The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States.^[12]

The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine is the largest veterinary school in the United States. UC Davis also offers certificates and courses, including online classes, for adults and non-traditional learners through its Division of Continuing and Professional Education.^[13]

The university is sometimes considered a Public Ivy.^[14] It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".^[15] University faculty, alumni, and researchers have been the recipients of two Nobel Prizes, one Fields Medal, a Presidential Medal of Freedom, three Pulitzer Prizes, three MacArthur Fellowships, and a National Medal of Science.^{[16][17][18][19][20]} Of the current faculty, 30 have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, 36 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and 13 to the National Academy of Medicine.^[21][22][23]

In 1868, the University of California was established as a land-grant university, and immediately founded a College of Agriculture as its first college as required by the Morrill Land-Grant Acts and the university's own Organic Act.^[24][25] UC operated a small farm at the Berkeley campus for several years after Ezra S. Carr became professor of agriculture, but he managed to alienate both the university faculty and the state's farmers with his attempt to directly integrate practical training in farming with courses on the larger historical, social, and political dimensions of farming and got himself fired in 1874.^[26]

Eugene W. Hilgard, Carr's successor, recognized that Berkeley's soil and climate were terrible for farming (the campus directly faces the notoriously foggy Golden Gate) and switched from "practical" to what he called "rational" instruction in scientific principles of agriculture at Berkeley.^[27] He concentrated on soil science and fermentation that could be researched and taught in a university laboratory, supplemented by limited data gathering and experiments (but not hands-on teaching) at agricultural experimental stations in the field.^[28] Hilgard was disdainful of the idea of a university farm.^[29]

Around the turn of the 20th century, Peter J. Shields, secretary of the California Agricultural Society, became aware that colleges of agriculture elsewhere had university farms which performed experiments and provided hands-on education in useful agricultural subjects, and that young people were leaving the state to study at such farms.^[30] Shields began to champion the cause of a university farm. He was later honored as the "founder" of UC Davis in 1962, when the Shields Oak Grove on campus was named after him, and again posthumously in 1972 when the campus library was named after him.^[31] However, local farmer and politician George Washington Pierce Jr. also fought aggressively in the California State Assembly for the creation of a university farm.^[31] Shields himself credited Pierce with ensuring that the site criteria in the University Farm Bill were so tightly formulated that they could be met only at the Yolo County town of Davisville.^[31] Unlike Shields, Pierce did not live long enough to see the promotion of Davis to a general campus and is now largely forgotten.^[31]

On March 18, 1905, the University Farm Bill was enacted, which called for the establishment of a farm for the University of California.^[32][33] The bill provided that the University Farm would "be typical and representative of the best general agricultural conditions in California", and authorized an appropriation of $150,000 to cover the cost of purchasing land and constructing appropriate buildings.^[33] A committee appointed by the Regents of the University of California took a year to select a site for the University Farm, a 779-acre portion of the stock farm of Jerome C. Davis, near a tiny town then known as Davisville.^[32][34] The regents officially took control of the property in September 1906 and constructed four buildings in 1907.

Short courses were first offered in October and November 1908, and then the University Farm officially opened in 1909 as the University Farm School, offering a three-year non-degree vocational program.^[34] The vocational program was shortened from three to two years in 1923.^[35]

In 1916, the Farm's 314 students occupied the original 778 acres (315 ha) campus. The institution grew at a breakneck pace over the next four decades. By 1951, it had expanded to a size of 3,000 acres (1,200 ha).^[36] Along the way, it was renamed in 1922 to become the Northern Branch of the College of Agriculture, and in 1938, it became the College of Agriculture at Davis.

