The campus was buzzing when I was there. Student groups had set up tables lining the main campus walk and were there to fund raise, raise awareness and publicize events. There were students outside studying, chatting with friends and meeting with teachers. There are 21,000 undergraduates and only 4000 graduate students at UCI. The most popular majors fall under social sciences and the social ecology but Engineering (with an earthquake simulation lab, a wind tunnel lab used by Nike to test fabric and a combustion lab used to test jet fuel), creative writing (Michael Chabon is an alum), art and drama are also quite strong here. The computer science department has graduated students who have gone on to give us the "http" protocol and create World of Warcraft (a new major at UCI is computer game design). Nobel laureates teach undergraduates in the chemistry and physics departments. While introductory courses can be as large as 500 students, our tour guide told us that for every large lecture there is a smaller (30-40 students) discussion class. He emphasized the importance of going to a professor's office hours as a way to get to know the professor and also to get help. Amazingly, he said few students do this and those that do reap multiple benefits.
Of course, proximity to LA means that there is always something to do although it was not clear to me how easy it is to get into LA without a car. Students seemed to be quite spirited, loving their anteater mascot and enthusiastically cheering on their sports teams, particularly men's water polo and volleyball. There appeared to be plenty to do on campus and significant ethnic, cultural and religious diversity.
If you are looking for a large university environment where the focus will be on undergraduates, you would be wise to check out UC Irvine. For California residents, it is an attractive and affordable option with few disadvantages!
