UCLA: A Legacy of Academic Excellence and Research Innovation
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) stands as a beacon of academic and research excellence. With roots tracing back to 1881, UCLA has evolved from a normal school into a leading public land-grant research university. Located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, UCLA offers a comprehensive range of academic programs and research opportunities.
A Broad Spectrum of Academic Programs
UCLA offers 337 undergraduate and graduate degree programs across diverse disciplines. The university is organized into the College of Letters and Science and twelve professional schools. Six of these schools-Arts and Architecture, Engineering and Applied Science, Music, Nursing, Public Affairs, and Theater, Film and Television-offer undergraduate degree programs. The health sciences are represented by the graduate-level professional schools of Medicine, Dentistry, and Public Health.
The College provides students with diverse learning experiences that helps them thrive, become critical thinkers, and transform society, combining rigorous, inclusive pedagogy with opportunities for co-curricular activities-including research, internships, and community engagement.
Undergraduate Programs: Shaping Future Leaders
UCLA's undergraduate programs are designed to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and experiences necessary to excel in their chosen fields. The university emphasizes interdisciplinary inquiry, creative research, and social justice, empowering students to pursue their passions and shape the future.
The undergraduate programs prepare students to understand how education systems and practices relate to important social structures, processes and outcomes. Here, faculty and students work together to solve the most pressing issues facing education today. Information Studies offers undergraduate students coursework that is a blend of conceptual and theoretical knowledge and practical, hands-on laboratory experiences where they can apply their theoretical insights and practical skills to real-world situations. The Department is home to UCLA’s iSchool and is dedicated to advancing the information fields. iSchools promote an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the opportunities and challenges of information management, with a core commitment to concepts like universal access and user-centered organization of information. The democratization of knowledge creates equity.
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Graduate Programs: Advancing Knowledge and Innovation
UCLA's graduate programs are renowned for their rigor and innovation. The university attracts top scholars and researchers from around the world, fostering a vibrant intellectual community. UCLA is committed to improving the oral and general health of all people through education, research, patient care, and public service.
Research at UCLA: A Commitment to Discovery
Research is at the heart of UCLA's mission. The university is home to numerous research centers and institutes, where faculty and students collaborate to address critical global challenges.
Undergraduate Research Opportunities
UCLA provides undergraduates with opportunities to engage in original research across various disciplines, including STEM, humanities, arts, and social sciences. Conducting undergraduate research helps students explore their interests, gain experience, and develop skills. The Undergraduate Research Center for Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences and the Undergraduate Research Center for Sciences facilitate these opportunities, matching students with faculty mentors.
Digital humanities students create a database of African-American silent films and inspire a museum exhibit. Environmental science students survey the impact of oil drilling on a neighborhood and share results at a public forum. Biology students conduct field research in French Polynesia and publish their results in a scientific journal.
Notable Rankings and Recognition
UCLA consistently ranks among the top universities in the world. U.S. News & World Report ranked UCLA second among public universities and 17th among national universities. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings for ranks UCLA 18th in the world for academics.
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Several of UCLA's graduate programs have also received high rankings. The U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools report ranked the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies (GSEIS) 3rd, the Anderson School of Management 18th, the David Geffen School of Medicine tied for 12th for Primary Care and 21st for Research, the School of Law 14th, the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science (HSSEAS) 16th, the Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health 10th, and the Joe C.
Resources and Facilities
UCLA's campus spans 419 acres (1.7 km2) and comprises 163 buildings in the western part of Los Angeles. The university's library system houses over nine million books and 70,000 serials across twelve libraries and eleven other archives, reading rooms, and research centers.
Campus Architecture and Design
The campus architecture reflects a blend of styles, from the Romanesque Revival of the original four buildings to the minimalist designs of later additions. The first buildings were designed by the local firm Allison & Allison. The Romanesque Revival style of these first four structures remained the predominant building style until the 1950s, when architect Welton Becket was hired to supervise the expansion of the campus over the next two decades. Becket greatly streamlined its general appearance, adding several rows of minimalist, slab-shaped brick buildings to the southern half, the largest of these being the UCLA Medical Center.
The UCLA Store
The university has a significant impact in the Los Angeles economy. Apparel, fashion accessories and other items with UCLA'S logo and insignea are popular in many parts of the world due to both the university's academic and athletic prestige, and its association with colorful images of Southern California life and culture. This demand for UCLA-branded merchandise has inspired the licensing of its trademark to UCLA brand stores throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Since 1980, 15 UCLA stores have opened in South Korea, and 49 are currently open in China. UCLA has various store locations around campus, with the main store in Ackerman Union. In addition, UCLA-themed products are sold at the gift shop of Fowler Museum on campus. Due to licensing and trademarks, products with UCLA logos and insignia are usually higher priced than their unlicensed counterparts. These products are popular among visitors, who buy them as gifts and souvenirs. The UCLA store offers some products, such as notebooks and folders, in both licensed (logoed) and cheaper unlicensed (un-logoed) options, but for other products the latter option is often unavailable.
A Storied History
UCLA's history is marked by significant milestones. In March 1881, the California State Legislature authorized the creation of a southern branch of the California State Normal School in downtown Los Angeles. The "Los Angeles branch of the California State Normal School" opened on August 29, 1882. In 1914, the school moved to a new campus on Vermont Avenue. On May 23, 1919, the Southern Californians' efforts were rewarded when Governor William D.
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Growth and Evolution
Under UC President William Wallace Campbell, enrollment at the Southern Branch expanded so rapidly that by the mid-1920s the institution was outgrowing the 25 acre Vermont Avenue location. The Regents announced the new "Beverly Site" - just west of Beverly Hills - in 1925. The original four buildings were the College Library (now Powell Library), Royce Hall, the Physics-Biology Building (which became the Humanities Building and is now the Renee and David Kaplan Hall), and the Chemistry Building (now Haines Hall), arrayed around a quadrangular courtyard on the 400 acre (1.6 km2) campus. The first undergraduate classes on the new campus were held in 1929 with 5,500 students. In 1951, UCLA was formally elevated to coequal status with UC Berkeley.
UCLA Health
The David Geffen School of Medicine, Joe C. Wen School of Nursing, School of Dentistry and Fielding School of Public Health constitute the professional schools of health science. The UCLA Health System operates the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, a hospital in Santa Monica and twelve primary care clinics throughout Los Angeles County. In addition, the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine uses two Los Angeles County public hospitals as teaching hospitals-Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and Olive View-UCLA Medical Center-as well as the largest private nonprofit hospital on the west coast, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
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