Initially, no degrees were awarded at Davis.^[37] Students in the College of Agriculture at Berkeley often enrolled at Davis for a single semester to obtain practical training on an actual farm alongside the vocational students, but had to return to Berkeley to earn their degrees.^[32][37] Because the non-degree vocational program at Davis was so disconnected from the traditional degree programs on the main Berkeley campus, agricultural interests began to agitate to separate Davis and the entire College of Agriculture from the University of California.^[37] This forced the regents in 1922 to silence such proposals by initially authorizing a two-year undergraduate program at Davis.^[37] By sharing faculty members between Berkeley and Davis and hiring a few more faculty members, the university was able to provide almost all courses of a "complete undergraduate program" at Davis—that is, a four-year program leading to the bachelor's degree.^[37] The first class graduated from Davis in 1926.^[35]

UC regularly appointed faculty members to joint positions at both Berkeley and Davis.^[38] This was possible because the two campuses are separated by only 53 miles (85 km), and the opening of a new bridge over the Carquinez Strait in 1927 greatly shortened the drive between them. Sharing faculty meant that the two campuses have always had an amicable relationship, in that Davis gradually developed its own strong identity while remaining proud of its older sibling.^[38] Thus, Davis did not suffer from the kind of "hang-ups" (i.e., inferiority complexes)^[38] which at Los Angeles culminated in a systemwide decentralization process from 1957 to 1960 in which the regents and the UC president delegated most of their powers and responsibilities to chancellors at the campus level.^[39] Davis still retains a few traditions from its early era when its identity was much more intertwined with Berkeley, such as the Bossy Cow-Cow cheer, a parody of Berkeley's Oski Yell.

In 1941, the state legislature authorized the creation of a school of veterinary medicine at Davis, but the school's launch was severely delayed by the entrance of the United States into World War II and it did not open until 1948.^[40] In 1943, the U.S. Army Signal Corps took over Davis to use the campus as a training facility.^[37] The Davis campus was not returned to civilian use until the end of 1944.^[41]

From 1926 to 1947, all Davis students earning bachelor's degrees had to travel to Berkeley for graduation.^[42] In 1948, "the regents agreed to decentralize graduations".^[42] In a ceremony at Davis that year, UC President Robert Gordon Sproul "awarded 101 bachelor of science degrees in agriculture", along with 195 certificates to graduates of the two-year vocational program.^[42]

In 1949, UC expanded the Davis campus to what is now West Campus by purchasing the 526-acre Straloch Farm to the west from its owner, Harry Hopkins.^[43][44] The farm came with an 86-acre private airport constructed by Hopkins in 1946.^[43][44] The University Airport was the first university airport in the United States and is still the only one in the UC system.^[43][44]

In 1958, the vocational program was discontinued.^[35]

For much of its early history, Davis was treated as an offsite department of the main campus in Berkeley, and its chief administrative officer was a director who reported to the dean of the College of Agriculture at Berkeley.^[45] In 1944, the title became assistant dean and in 1951, the title was upgraded to provost. In May 1952, the university appointed Harry R. Wellman as its first vice-president—agricultural sciences in charge of a new Division of Agriculture, which included the existing statewide College of Agriculture at Berkeley, Davis, Los Angeles, and Riverside; the agricultural extension field stations; and the county farm offices.^[46] The provosts at Davis and Riverside reported to the president through this new vice-president (rather than through the College of Agriculture).^[46]

Stanley B. Freeborn served as Davis's first provost from 1952 to 1958 and then as its first chancellor from 1958 to 1959 (in anticipation of its promotion to a general campus).^[47] However, Freeborn retired in 1959 after only one year as chancellor, then died the next year.

In October 1959, Davis was formally designated by the regents as a general campus and its chancellor was vested with the same autonomy as the chancellors at UC Berkeley and UCLA—meaning that like them, Davis's chancellor would now report directly to the university's president.^[48] The Board of Regents declared that Davis's College of Agriculture "will continue to be the University's major center of teaching and research in agriculture, which will remain a dominant emphasis".^[48] The board also suggested that the Davis campus should give "special attention" to "opportunities" to be of service to the state government due to its proximity to the state capital at Sacramento.^[48] Finally, the board set an enrollment target of 6,000 students by 1970.^[48]

