This article contains academic boosterism which primarily serves to praise or promote the subject and may be a sign of a conflict of interest. (July 2023) |
Motto | Fiat lux (Latin) |
---|---|
Motto in English | "Let there be light" |
Type | Public land-grant research university |
Established | February 14, 1954[1][2] |
Parent institution | University of California |
Accreditation | WSCUC |
Academic affiliation | |
Endowment | $249.87 million (2023)[3] |
Budget | $1.3 billion (2023)[4] |
Chancellor | Kim A. Wilcox |
Provost | Elizabeth Watkins[5] |
Academic staff | 1,638[6] |
Administrative staff | 1,938[6] |
Students | 26,809 (2022)[7] |
Undergraduates | 22,903 (2022)[7] |
Postgraduates | 3,906 (2022)[7] |
Location | , , United States |
Campus | Large city, 2,131 acres (862 ha)[8] |
Other campuses | Palm Desert |
Newspaper | The Highlander |
Colors | Blue and gold[9] |
Nickname | Highlanders |
Sporting affiliations | |
Mascot | Scotty Highlander |
Website | ucr |
The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on 1,900 acres (769 ha) in a suburban district of Riverside with a branch campus of 20 acres (8 ha) in Palm Desert. In 1907, the predecessor to UCR was founded as the UC Citrus Experiment Station, Riverside which pioneered research in biological pest control and the use of growth regulators.
UCR's undergraduate College of Letters and Science opened in 1954. The Regents of the University of California declared UCR a general campus of the system in 1959, and graduate students were admitted in 1961. To accommodate an enrollment of 21,000 students by 2015, more than $730 million has been invested in new construction projects since 1999.[10][11][needs update] UCR plans to have 35,000 students by 2035.[12] Preliminary accreditation of the UC Riverside School of Medicine was granted in October 2012 and the first class of 50 students was enrolled in August 2013. It is the first new research-based public medical school in 40 years.[13] UCR is a member of the Association of American Universities.
In 2000, UC Riverside was classified as an "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity."[14][15] UCR's sports teams are known as the Highlanders and play in the Big West Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Their nickname was inspired by the high altitude of the campus, which lies on the foothills of Box Springs Mountain.