What does UCLA stand for

A brief introduction to UCLA

What does UCLA stand for? UCLA stands for the University of California, Los Angeles. 

For those who have more questions beyond “what does UCLA stand for,” a great place to learn more about the university is the official UCLA website, linked in the button below. 

UCLA is a public research university under the University of California (UC) system. There are nine other UC campuses in the areas of Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz.

UCLA was the second UC campus to be established following UC Berkeley. When UCLA was founded in 1919, it was named the Southern Branch of the UC. It wasn’t until 1927 that the university was renamed the University of California, Los Angeles.

Today, a little over a century after UCLA’s founding, the university has built a worldwide reputation for its strong academic and athletic programs; UCLA has 16 Nobel Laureates, 15 MacArthur Fellows, 120 National Collegiate Athletics Association championships and 270 Olympic medals. U.S. News & World Report even ranks UCLA as the number one public university in the country — the seventh year in a row as of 2023.

What makes UCLA so special? With over 125 majors offered at UCLA, students have the opportunity to study a wide variety of subjects under the guidance of the university’s world-class faculty. 

UCLA receives roughly $1 billion annually to fund research projects, meaning that students have the opportunity to work on groundbreaking research and help tackle societal issues through their academic work.

Learning is not only confined to classrooms and labs; students can explore their interests and create lifelong connections in any of UCLA’s over 1,200 student organizations. These clubs cover virtually everything: intramural sports, community service, performing arts, professional development and more.

In between studying and participating in club activities, students can grab a meal at UCLA’s top-ranked dining halls. UCLA students are also guaranteed four years of housing through university dorms and apartments, so students don’t need to stress about finding a place to live near campus. 

So what does UCLA stand for? It stands for the University of California, Los Angeles, but it also stands for the university’s history of excellence and its commitment to creating an encouraging learning experience for its students.

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