Most of Davis's initial development as a UC general campus was supervised by its second chancellor, Emil M. Mrak, who served from 1959 to 1969.^[49] Mrak fondly recalled his bicycle-riding days as a child among the orchards of the Santa Clara Valley, and during his chancellorship, he worked hard to make the Davis campus into a bicycle-friendly place.^[49] When Mrak retired in 1969, the campus administration building was named Mrak Hall in his honor.^[50]

Davis's Graduate Division was established in 1961. This was followed by the creation of the College of Engineering in 1962.^[48] The School of Law opened for classes in fall 1966, and the School of Medicine began instruction in fall 1968.^[48] In a period of increasing activism, a Native American studies program was started in 1969, one of the first at a major university; it was later developed into a full department within the university.

During the Occupy movement against economic inequality, students at UC Davis organized the Occupy UC Davis protests in opposition to tuition hikes. On November 18, 2011, a campus police officer, Lieutenant John Pike, used pepper spray on a group of seated peaceful demonstrators when they refused to disperse, and another officer also pepper sprayed demonstrators at Pike's direction. The incident drew international attention and led to further demonstrations, a formal investigation, and Pike's departure in July 2012.^[51][52][53]

Documents released in 2016 through a public records request showed that the university had spent at least $175,000 to attempt to "scrub the Internet of negative postings" about the incident, in efforts that started in 2013.^[54] California newspaper The Sacramento Bee obtained a document outlining the public relations strategy, which stated: "Nevins and Associates is prepared to create and execute an online branding campaign designed to clean up the negative attention the University of California, Davis, and Chancellor Katehi have received related to the events that transpired in November 2011". The strategy included an "aggressive and comprehensive online campaign to eliminate the negative search results" intended to achieve the "eradication of references to the pepper spray incident in search results on Google for the university and the Chancellor".^[55] The university's strategic communications office, which has worked on the management of the reputation of the university and its chancellor, has had its budget substantially increased since the current chancellor took office – rising from $2.93 million in 2009 to $5.47 million in 2015. In August 2016 Katehi resigned as chancellor, and under the terms of her contract, will continue to be a full-time faculty member at UCD.^[56]

In February 2017, Gary S. May was named the seventh chancellor of UCD after a nationwide search. He officially began in the role on August 1. May, the former dean of the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech, is the second African American to be named chancellor at any of the UC campuses (after former UC Irvine chancellor, Ohio State president and current UC system president Michael Drake) and one of only three currently serving African American chancellors/presidents of an AAU institution.^[57][58][59]

In the fall quarter of 2022, the United Auto Workers (UAW) led teaching assistants at UC Davis and other University of California campuses in a strike that lasted several weeks, affecting undergraduate instruction through canceled discussions, delayed grading, and reduced course support. On December 16, 2022, the UC system reached a tentative agreement with the UAW.^[60]

In 2023, three people were stabbed over the course of five days in Davis, California, resulting in the deaths of two victims. On Thursday, May 4, 2023, Davis Police arrested Carlos Reales Dominguez, a former UC Davis student, as a suspect in the attacks.^[61]

Dominguez had been recently dismissed from UC Davis for academic reasons prior to the attacks. The university faced criticism from some students and community members, who argued that its response to the stabbings was slow and did not adequately address safety concerns for current students.^[62]

Although named after the City of Davis, the campus is technically located adjacent to the City of Davis in an unincorporated part of Yolo and Solano counties. The main campus is located 15 miles (24.1 km) west of Sacramento in the Sacramento Valley, part of California's Central Valley, and is adjacent to Interstate 80.

Although the campus itself is vast, the entire community of Davis is relatively small and is easily traversable on bike utilizing Davis' extensive bicycle trails.^[63]

Towards the northeast end of campus is the Quad, a large rectangular field, which was the historic geographic center of campus. The Quad remains the center of campus life, anchored to the north by the Memorial Union (student union), to the south by Shields Library and to the west and southeast by Wellman and Olson halls respectively.

