University of California, Los Angeles

The University of California, Los Angeles, popularly known as UCLA, is a public, coeducational university situated in the neighborhood of Westwood within the city of Los Angeles. It is the second-oldest campus in the University of California system and the largest university in the state of California.

Campus

The campus currently comprises 163 buildings across 419 acres (1.7 km²) in the western part of Los Angeles, north of the Westwood shopping district and just south of Sunset Boulevard. The campus is quite close, but not adjacent to the San Diego Freeway, an oversight avoided in the planning of such newer UC campuses like Irvine, next to Highway 73, and San Diego, which is split by Interstate 5.

Related Topics:
Los Angeles - Sunset Boulevard - San Diego Freeway - Irvine - San Diego - Interstate 5

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The university campus is world-renowned and has been praised for its architecture and picturesque scenery. It is located in Los Angeles and is bordered by Westwood, Bel Air, Beverly Hills, and Brentwood. The campus is informally divided into North Campus and South Campus, which are both on the eastern half of the university's land. North Campus is the original campus core with its buildings being more old-fashioned in appearance and clad in imported Italian brick. North Campus is home to the arts, humanities, social sciences, law, and business programs. North Campus is centered around oak tree-lined Dickson Court, which has appeared in many movies such as The Nutty Professor. South Campus contains the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the UCLA Medical Center; majors typically found on South Campus are mathematics and science based. UCLA is currently undergoing major construction located primarily on "the Hill" and South Campus.

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Undergraduate housing for nearly 8,000 residents is spread across 12 complexes on a ridge on the western side of the campus, which is called "the Hill." Residential life on the Hill is under the care of the Office of Residential Life (ORL), which is often considered to be a leading residential life department in the United States. Under the efforts of both student staff and professional staff, ORL provides a comprehensive living and learning environment, bridging academics, personal growth, leadership, and community. Housing facilities also include four restaurants and three boutique-style eateries. Students are currently guaranteed three years of on-campus housing, but the Housing Master Plan aims to guarantee housing to all undergraduates for four years by 2010.

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In 2002, the university began building a new graduate housing complex, Weyburn Terrace, in order to recruit top graduate students from around the world because there had been no university-operated graduate housing on or near the main campus since 2001. The new complex is located on the western edge of Westwood, a few blocks from the main UCLA campus, and is partially completed with final construction still ongoing in 2005. When completed, Weyburn Terrace will enable UCLA to provide housing to approximately fifty percent of incoming graduate and professional students.

Related Topics:
2002 - 2001 - 2005

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Ackerman Union, the John Wooden Center, the Arthur Ashe Health and Wellness Center, the Student Activities Center, Kerckhoff Hall, the J.D. Morgan Center, the James West Alumni Center, and Pauley Pavilion stand at the center of the campus. The Hill is linked to the remainder of campus by a heavily traveled pathway called Bruin Walk, which bisects the campus. In order to accommodate UCLA's rapidly growing student population, multiple construction and renovation projects are in progress, including expansions of the life sciences and engineering research complexes.

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The campus has a large number of parking garages, both above-ground and below-ground. Yet, the university continues to suffer from a severe parking shortage which is further compounded by Southern California's regional housing shortage. The university has given priority in allocation of parking spaces to staff and students commuting from distant locations like Anaheim, while encouraging all students living within a 5 mile radius to use mass transit.

Related Topics:
Parking - Anaheim - Mass transit

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