About UCLA
UCLA is known worldwide for the breadth and quality of its academic, research, health care, cultural, continuing education and athletic programs. UCLA's strength is its size, allowing for exceptional diversity and virtually limitless possibility. The university is a shared public asset that benefits society by educating students, creating knowledge through research discoveries, powering the economy and improving quality of life.
History and Location
UCLA was founded in 1919 as the Southern Branch of the University of California, with a campus on Vermont Avenue. The Westwood campus opened in 1929. UCLA is now one of 10 UC campuses. UCLA History Project | Visiting UCLA
Academics
UCLA offers immediate, first-year access to an extraordinary selection of studies — more than 2,900 undergraduate courses and a comprehensive curriculum, ranging from the arts, social sciences and humanities to the physical sciences and life sciences.
- UCLA offers degrees in 129 undergraduate majors and 208 graduate programs.
- The UCLA College of Letters and Science includes seven departments, 34 interdepartmental programs, 107 undergraduate majors and 98 graduate programs.
- UCLA has 11 highly regarded professional schools. Eight are ranked among the nation's top 25 in their field by U.S. News & World Report: the David Geffen School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Anderson School of Management, the School of Law, the School of Public Health, the Luskin School of Public Affairs and the School of Nursing. The master's degree programs at the School of Theater, Film and Television and the School of the Arts and Architecture are ranked in the top 10. While dentistry programs are not ranked, the School of Dentistry is widely considered among the nation's best by several measures.
Students
Last year, UCLA received the largest number of freshman applications in its history, with 61,564 prospective students from California and around the world applying for fall 2011 admission.
- Total enrollment for fall 2011 was 39,271, including 27,199 undergraduates and 12,072 graduate students. In addition, there were 1,404 interns and residents in medicine and dentistry on campus.
- Freshmen enrolled for fall 2010 had an average high school GPA of 4.35 and an average composite SAT reasoning test score of 2,025.6 out of a possible 2,400.
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In 2010–11, 55 percent of undergraduates received need-based financial aid, and 37 percent of students received Pell Grants, among the top in the nation and a reflection of the opportunity UCLA students were provided.
Faculty
A distinguished faculty is UCLA's cornerstone.
- There are nearly 4,000 faculty members and other teaching staff.
- UCLA faculty members have been the recipients of numerous prestigious honors:
- 5 Nobel laureates
- 10 National Medal of Science winners
- 3 Presidential Medal of Freedom winners
- 3 Pulitzer Prize winners
- Hundreds of recipients of Guggenheim, MacArthur, Sloan, Fulbright-Hays and other leading academic fellowships, grants and awards.
- Gene D. Block became chancellor of UCLA on Aug. 1, 2007.
Research
UCLA research leads to real-world advances in knowledge that enhance quality of life around the globe.
- UCLA consistently ranks among the nation's leaders in competitively awarded grants and contracts to universities; the campus received more than $1.1 billion during the 2010–11 fiscal year.
- UCLA has approximately 6,000 funded research projects underway at any given time.
- UCLA manages more than 1,900 active inventions, including approximately 670 U.S. patents. About 560 UCLA inventions have been licensed to companies. Using technology developed at UCLA, at least 67 startup companies have been created in the last five years.
Health Care
The UCLA Health System has been a leader in patient care, medical research and teaching for more than 50 years.
- UCLA physicians provide an array of cutting-edge and research-based primary and specialty services at four hospitals on two campuses and at more than 80 clinic locations, serving nearly half a million patients annually.
- Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center has been rated the best hospital in the western United States for 22 consecutive years and is ranked among the top five hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report.
- The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA ranks among the nation's elite medical schools, producing doctors and researchers whose contributions have led to major breakthroughs in health care. With more than 2,000 full-time faculty members, nearly 13,000 residents, more than 750 medical students and almost 400 Ph.D. candidates, the medical school consistently ranks among the top-funded research institutions by the National Institutes of Health and overall.
Continuing Education
UCLA Extension, one of the nation's oldest and largest continuing education providers, offers 4,300 comprehensive courses, programs and conferences for professionals in business, management, engineering, information systems, entertainment studies, public policy, public health, the humanities and more. Extension also offers one of the nation's largest Internet-based distance-learning programs, attracting adult students from all 50 states and 80 foreign countries and U.S. territories.
Arts and Culture
UCLA is the leading arts and cultural center in the western U.S., hosting more than 1,000 visual and performing arts events each year and attracting more than 500,000 patrons. Venues include the Broad Art Center, the Hammer Museum, Royce Hall, the Fowler Museum at UCLA, the Geffen Playhouse, the Freud Playhouse, the Billy Wilder Theater, Schoenberg Hall, Perloff Hall and the Glorya Kaufman Dance Theatre. Happenings | UCLA Live
Budget
UCLA's budget for the 2011–12 fiscal year is approximately $5.2 billion.
- State funding constitutes approximately 7 percent of total revenues. However, state support makes up about 28 percent of core revenues covering general operating costs like faculty salaries, facilities and police services.
- Additional revenue sources include medical center patient revenues, research grants, tuition, housing payments and private giving.
Economic Impact
For every $1 taxpayers invest in UCLA, the university generates almost $15 in economic activity, resulting in a $9.3 billion economic impact on the greater Los Angeles region. Impact
- UCLA is the region's seventh largest employer, with approximately 27,000 faculty and staff.
- UCLA-related employment and spending supports nearly 70,000 permanent jobs in the region.
Athletics
UCLA has won 108 NCAA team championships, more than any other NCAA Division I college or university. The NCAA's list of the 100 most influential student athletes in history includes eight from UCLA. UCLA Sports
Alumni
UCLA has more than 398,000 living alumni. Alumni Association
- Six alumni have been awarded the Nobel Prize.
- Among UCLA's many prominent alumni are:
- Antonio Villaraigosa (Los Angeles mayor)
- Ralph Bunche (United Nations diplomat, Nobel Peace Prize laureate)
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (NBA basketball legend and author)
- Francis Ford Coppola (filmmaker)
- Carol Burnett (actress)
- Jackie Joyner-Kersee (six-time Olympic track-and-field medalist)
- Faye Kellerman (author)
Community Involvement
UCLA takes seriously its leadership role in the greater Los Angeles community. Numerous outreach programs engage the campus with the community and help students better prepare for college. More than half of UCLA's undergraduates participate in some form of community service, from tutoring young people and combating poverty and homelessness to providing legal, social, medical and educational assistance. The UCLA Volunteer Center sends thousands of student volunteers into the local community each year to help improve quality of life in the region.
Updated Sept. 19, 2011