The University of California Irvine, or UC Irvine, is a public university founded in 1965 just outside of Los Angeles in downtown Irvine, California. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of about 33,000 students, and the campus a short distance from Newport Beach and the Pacific Ocean. UC Irvine is on a quarter-based academic calendar and, thanks to in-state tuition rates, can be an affordable option for California residents. 

UC Irvine is made up of 13 colleges including the competitive Claire Trevor School for the Arts and the Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences. Students get to choose from a variety of housing options both on and off-campus and participate in a multitude of student activities hosted at the Anteater Plaza on-campus. Students and faculty work together to further UC Irvine’s research and development teams at prestigious research organizations like the Fleishman Lab, the Beckman Laser Institute, and the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience. 

The university offers medium-size classes averaging around 20 students with an 18:1 student-faculty ratio. Beyond academics, students can explore the famous Orange County or head up to Los Angeles to visit iconic tourist attractions like the Griffith Observatory, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, or view modern art at The Broad Museum. Notable alumni include actor Jon Lovitz, athlete Greg Louganis, and co-writer of the Game of Thrones Series David Benioff.