The northeast side of campus holds more of the core buildings that were built earlier in UC Davis's history, such as Wellman Hall, Shields Library, Mrak Hall, and Hutchison Hall. Also notable in this northeastern corner is the labyrinthine Social Sciences and Humanities building designed by Antoine Predock, known to students as the "Death Star" for its angular, metallic design.^[64]

The majority of Equestrian Center, and Animal Sciences buildings are located near the Arboretum Waterway, away from the core campus; the West Entry Parking Complex, the Silo Union, and the newly constructed Science Lecture Hall and the Science Laboratory Building are located nearer to the Tercero residence halls and the core of campus. The Mondavi Center, home of the University Symphony Orchestra and other cultural events, is also located near the Tercero complex.^[63][65]

Recently, portions were developed to form a zero net energy community.^[66] West Village plans to provide housing for 3,000 students, faculty and staff.

West Campus is also home to the Contained Research Facility, a bio-safety level 3 facility.^[63]

To the south side of the campus core is the 100-acre UC Davis Arboretum.^[67] On March 10, 2017, a multi-year waterway enhancement project began. The first phase of the project was completed in 2018 and a second phase was completed a year ahead of schedule in November 2024.^[68]

There are seven public art statues found around campus, collectively called The Egghead Series, sculpted by the late Robert Arneson, who also taught at Davis from 1962 to 1991.^[69]

Bookhead is located at the Shields Library plaza, Yin & Yang is located at the Fine Arts Complex, See No Evil/Hear No Evil is at the east lawn of King Hall (the main building for UC Davis' School of Law), Eye on Mrak (FatalLaff) is outside Mrak Hall (housing the registrar office and other administrative offices), and Stargazer is located between North Hall and Young Hall. The Yin & Yang egg heads have been recast and duplicated for installation near the Port of San Francisco Ferry Building in San Francisco.^[70]

Museums on campus include the C.N. Gorman Museum, specializing in indigenous and Native American art;^[71] and the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, with a focus on local artists from the Bay Area Figurative Movement, Pop art and Funk art movements.

UC Davis Student Housing operates 23 residence halls totaling 29 buildings which are organized into three areas: Segundo, Tercero, and Cuarto.^[72] UC Davis Student Housing accommodates over 11,000 students.

Undergraduate demographics as of Fall 2020

Race and ethnicity[73]	Total
Asian	28%	28
Hispanic	24%	24
White	22%	22
Foreign national	16%	16
Other[b]	7%	7
Black	2%	2
Economic diversity
Low-income[c]	32%	32
Affluent[d]	68%	68

In 2014, Chancellor Katehi stated that UC Davis aimed to become a Hispanic-Serving Institution by the 2018–2019 school year, with at least 25% of the undergraduate student body consisting of Latinos.^[74] As of Fall 2023, women comprised 58.4% of undergraduate students.^[75]

University of California-Davis was first listed as a census designated place by the United States Census Bureau in the 2010 U.S. census.^[78] The CDP is mostly contiguous with the campus but does include some adjacent private student housing that is not within the Davis city limits. Per the 2020 census, the population was 8,525.^[79]

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2010	5,786		—
2020	8,525		47.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[80] 1850–1870[81][82] 1880-1890[83] 1900[84] 1910[85] 1920[86] 1930[87] 1940[88] 1950[89] 1960[90] 1970[91] 1980[92] 1990[93] 2000[94] 2010[78] 2020[95]

University of California-Davis CDP, California – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2010[96]	Pop 2020[95]	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	2,172	4,046	37.54%	47.46%
Black or African American alone (NH)	136	339	2.35%	3.98%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	12	102	0.21%	1.20%
Asian alone (NH)	2,424	2,079	41.89%	24.39%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	7	155	0.12%	1.82%
Other race alone (NH)	17	31	0.29%	0.36%
Mixed race or Multi-racial (NH)	290	364	5.01%	4.27%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	728	1,409	12.58%	16.53%
Total	5,786	8,525	100.00%	100.00%

