The Public University of California is an association of ten different educational institutions. Actually, the word "public" indicates nothing more than sources of funding, one of which is the state budget of California. About a third of financial expenses are covered by the state.
Structure
Being the most populous state of America, California also needs a large number of educational institutions. Almost every major city in the state has a higher education institution, ten of which are combined into one university, which is called the University of California.
The following universities are included in its composition:
- University of Davis.
- University of Berkeley.
- University of Irvine.
- University of Los Angeles.
- University of San Francisco.
- University of Merseyside.
- University of Riverside.
- University of Santa Barbara.
- University of Santa Cruz.
- University of San Diego.
All these ten campuses are united under one brand on the basis of funding sources, but each of them has its own history and features of the educational program. In addition, there are private universities in the state, which include, for example, the University of Southern California, which is ranked 23rd in the ranking of national universities.
The university is governed by the Council of Regents, whose members, given the sources of funding, are appointed by the state governor. In addition, the university includes several research centers and laboratories.
University of California at Berkeley
This campus is the oldest and is considered the best. The University of California at Berkeley is the only state university in the top ten most prestigious universities in the world. This status is ensured by a unique combination of traditional and latest teaching technologies. The highest level of administration and transparency in decision making are also important.
The first campus was founded by priest Henry Durant, but after several years of its existence, due to lack of funding, a private college was forced to merge with the State College of Agriculture.
In 1873, the university acquired a campus in Berkeley. At that time, 167 boys and 22 girls were trained in it. However, the heyday of the university began under the direction of Benjamin Ida Wheeler, who headed it in 1899 and stood at the helm until 1919. During his reign, the university managed to attract new professors and new sources of funding, which allowed expanding the grant and scholarship programs, which helped to increase the number of students and make education available to less affluent but talented students. It was under Wheeler that new buildings were built, and he began to look like a modern university.
XX century
In 1930, a significant event for the history of the university took place - Robert Gordon Brown took the chair of the university president, he occupied it for 28 years, during which the university became one of the best educational institutions in the world and made a huge contribution to the development of science in the United States.
Before taking office, the new rector made a six-month journey around the world, the main purpose of which was to establish contacts with leading universities and exchange experiences, as well as to search for young and promising scientists who could come to work at the University of California in the future.
During the years of the Great Depression, the university had a hard time, but Spawn retained its leading position by attracting a variety of funding sources, which allowed the American Council of Education to name the university the second most outstanding university in the country after Harvard.
The level of development of research at the university was so high that it was in its laboratories that the atomic bomb for America was developed. University staff professor Robert Oppenheimer has been appointed project manager for the Manhattan.
McCarthyism and Restructuring
In 1949, when the Witch Hunt and anti-communist sentiment were at their peak, the University of California Board of Governors introduced a mandatory anti-communist oath to all staff members. Many workers refused to sign it and chose to leave the university. However, after ten years, they were all restored with the payment of a salary for the entire time of a forced absence.
One of the most significant professors dismissed in connection with the anti-communist campaign was Edward Topman, an outstanding American physiologist whose name now bears one of the buildings on the campus of the Faculty of Biology.
In 1952, another important event occurred in the history of both the entire university and the Berkeley branch. As a result of a total restructuring, the Berkeley campus was separated from the rest of the university, and all other campuses received wide autonomy and their own rectors. However, all ten universities since then have common advice, funding sources and one Chair.
Los angeles campus
The University of California at Los Angeles is also a public research university, part of the educational corporation of California State University. He entered the state university system in 1919 as a general-purpose campus.
Despite the fact that this campus is not among the ten most prestigious, it occupies the 12th place in the world in terms of quality of teaching, and in the American ratings ranks 25th.
The Los Angeles campus has ten first-tier units of higher education, including the School of Arts, the School of Science and Writing, the School of Theater, Film and Television, and the School of Engineering and Related Sciences.
The Los Angeles campus is a complete university system with dormitories, libraries, gyms and clinics for students. University students have the opportunity to conduct their research both independently within the boundaries of one city, and in cooperation with other corporation universities or with foreign partner universities.
Private education in California
Despite the highest level of public university, private higher education in California is also developed. A special place in the system is occupied by the University of Southern California, founded as a private college in 1880, making it the state's oldest private university.
Since the university is located in Los Angeles, international studies and international student and scientific exchange with educational institutions of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region are considered an important part of its educational program. However, the high intensity of international cooperation is characteristic of all universities in the state of California.
This private university specializes in business education, and many of its graduates become the founders of the largest US companies, which significantly contributes to the well-being of the university, since it is from the donations of graduates that an endowment is formed, which today amounts to 5.5 billion dollars.
The international cooperation
All universities in the USA and California are distinguished by the intensity of international exchange. It can even be argued that the quality of teaching and research programs is ensured precisely by attracting the most talented and interested students from around the world.
Despite the extremely high cost of American education, all gifted students can gain access to it thanks to grant programs and scholarships that are provided by both the universities themselves and special education support funds. In addition, the American state also often pays for internships of foreign students in the United States, as this helps to spread the ideals of American democracy and lifestyle.