Campus Description — UCLA

At UCLA, students and faculty work together to energize and rejuvenate the communities in which they live. The challenges and rewards of a UCLA education attract students with exceptional levels of academic preparation and intense interests in intellectual and personal growth. UCLA students make up one of the world's most ethnically diverse groups and the largest student body in the UC system, creating a truly innovative and vibrant campus.

Academic Highlights

Freshmen and sophomores at UCLA participate in small seminars and discussion-oriented classes that draw them into the academic community and promote faculty-student relationships. Special seminars are also available through Fiat Lux, an innovative program designed by the College of Letters and Science that enables students to interact with senior faculty and delve into the important political, social and technological issues facing us today. Freshmen are given priority enrollment, and class size is kept small to encourage in-depth discussion.

Undergraduates may select from 128 academic programs offered by the College of Letters and Science, Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, School of the Arts and Architecture, School of Nursing and the School of Theater, Film, and Television. The College of Letters and Science is organized into divisions of Social Sciences, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Humanities. Letters and Science students may augment their coursework by participating in the College Division of Honors and Undergraduate Programs.

In the Student Research Program, undergraduates work side by side with world-renowned UCLA scholars on cutting-edge research.

UCLA's international studies programs are among the most diverse of any American university. The UCLA International Institute coordinates international education and research through 19 multidisciplinary centers and programs, focusing on major world regions and on global issues that cut across regional boundaries.

More than 4,000 scholars and scientists make up the UCLA faculty, which includes five Nobel laureates, as well as Guggenheim fellows, recognized for distinguished research and exceptional promise for the future, and MacArthur fellows, recipients of “genius grants” recognizing intellectual creativity and promise. UCLA faculty are distinguished members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine.

Making the community a better place through public service, UCLA students work as mentors to disadvantaged children, as tutors in literacy projects and as volunteers in a myriad of community endeavors. Undergraduates can even minor in Civic Engagement. Internship and field study programs, such as the Washington, D.C. Internship Program, provide valuable hands-on experience.

Campus Life

A city within a city, UCLA offers students the opportunity to live, eat, work, bank, shop, visit a doctor, work out at the gym, enjoy a show or stroll through a wooded park without ever leaving campus.

Bruin Walk is the hub of campus activity, where students relax between classes, enjoy midday concerts or participate in rallies. Well-known lecturers, political figures and entertainers regularly visit the campus. Student activities include theater and dance productions, poetry readings and screenings of new works from UCLA’s world-renowned film and television program.

Students connect through hundreds of campus clubs and organizations, eight student newspapers and magazines, and a range of traditional events such as Homecoming and Spring Sing. Web simulcasts from the student-run campus radio station air creative programming with music, news and discussion.

Sports and UCLA go together. UCLA is renowned for its combination of NCAA team and individual championships, football bowl games and men’s basketball NCAA Tournament appearances, while the women's teams have gained national attention in championship play and titles in gymnastics and softball.