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University of California, Irvine

The University of California, Irvine is a public, coeducational university situated in suburban Irvine, California. It is one of ten University of California campuses and is commonly known as UCI or UC Irvine. The acronym UCI has often been jokingly claimed to stand for "Under Construction Indefinitely" (due to the recent surge of growth and construction activity on campus), or "University of Chinese Immigrants" (due to UCI's exceptionally high number of Asian students).

Nobel laureates on its faculty, F. Sherwood Rowland (Chemistry) and Frederick Reines (Physics). The UCI Medical Center (located ten miles away in the City of Orange) is noted for research into cancer, neuroscience, and genetic factors concerning diseases. (Located in the City of Orange, the Medical Center is also Orange County's only university hospital and Level 1 trauma center.)

UCI is generally ranked among the top 20 public universities in the United States. (12th among all public universities, and 43 amongst all universities in the US as of 2004).

UCI's engineering program is well-regarded and well-supported by the local industry. Many of Orange County's biomedical, software, and aerospace companies recruit from UCI's student body.

UCI has highly-ranked liberal arts departments in philosophy, classics, and literature. UCI is also one of the very few academic organizations to offer degrees in Social Ecology. The university maintains undergraduate and graduate programs in dance, painting, sculpture, music, creative writing, and theatre, often with prominent artists-in-residence. Many professors in the performing arts are directly connected to—and active in—the nearby entertainment industry.

The most popular majors amongst undergraduates are Biology (many bio majors intend to go on to medical school), Social Sciences, Computer Science (one of UCI's most selective programs), and Electrical Engineering. UCI also has a strong tradition and reputation for undergraduate research (especially in the sciences and engineering), with many students working on research projects or as undergrad research assistants, and presenting at the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. Several academic departments such as those in engineering and physics actually require undergraduates to complete a senior/research project or thesis in order to graduate.

Campus and surroundings

The campus is primarily composed of 1960s Modernist/Brutalist buildings set in a circle around a large central park. Satellite parking lots lie in another circle outside the main circle of buildings. The park is completely encircled by a pedestrian walkway known as Ring Road. Each school at UCI is located on it's own segment of the ring (except for the School of the Arts and the Medical School). Starting from the Main Library and Administration building and going clockwise, Ring Road passes through Social Sciences, Engineering, Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences, and Humanities. Due to this unconventional circular design, there are plenty of stories about tourists and new students who unknowingly walk several times around Ring Road before realizing that they were going in circles.

Popular legend holds that the campus was designed in an era of student protest, and the campus's circular design was meant to discourage student contact and congregation, and thus minimize protests and rioting. Students were meant to drive into a building's parking lot, walk to class, then later walk back to their cars and drive home. Therefore, most social contact would be with others studying in the same major. Adding to this legend is the existence of underground tunnels linking the buildings, supposedly for the emergency evacuation of faculty and administrators and to facilitate the movement of police. (In reality, the tunnels simply contain steam and utility lines.) Most likely, the design of the campus is simply representative of mid-60s urban design, favoring large open spaces and decentralized facilities over the dense layout of older campuses.

Irvine itself is one of the largest planned communities in the United States. Local residents are stereotyped as upper-income, conservative professionals, who stay at home and raise families. The housing market is extremely expensive. On campus, however, there is residence hall space for about only 3,200 undergraduates, and some on-campus apartment housing. There is also a trailer park that permit students to live in small travel trailers, however this is currently facing closure due to parking lot expansion. The local economy is vibrant, and provides jobs in all ranges of skills and earnings, from unskilled service work to skilled professions. Although Christian denominations predominate, religious organizations of all types exist on-campus, in Irvine, and in the surrounding communities.

Public transit consists of hourly bus services. Most students need a car, and university parking is difficult despite large parking structures. Traffic jams on the local freeways are commonplace. Since the climate is warm, many students find a motorcycle or motorscooter convenient.

Despite the suburban environment, a variety of wildlife inhabits the University's central park and wetlands. The university had wolves up until 1985, and still has hawks, rabbits, raccoons, owls, and coyotes.

Student life

Due to its location in a preplanned suburban community, general student apathy, reputation as an academic or commuter school, and lack of emphasis on athletics, UCI has had a (somewhat well deserved) reputation as a boring place. While it is true that life at UCI can be said to be somewhat different from the traditional idea of American college life, there is still plenty of entertainment and recreation on campus and in the area.

The recently completed Anteater Recreation Center boasts several new recreational and sporting facilities and is popular among students (and some faculty). The campus is within driving distance of local attractions such as the Irvine Spectrum, and South Coast Plaza shopping malls, as well as some of Southern California's most popular beaches and surfing spots at Newport and Huntington Beach.

Also popular among those who know where to find it is the only pub on campus: the Anthill Pub and Grille, a self proclaimed "swill-free zone" which is run by the Associated Graduate Students. Located on the third floor of the Student Center, the Anthill boasts an impressive collection of microbrew beers, ciders, and wine as well as a knowledgeble staff. The pub has become a favorite location for students and some faculty to have a drink while talking, watching TV, or shooting pool between or after classes. A pint of beer typically runs $3, while a pitcher costs around $8. Somewhat fitting for UCI's sober reputation, the Pub is not open on weekends or during the summer.

UCI also holds a medieval theme fair known as Wayzgoose in April, which includes (among other things) student booths, live bands, (lots of) food, a car show, and students dressed in cardboard armor whacking each other with fake swords. The event is open to the public and also functions as an open house for incoming and prospective students.

Athletics

UCI's sports teams are known as the Anteaters. (The unusual mascot was chosen by student vote, in the non-violent and anti-establishment spirit that was popular in the school's early years.) They participate in the NCAA's Division I-AAA, as members of the Big West Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. While some UCI's of sports teams (especially basketball) have developed a following in recent years, the student body remains generally apathetic towards athletics. However some students have taken it upon themselves to change this by forming a cheerleading squad/club known as CIA (short for Completely Insane Anteaters), which has seen some limited success.