The UC Irvine campus is laid out in concentric circles, with the undergraduate programs and buildings nearest the inner circle and the graduate facilities radiating outward. The ring-within-a-ring metaphor signifies a student's progress from the inner circle of the undergraduate years to the wider circle of graduate school and the world beyond. The Ring Mall, encircling most of UC Irvine's undergraduate classrooms, is a mile in circumference and is used not only as the main thoroughfare for students getting to class, but as a natural pathway for joggers and recreational walkers.

UC Irvine has over 11,000 trees, including 33 species of eucalyptus, and a 21-acre park in the center of campus. Take a "Tree Tour" and see the beauty of Aldrich Park where many students relax, play frisbee, and study. This lovely site, named after UC Irvine's first Chancellor, Daniel Aldrich, is where four Commencement ceremonies are held each year. There are 75 "test tube" redwood trees on the UC Irvine campus, representative of landmark research in tree cloning spearheaded by former UC Irvine professor Ernest A. Ball.

The UC Irvine campus was dedicated by President Lyndon B. Johnson on June 20, 1964. When the campus opened for instruction in October of 1965, there were 1,589 students. The first graduation exercises in June of 1966 saw the awarding of 10 B.A.'s, 3 M.A.'s, and 1 Ph.D.

UC Irvine's mascot, the anteater, is part of the bear family. Peter the Anteater was inspired by the Johnny Hart comic strip, "B.C." ZOT!

Several movies have been filmed at UC Irvine, featuring the timeless architecture and beauty of the campus:

1. Silent Movie - Main Library, Aldrich Park, and Gateway Plaza
2. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes - School of Social Science
3. Creator - Aldrich Park, Medical School
4. Poltergeist - Main Library
5. Ocean's Eleven - Gillespie Neuroscience Research Facility