There's no place like SoCal


Study at UCI, and you study by the beach, the desert, and the mountains.

The West Coast is the best coast


Come study at an incomparable coastal location with nearby opportunities for recreational and cultural activities. Nestled in the rolling coastal foothills of Orange County and five miles from pristine Pacific Ocean beaches, UCI’s campus benefits from a perfect Mediterranean climate. Our location in the city of Irvine offers easy access to 42 miles of coastline for surfing and sailing, hundreds of miles of bike and hiking trails, desert camping, mountain resorts for snowboarding and skiing, and famous attractions such as Disneyland and Hollywood.

Exploring SoCal


You'll want to make getting out and about a large part of your learning experience!

Irvine at a glance


Here are just a few more reasons why the city of Irvine is a great place to live.

  • Ranks as the “Safest City” of its size for the past 16 consecutive years (FBI)
  • Location of thousands of multinational businesses — including one-third of all Fortune 500 companies — in a variety of industries such as pharmaceutical, computer, electronics, manufacturing, biotechnology/medicine, design, automotive, and communications
  • Enjoys 281 sunny days per year, with average temperatures ranging from 64° F (18° C) in January to 82° F (28° C) in August
  • Located next to the famed sailing and surfing beaches of Newport, Laguna, and Huntington and is near Los Angeles, San Diego, and Palm Springs
  • Home to the renowned Segerstrom Center for the Arts, which offers a wide variety of musical, dance, and theater productions, including national tours of famous Broadway shows
  • A diverse and highly educated population of 281,707 (2020)
  • 16,000 acres of open space preservation (by build out), 63 miles of bike trails, 60 public parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and ecological reserves

Amplify your experience


More than 70 percent of UCI undergraduates have faculty-mentored research experience by graduation.