University of California, Irvine

UC Irvine is on a 1,477-acre campus in the suburban setting of Irvine, California, not far from Los Angeles.

UC Irvine Student Activities

UC Irvine has many clubs, organizations, and activities for students to join – including band, chorus, theater groups, a campus newspaper, a radio station and more.

Interested in Greek life? UC Irvine has fraternities and sororities.

UC Irvine students' favorite campus traditions are Celebrate UCI (open house), Homecoming and Shocktoberfest.

UC Irvine Housing

This table offers information on housing at UC Irvine.

UC Irvine offers housing for students. Students are not required to live on campus. First year students are guaranteed on-campus housing.

Most UC Irvine students live off campus. In 2022, 42% of undergrads at UC Irvine lived in some kind of on-campus housing and 58% of students lived off-campus or commuted to UC Irvine. There are 15,693 spots available in on-campus housing for all 29,449 undergraduates. In the 2021-2022 school year, 15,470 students chose to live on-campus. First year students are allowed to park a car on campus.

UC Irvine offers coed housing and housing for students with disabilities.

UC Irvine Athletics

At UC Irvine there are a variety of athletic options for students interested in joining a sports program.

Intercollegiate sports are the highest tier of college sports and can be very competitive. Intercollegiate teams are regulated by the NCAA, funded by the university, and compete against teams from other universities. The division of a sports team depends on the size of the university, funding, and competition level. An intercollegiate school team will be Division I, II or III, with Division I being the highest level.

Club sports are not regulated by the NCAA and are a great option for students not interested in trying out for an intercollegiate team. Club sports are usually student run but can also be funded by the university.

Intramural sports are the most casual and informal. Intramural sports are often free and require very little time commitment.

Let's take a look at the athletic options available at UC Irvine:

Is UC Irvine Safe?

College is like a home away from home. Whether you're walking to class or coming back from late-night studying (or partying!), it's important to feel safe on campus.

University of California, Irvine is patroled 24 hours a day by trained security. The UC Irvine campus has emergency telephones or alarms for students to use anytime of day or night. The school also has student security patrols.

UC Irvine offers late-night transportation or safety escorts for students. Campus housing is secure and dorms can only be accessed with secure key cards.

Plan a Visit to UC Irvine

Visiting colleges is one of the best ways to get a sense of the campus and student body. If you'd like to visit UC Irvine, take 405 Freeway to Irvine, CA. If you need to fly, book your flight to John Wayne (Orange County) airport.

While you're planning, check out other schools in California you may want to visit too. Click the heart at the top of each school's page to save it to your college list.

Want to visit but can't make the trip? Explore UC Irvine's campus without leaving home by taking a virtual campus tour

Keep Reading About UC Irvine

Choose one of the options below to find out more about about UC Irvine:

Overview

Admissions

Academics

Tuition & Aid

Visit the College Confidential forums to join the conversation about UC Irvine.