The University of California and its 10 campuses across the state have strong support from California voters, according to a new poll from the Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS). A clear majority of respondents agree that UC helps students get ahead, provides vital health care services, and produces critical research that benefits California communities.
Two-thirds of voters agreed that the UC system helps students succeed and 71 percent said that its campuses produce important research that benefits communities. A strong majority of voters across rural and urban, racial, age, and party lines agreed with both sentiments.
“Public support for the University of California is a unifying issue among California voters,” said Meredith Vivian Turner, UC senior vice president of External Relations and Communications. “It is clear from these results that Californians not only value the University and its educational, research and health care contributions, but that voters want to see funding for UC prioritized in this time of financial uncertainty.”
When asked whether UC “medical centers are important to the communities they serve,” 77 percent of voters answered affirmatively, with well over half of respondents noting that they “strongly agreed” with the statement. Strong majorities across all demographic groups agreed that UC medical centers are important to their communities. Notably, 75 percent of Republicans and 80 percent of Democrats agreed. “The very high support for the medical centers among members of both parties is a rare case of consensus across party lines in today’s highly polarized era,” said Eric Schickler, IGS co-director.
When asked if they would advise a close friend or relative to enroll at a UC school, 70 percent of voters said yes. This positive sentiment was consistent across all demographic groups, including different regions, races, ages, genders, education levels, and political affiliations. In a follow up, the poll asked registered voters who had graduated from a UC campus about the return on investment of a UC degree, with over three-quarters noting it was “worth its costs.” Once again, a strong majority of UC graduates across racial, religious, age, and ideological groups agreed that their UC education was “worth it.”
These positive attitudes toward UC translated into widespread support for increased state funding for the UC system. When asked if they believe that “state funding for the UC system (for teaching, research, student services, etc.) should be increased, decreased, or stay the same?” 58 percent responded that it should be increased.
“In an era where the benefits of public higher education are being questioned, the polling results suggest that California’s residents see the value in a UC education and recognize the many different ways the UC system contributes positively to the state, from its research to its health services to its educational offerings,” noted G. Cristina Mora, IGS co-director.
These poll results come with fewer than three weeks left in the legislative session and as UC President James B. Milliken concludes his first visit to Sacramento, where he met with state lawmakers to outline the severe economic impact that the federal government’s demand for a $1 billion settlement and the suspension of federal research funding would have on the University and the California economy.
About the Survey
The findings in this report are based on Berkeley IGS Polls completed by the Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) at the University of California, Berkeley. Two separate polls were completed. The first poll was administered online in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean, between June 2-9, 2025, among 6,474 Californians registered to vote. The more recent August follow-up findings are based on a Berkeley IGS Poll of 4,950 California registered voters that was administered online in English and Spanish between August 11–17, 2025.
You can find more information on the IGS poll and its full results here.