UCI is consistently recognized as a trailblazer in a broad range of fields, garnering national and international honors in every school. The campus’s diverse academic offerings paired with world-class leadership create an environment worthy of any passionate, dedicated scholar. Explore some of UCI’s points of pride below.

Institutional Honors

• UCI is one of 65 universities in the U.S. and Canada elected to membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities.
• In 2019, Money magazine ranked UCI the #1 best college in the nation. The university is the first public institution to top the publication’s annual rankings
• UCI is ranked No. 8 on Money's list of “Best Colleges for Transfer Students.”
• UCI is ranked among nation’s top 10 public universities for seventh year in a row by U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News also puts campus at No. 2 for social mobility for second consecutive year.
• The New York Times named UCI No. 1 among U.S. universities "doing the most for the American dream" in its 2017 and 2015 College Access Index. The ranking measures economic diversity based on several factors: the share of students receiving Pell Grants (which typically go to families making less than $70,000 a year); the graduation rate of those students; the net cost, after financial aid, that a college charges low- and middle-income students; and endowment per student.
• Forbes recognizes UCI as a one of America's Best Employers for Diversity, 2020. UCI ranks 18th overall and 4th in education. 
• UCI is rated as "Best Regional College" by The Princeton Review, 2018.
• For the 20th consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report has recognized UCI Medical Center as one of America’s Best Hospitals (2021).
• Three UCI faculty members, one postdoctoral scholar and one alumnus have received a Nobel Prize. Our Nobel laureates include recipients of the prize in chemistry (David MacMillian Ph.D. ’96, Mario Molina, F. Sherwood Rowland, Irwin A. Rose) and physics (Frederick Reines).

Program Rankings

1. The 2022 U.S. News & World Report rankings* for top 50 national graduate programs include these UCI majors: law – clinical training (1), literary criticism & theory (2), criminology (2), law - clinical training (2), law - tax (3), law – legal writing (5) education (7), law – international (7), English (8), law – constitution (8), law – IP (8), sociology (9), law – criminal (11), biomedical engineering (12), business – part-time (12), law – dispute resolution (12), law (14), history (15), law – healthcare (15), law – commercial/contracts (16), law – environmental (17), law – corporate/business (18), computer engineering (20), environmental engineering (19), medicine - research (20), economics (20) materials science engineering (20), political science (21), public health (22), engineering (22),  mechanical engineering (23), civil engineering (23), electrical engineering (26), chemical engineering (27), business (28), medicine – primary (29), and nursing (31)

(*Public rankings)

Sustainability & Environment

• UCI is No. 2 in Sierra magazine’s 2021 ‘Cool Schools’ ranking of sustainability leaders. Campus has been in top 10 for unmatched 12 straight years, with 4 first-place finishes. The magazine is the official publication of the Sierra Club, one of the nation's largest and most influential environmental organizations.
• UCI is one of four universities to receive the STARS platinum rating.
• Money magazine named UCI the No. 1 university for beach lovers.
• The Princeton Review's Green College Honor Roll lauded UCI for its environmentally responsible policies, healthy and sustainable quality of life for students, and green educational opportunities.
• The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education ranked UCI  No. among doctoral-granting universities in its annual Sustainable Campus Index.

Diversity

• UCI ranks no. 2 for Top Schools for Environment by The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education. The ranking measures school environments based on factors including the percentage of Pell Grant recipients and the racial and ethnic diversity of students and staff.
• UCI is recognized among the 30 Best Colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities. Ranked 4th on the list, the campus provides extensive offerings via the Disability Services Center.
• The U.S. Department of Education named UCI a Hispanic-serving institution for 2017-18, meaning that fully one-quarter of undergraduates identify as Latino and that half of all students receive financial aid. UCI also is designated as an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institution. 
• UCI ranked 7th on Forbes 2019 Best Employer for Diversity list.
• The Paul Merage School of Business is ranked No. 1 for employing the highest percentage of female faculty, according to Financial Times.

Value

• CNBC ranked UCI the 16th best among U.S. public colleges “that pay off the most in 2020,” based on average salary versus net cost of attending.
• Forbes ranked UCI the No. 3 Best Value College overall and No. 1 among public universities in 2019, based on the campus's tuition costs, school quality, graduation success rates and post-grad earnings.
• UCI graduates rank 11th in salary earnings among U.S. public universities, according to PayScale's College Salary Report.
• Money magazine rated UCI among the "25 Best Public Colleges for Big Paychecks," based on how much graduates earned over 20 years, minus college costs. 
• Kiplinger Personal Finance ranked UCI 26th among the "Best Values in Public Colleges," published December 2017, listing the top public universities in the country for affordability and quality of education.

• ARWU  35
• Forbes  47
• THE/WSJ  80
• U.S. News & World Report  36
• Washington Monthly  22

• ARWU  69
• QS  210
• THE  98
• U.S. News & World Report  78