units includes Campus Recreation, Intercollegiate Athletics, Planning and Budget, Student Affairs, UC Irvine Libraries, UC Irvine Medical Center, and University Advancement. The Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost also governs the faculty senate.

Academic Units

UC Irvine's academic units are referred to as Schools. There are eight undergraduate Schools, two graduate Schools, one Department, and one field of Interdisciplinary Studies. The most recent academic unit, the College of Health Sciences, was established in 2004.[32] On November 16, 2006, the UC Regents approved the establishment of the School of Law, with an expected opening in fall 2009.[33] The remaining academic units offer accelerated or community education in the form of Summer Session and UC Irvine Extension. Additionally, UCI's Campuswide Honors Program is implementing an independent study program, which will allow students to develop their own curriculum across Schools and graduate with their own self-created major.

Current academic units at UC Irvine:

A picture of the School of Social Sciences from Aldrich Park.

Proposed academic units at UC Irvine:

  • School of Design

Academic Structure

The Engineering Tower, located in the Henry Samueli School of Engineering, is the tallest building on campus.

UCI's academic year is divided into three quarters, each composed of ten weeks of instruction and one week of final examinations. The university requires a minimum of 12 units a quarter (about 3 classes) to be considered a full-time student, with the maximum being 20 units. The maximum amount of units can be exceeded by petition or by enrollment in the Campuswide Honors Program. The average UCI undergraduate takes four courses, or 16 units. Courses offered are usually worth between 1 to 5 quarter units. Summer courses are offered in either the quarter format of 11 weeks or two summer sessions of roughly half the time for a standard quarter.

UCI employs the traditional A-F grading scale and GPA system, modified for use with the quarter system. Students may elect to take a course for Pass/Not Pass credit, in which a passing grade offers units towards graduation without positively or adversely affecting a student's GPA. This option is often associated with courses that count for fewer than four units (for example, internship credit) or with courses a student wishes to take without the pressure of achieving a desired letter grade. Pass/Not Pass may be used for one course each quarter, with only 12 units counting towards graduation requirements.

In total, at least 180 quarter units are required to graduate. Most of the units come from the graduation requirements of an undergraduate's major, but a substantial amount also come from the general education requirement known as the "breadth requirement".[34] The breadth requirement consists of seven subject categories:

  1. Writing
  3. Natural Sciences
  4. Social and Behavioral Sciences
  5. Humanistic Inquiry
  6. Mathematics and Symbolic Systems
  7. Language Other Than English
  8. Multicultural Studies and International/Global Issues

The first category, Writing, is separated between lower division writing (three courses) and upper division writing (requiring the completion of a research project). The sixth category, Language Other Than English, can be fulfilled through four quarters of instruction (or more, depending on a student's major requirements). It may alternatively be satisfied by taking four years of a foreign language in high school, passing an AP test on a language other than English with a 4 or 5, or scoring a 620 or better on an SAT II exam on a language other than English. The seventh category, Multicultural Studies and International/Global Issues, contains two subcategories, Multicultural Studies and International/Global Issues. Category VII and the other categories not listed in detail here each require the completion of three courses from a series or subject area. Additionally, students may partially fulfill selected breadth requirements through petition or participation in extracurricular activities.

Of its 76 undergraduate majors, UCI's most popular ones are Biological Sciences (621 degrees awarded in the 2004-2005 academic year), Economics (417), Information & Computer Science (478) and Psychology and Social Behavior (324). UCI also hosts a diverse array of minors and certification programs. In 2005 the university awarded a total of 5,242 bachelors degrees, 943 masters degrees, and 276 doctorates.[35]

Rankings and Distinctions

Frederick Reines Hall in the School of Physical Sciences, named after one of three UCI faculty members to receive the Nobel prize.

In the 2007 U.S. News & World Report survey, UCI is ranked 4th among public universities in California, 12th among all public universities in the U.S., and 44th among all universities in the U.S., public or private.[36]

UCI's graduate programs also receive top-50 rankings from U.S. News & World Report, earning distinction in literary criticism and theory (2), criminology (4), behavioral neuroscience (5), creative writing (6), health care management (9), organic chemistry (9), information systems (11), drama and theater (12), third-world literature (12), cognitive psychology (13), English (16), psychology – neurobiology and behavior (16), chemistry (18), experimental psychology (19), gender and literature (19), executive M.B.A. (20), cell biology/developmental biology (21), 19th- and 20th-century literature (22), psychology – cognitive science (22), sociology (27), aerospace engineering (29), computer science (29), physics (29), mechanical engineering (30), civil engineering (31), biological sciences (32), history (32), environmental engineering (34), fine arts (34), political science (35), business (38), biomedical engineering (40), engineering (41), materials science engineering (45), medicine (46), mathematics (47), psychology and social behavior (47), economics (48), and electrical engineering (49).[37]

Specifically, UCI's Master of Fine Arts degree program in creative writing is particularly notable for its quality, and has graduated such authors as Richard Ford, Michael Chabon, and Alice Sebold. The graduate program in philosophy was ranked 17th in the English-speaking world by the Philosophical Gourmet Report, while Chemical and Engineering News ranks UCI fifth (tied with, among others, Harvard University) in conferring doctoral degrees in chemistry. The Wall Street Journal ranks UCI's Paul Merage School of Business fourth in the nation for information technology.[38]

UC Irvine is a member of the Association of American Universities. In the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2005by Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Institute of Higher Education, UCI is ranked 35th in the U.S., 37th in the Americas and 47th in the world.

