About UCI

The University of California, Irvine is situated on 1500 acres of rolling coastal foothills between the cities of Irvine and Newport Beach. It offers you the opportunity to study at an academically challenging research university with faculty who are nationally and internationally known scholars, scientists, and artists.

Founded in 1965, the University of California, Irvine combines the strengths of a major research university with the bounty of an incomparable Southern California location. With a commitment to cutting-edge research, teaching, learning and creativity, UCI is a driving force of innovation and discovery that benefits our local, national and global communities in multiple ways.

Quality, Curriculum and Instruction

The Academy faculty adapts instruction and course content to your special abilities. Each course aims to engage your mind with critical and creative thinking skills infused across the curriculum. Many of the courses are interdisciplinary, covering more than one area of study. For example, the writing course combines thinking, argumentation and writing skills, adapting a teaching model used in UCI undergraduate courses. All courses help you to develop better test taking skills.

Most courses encourage you to collaborate with your peers, working in groups of students with similar ability. Utilizing university resources, you gain an insider's view of a major research institution. For example, if you take a science course, you will have access to some of the university's world-class laboratories, such as those used by UCI Nobel Laureates Professor F. Sherwood Rowland, chemistry, and the late Professor Frederick Reines, physics and astronomy.

Many guest lecturers are UCI affiliated researchers or staff members. Our instructors are highly qualified middle school, high school, university or community college teachers. Instructors are recruited for expertise in their subject area and experience with academically talented students.