The university has 102 undergraduate majors and 101 graduate programs.^[97] The campus claims to be noted for its top-rated Agricultural and Resource Economics programs^[98] and the large Department of Animal Science through which students can study at the university's own on-campus dairy, meat-processing plant, equestrian facility, and experimental farm. Students of Environmental Horticulture and other botanical sciences have many acres of campus farmland and the University of California, Davis, Arboretum at their disposal. The Department of Applied Science was founded and formerly chaired by physicist Edward Teller. The arts are also studied extensively on campus with subjects such as studio art, design, music, theater and dance. The Design Department at UC Davis is the only comprehensive academic design unit of the University of California system.^[99] There is also the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts which features artists from all over the globe.

UC Davis undergraduate majors are divided into four colleges (with their founding in parentheses):

• UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (1922)
• UC Davis College of Biological Sciences (2005)
• UC Davis College of Engineering (1962)
• UC Davis College of Letters and Science (1951)

UC Davis is sometimes considered a "Public Ivy".^[110] In the 2023 edition of U.S. News & World Report, UC Davis was ranked tied for the 6th-best public university in the United States, alongside multiple other institutions, and tied for 28th nationally, placing it behind several other UC campuses. Globally, it was ranked tied for 73rd, significantly lower than top-tier universities.^[111]

Washington Monthly ranked UC Davis 13th in its 2020 National University ranking, a position largely based on social mobility and public service rather than traditional academic prestige.^[112]

In 2020, Money magazine placed UC Davis 10th in its "Best Colleges for Your Money" ranking out of 739 schools, though this ranking primarily considers financial value rather than academic reputation.^[113] It was also ranked 4th among public schools, behind other well-established public institutions.^[114]

Forbes ranked UC Davis 23rd overall in 2022 among 650 colleges and universities in the U.S., placing it well behind more prestigious institutions. It was also ranked 22nd among research universities and 4th among public universities, falling short of top-ranked peers like UC Berkeley and the University of Michigan. Additionally, it was ranked 11th for "Best Value", a ranking that prioritizes affordability over academic distinction or educational quality. ^[115]

The National Research Council's 2010 assessment placed only some of UC Davis' graduate programs within the top 25% of their respective fields.^[116]

Other rankings included 3rd in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 20th in Earth Sciences, and 21st in Psychology.^[111]

The Economics department was ranked 6th among public universities and 20th nationally in 2011 by RePEc (Research Papers in Economics).^[117]

In 2013, The Economist included UC Davis' Graduate School of Management in its rankings, highlighting recruiter diversity.^[118] The Academic Ranking of World Universities included UC Davis somewhere in its 2019 rankings, giving it a decent spot nationally and globally, though these rankings are often seen as part of promotional efforts rather than absolute measures of quality.^[119] Similarly, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings placed it somewhere in the global mix for 2019, though such rankings often reflect institutional marketing strategies as much as academic excellence.^[120] The QS World University Rankings also included UC Davis in its 2020 rankings, with Veterinary Science receiving notable recognition, though the methodology behind these rankings has been criticized for prioritizing reputation surveys over objective academic quality.^[121]

In 2016, Sierra Magazine ranked UC Davis 8th in its "Greenest Schools" in America.^[122]

Fall freshman statistics^{[123][124][125][126][127][128][129]}

	2022	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014
Applicants	94,759	78,092	76,647	70,214	67,472	64,510	60,506
Admits	35,563	30,508	31,564	30,573	28,617	24,614	24,541
% admitted	37.5	39.1	41.2	43.5	42.4	38.2	40.6
Enrolled	6,498	5,982	6,389	5,820	5,760	5,369	5,377
Average GPA	4.06–4.30	4.00–4.26	4.03	3.99	3.99	4.00	4.00
SAT range	N/A	1230–1490*	1150–1410*	1120–1360*	1570–1980	1600–2000	1620–2010
ACT range	N/A	24–31	25–31	25–31	24–30	24–30	22–28
*out of 1600

