For $1, the Irvine Company transferred 1,000 acres to the University of California for the future site of the UC Irvine campus. Architect William Pereira (left) was commissioned to develop the master plans for the new campus and the new City of Irvine. Daniel G. Aldrich (right) was appointed the founding chancellor.

• School of Biological Sciences (renamed Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences in 2024)
• School of Engineering (renamed Henry Samueli School of Engineering in 2000)
• School of Fine Arts (renamed Claire Trevor School of the Arts in 2000)
• Division of Humanities (renamed School of Humanities in 1967)
• School of Physical Sciences
• School of Social Sciences

On the first day of classes, UC Irvine welcomed 1,589 students.

• 1,589 students • $1.85 million in grants and contracts

UC Irvine’s men’s swim team defeated 81 other schools to win the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) College Division national championship.

Academic program in social ecology launched, laying the foundation for the 1992 establishment of the nation’s first and only School of Social Ecology.

NCAA

• Men’s Water Polo: 1970
• Baseball: 1973, 1974
• Men's Cross Country: 1975, 1976
• Men's Golf: 1975
• Men's Outdoor Track and Field: 1976
• Men's Swimming and Diving: 1970, 1971
• Men's Tennis: 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977

Intercollegiate Yacht Racing Association 

• Dinghy: 1972
• Sloop: 1979

Campus assigned its own postal code as enrollment reaches 9,547 students.

• 9,547 students • 8,453 alumni • $28 million in grants and contracts

UCI purchased the Orange County Medical Center, located 12 miles from the Irvine campus, renaming it the UCI Medical Center.

UCI became a member of NCAA Division I, and Linda Dempsay became the first female athletic director at a Division I institution.

UCI student enrollment diversified, with the highest minority student representation in the nation.

Irvine Meadows West opened to address a student housing crisis, providing space for 80 vehicles in an RV park near the Social Science Farm. It remained open until 2003.

NCAA

• Men’s Water Polo: 1982, 1989

Intercollegiate Yacht Racing Association 

• Dinghy: 1988
• Team Racing: 1988

Frederick Reines, distinguished professor of physics and founding dean of the School of Physical Sciences, awarded the National Medal of Science by President Ronald Reagan for his discovery of the neutrino and contributions to fundamental physics.

• 12,953 students • 27,272 alumni • $52 million in grants and contracts

Patrick Hanratty (PhD ’77) donated a copy of the First Folio, the first compilation of Shakespeare's plays published in 1623, to UC Irvine Libraries. Today, the First Folio is the most expensive piece of literature ever auctioned.

Donald Bren Events Center opened in January, becoming the home for UCI athletics, concerts, conventions, and commencement ceremonies.

Intercollegiate Yacht Racing Association 

• Dinghy: 1990

Department of Earth System Science (ESS) established, the first of its kind in the nation.

• 17,280 students • 67,356 alumni • $106 million in grants and contracts

Professor of Chemistry F. Sherwood Rowland won the Nobel Prize for his work on how ozone forms and breaks down in the atmosphere. Along with UCI graduate student Mario Molina, his 1973 discoveries led to the worldwide regulation of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other ozone-depleting chemicals.

UCI elected to the Association of American Universities, a prestigious invitation-only organization of the highest-level research institutions in North America.

NCAA

• Mens's Volleyball: 2007, 2009

Intercollegiate Yacht Racing Association

• Sloop: 2005

Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Sciences R. Duncan Luce received the National Medal of Science from President George W. Bush for his half-century of advances in economics, psychology, and sociology based on mathematical modeling of behavior.

Irwin “Ernie” Rose, distinguished professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation.

• 24,986 students • 85,000 alumni • $236 million in grants and contracts

UCI School of Law opened, the first public law school to open in California in 40 years. Its inaugural class of 2012 had a 90% pass rate for the California Bar Exam.

NCAA

• Men's Volleyball: 2012, 2013

Humanities Gateway completed, UCI’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum building. Today, the campus has 32 LEED Platinum and Gold buildings, which focus on human and environmental health.

First New Swan Shakespeare Festival held in its outdoor Shakespearean theater.

President Barack Obama gave the commencement to more than 6,000 graduating students and 30,000 family members and friends at Angel Stadium.

Sierra Magazine ranked UCI no. 1 in the nation for sustainability and work on environmental issues. UCI would go on to be ranked one of Sierra’s top 10 most sustainable colleges for eight years in a row.

Distinguished Professor of History and Chicano/Latino Studies Vicki Ruiz received the National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama for her pioneering work sharing the stories and histories of twentieth-century Latinas.

Orange County & Southeast Asian Archive Center (OC&SEAA) opened, becoming the home of the UCI Libraries Southeast Asian Archive (SEAA) and Orange County Regional History Collection.

UCI launched Brilliant Future, the largest fundraising and alumni effort in Orange County’s history. The campaign reached $1 billion in 2021 and is on track to hit $2 billion before the end of 2025.

• 31,551 students • 183,525 alumni • $395 million in grants and contracts

UCI Esports Arena opened, and Esports program established, the first at a public university. Students in the program have won national championships and major tournaments while maintaining a graduation rate of 94%, a number unmatched in college esports.

UCI named an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI), meaning a minimum of one-tenth of its full-time undergraduate students identify as Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander.

UCI named a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), meaning a minimum of one-fourth of its full-time undergraduate students identify as Hispanic. UCI’s Latinx Resource Center opened shortly after in 2021.

Responding to the developing COVID-19 emergency, the main Irvine campus closed on March 19. Only a small number of residential students and essential staff and researchers remained on campus.

Black Lives Matter demonstrators held a rally at the UCI Health Medical Center in Orange. Later in 2020, the UCI Athletics’ Anteater Voices for Change and UCI’s Black Thriving Initiative were developed.

Academic workers held a six-week strike, the largest of its kind in US history. Striking workers, including graduate researchers, teaching assistants, and postdoctoral fellows, demanded higher salaries and more affordable housing.

• 371,350 students • 258,000 alumni • $668 million in grants and contracts

UCI Health acquired four hospitals and associated outpatient locations from Tenet Healthcare, adding nearly 860 inpatient beds.

ZotGPT Chat introduced, one of the first customized generative AI tools in the UC system. Developed for UCI affiliates, the tool allows users to explore AI in a secure environment.

Seven-story, 350,000-square-foot, acute care hospital and emergency department at the north end of the UC Irvine campus scheduled to be complete in 2025. The new 1.2-million-square-foot medical center campus, the nation’s first to be powered by an all-electric central utilities plant, is also the home of the Joe C. Wen & Family Center for Advanced Care and the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ambulatory Care building.