Three faculty have been named National Medal of Science recipients. Additionally, three researchers from UCI's faculty received the Nobel Prize during their tenure at UCI: Frank Sherwood Rowland (Chemistry, 1995), Frederick Reines (Physics, 1995) (deceased), and Irwin Rose (Chemistry, 2004). Dr. Rowland's Nobel-winning research was conducted exclusively at UC Irvine, along with fellow prize-winner Mario J. Molina. Irwin Rose received the Nobel Prize for his work on biological proteins. F. Sherwood Rowland is known for helping to discover CFCs and their harmful effects on the ozone layer, while Frederick Reines received the Nobel Prize for his work in discovering the neutrino. UCI is the first public university to have two Nobel laureates (Rowland and Reines) who received their prizes in the same year (1995).

UCI's faculty are also members of the following U.S. learned societies:

Honors and Research Opportunities

Campuswide Honors Program

Since 1988, UC Irvine has operated the Campuswide Honors Program (CHP) in an effort to attract and retain academically gifted student leaders by combining the "rigor and personal attention of a selective liberal arts college and the opportunities of a dynamic research university"[39]. The CHP currently has more than 600 students from all undergraduate majors. Students are accepted into the CHP by invitation as a high school senior or by applying as an undergraduate. CHP students are entitled to many benefits that make the college experience more intellectually stimulating, fun, and convenient. Those who complete the CHP graduate with Campuswide Honors and are linked through an active alumni network. Approximately 90% of all CHP graduates have gone on to complete graduate and professional degrees nationwide.

One of two identical UCI signs that face the main campus' Bison Avenue entrance.

One of the most significant requirements of the CHP is the submission of an honors thesis, a long-term research project. A honors thesis may be completed either through independent study with a professor or one of the 24 formal department honors programs on campus.[40] These programs offer research seminars, grant application advising, and faculty mentor assistance, and confer department honors upon graduation. These programs, while separate from the Campuswide Honors Program, are administered by their respective academic units and open to all eligible undergraduates. However, honors thesis candidates are mainly comprised of CHP students.

The CHP also maintains the Scholarship Opportunities Program (SOP), which assists students interested in applying for scholarships. SOP emphasizes personal assistance with scholarship applications, but also offers students the opportunity to work towards merit and university scholarships, most of which are aimed at financing a research project or graduate education. UCI is a prolific producer of scholarship recipients, with students earning scholarships such as the Fulbright, Marshall, Truman, and National Science Foundation grants. UCI students also compete vigorously for UCI scholarships and research grants.

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program

Many students who wish to complete an honors thesis, or other work of research, opt to participate in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, which provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to gain valuable research experience. Better known on campus as UROP (pronounced you-ROP), the program provides funding and credit to undergraduate students who volunteer for faculty-mentored research projects pertaining to all academic disciplines. Launched in 1995, UROP has grown sharply in recent years and has received wide support from the faculty, including the active involvement of the UROP Faculty Advisory Board.[41] Upon completion of the year-long research project, students are expected to present their findings at the school's research symposium.

Although not a requirement, some students may submit their written reports (ranging from 15-25 pages) to the faculty committee in order to be considered for publication in the university's research journals. Publication in the UROP Undergraduate Research Journal is known to be extremely competitive. In many cases, students are asked to submit numerous drafts to the faculty committee for review, only to find out that their papers are later denied publication. In the past, a mere 5% of all submissions were accepted for publication in the journal. UROP is comparable to similar programs at other large universities, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, and the University of Michigan.

Research Organizations

To complement its mission as a research university, UCI hosts a diverse array of nationally and internationally-recognized research organizations. These organizations are either chaired by or composed of UCI faculty, frequently draw upon undergraduates and graduates for research assistance, and produce a multitude of innovations, patents, and scholarly works. Some are housed in a school or department office; others are housed in their own multimillion-dollar facilities. These are a few of the more prolific research organizations at UCI:

Academic and Professional Preparation

Academic Preparation Programs

The main instructional building for the Paul Merage School of Business, formerly known as the Graduate School of Management until the school's namesake made a charatible donation of $30 million dollars.

UCI is noted for offering 19 programs, collectively governed by the Center for Educational Partnerships (CFEP), that provide academic assistance for K-12 and college-age students. CFEP programs range from K-12 student development, college preparatory outreach, graduate/professional school development, and community outreach. UC Irvine offers other graduate and professional degree development programs also, such as the Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate, UC-LEADS, Summer Academic Enrichment Program, and Student Academic Advancement Services.

Students interested in a career in business may participate in the SAGE Scholars Program, which offers extensive leadership and business training through courses, events, community service, and extracurricular activities. Another professional preparation program (for students interested in pursuing a career in law) is the