While UC Davis is classified as "more selective" by U.S. News & World Report, its acceptance rate is generally higher than that of the most competitive University of California campuses, such as UCLA and UC Berkeley, and higher than mid-tier UCs like UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara.^[130]

For Fall 2019, UC Davis received 78,093 freshman applications and admitted 30,358 students, resulting in an acceptance rate of 39.1%—higher than UC San Diego (32.3%) and significantly above UCLA (12.3%) and UC Berkeley (16.8%). ^[129] The average high school grade point average (GPA) of enrolled freshmen was 4.13, with SAT scores ranging between 610–710 for reading and 630–790 for math. The ACT Composite scores ranged from 28 to 34, figures that are competitive but generally lower than those of UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UC San Diego.^[129]

For the 2021 freshman class, UC Davis received a record 105,850 applicants, an 11% increase from the previous year.^[131] The acceptance rate for that year was 37.5%, reflecting its position as a moderately selective but more accessible UC campus compared to the most prestigious schools in the system.^[132]

UC Davis' libraries include the Peter J. Shields Library, the Physical Sciences & Engineering Library, the Carlson Health Sciences Library, and the Medical Center Library in Sacramento.^[133]

The Peter J. Shields Library, the largest and most frequently used, has undergone multiple expansions, resulting in a blend of three distinct architectural styles. It serves as a central study space on campus, featuring a 24-hour reading room, computer labs, and varied seating arrangements. While it is intended as a study environment, students have reported that certain areas can be noisy due to frequent socialization and group discussions, which some find distracting for focused studying.^[134]

The university is host to an Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program, the Forged Gold Battalion, with more than 50 cadets. With more than 60 years in existence, it currently commissions roughly 10 graduating seniors as second lieutenants every year.^[135]

The University of California Davis Graduate Programs of Study consist of over 90 post-graduate programs, offering masters and doctoral degrees and post-doctoral courses.^[136] The programs educate over 4,000 students^[137] from around the world.

UC Davis has the following graduate and professional schools, offering the broadest range of professional programs^[138] of all campuses in the UC system (with their founding in parentheses):

• UC Davis Graduate Studies (1925)
• Graduate School of Management (1981)
• School of Education (2002)
• School of Law (1965)
• School of Medicine (1966)
• School of Veterinary Medicine (1948)
• Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing (2009)

The University of California, Davis graduate division^[139] has a long history. Graduate education has been a major feature of the academic focus for over 80 years. This academic tradition began in the fall of 1925.^[140][141] Over the years, the programs continued to grow, interact and collaborate. The first graduate degrees were awarded from the UC Davis campus in the fall of 1949.^[142]

In 1961, autonomous graduate divisions and graduate councils were established on all University of California campuses to provide focused oversight of their graduate programs.^[141]

A key feature of graduate education at UC Davis is the graduate group. The core elements of a graduate group include an emphasis on "shared research interests among faculty and students; flexibility to grow and quickly change to reflect emerging areas of interdisciplinary knowledge and technology; and an acceptance that many research questions transcend traditional academic departmental boundaries."^[143] UC Davis offers more graduate groups than any other campus in the UC system.^[144]

In 2016, U.S. News & World Report named UC Davis School of Medicine as the 6th most competitive medical school in the United States with an acceptance rate of 2.8%.^[145]

Between 2017 and 2020, UC Davis was paid $1.4 million by Neuralink to use its facilities for experiments with brain implants in monkeys. Some monkeys were euthanized after developing infections. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has filed a public records lawsuit demanding access to the research.^[146][147] The university claims that it complied with the California Public Records act, and that research protocols were thoroughly reviewed and approved by the campus's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).^[148]

UC Davis spent $788.8 million on research and development in fiscal year 2018, ranking it 30th in the nation.^[149]

Its faculty includes 23 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 14 members of the National Academy of Engineering, 30 members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 17 members of the American Law Institute, 5 members of the Royal Society, 3 Pulitzer Prize winners, 1 Guggenheim Fellow, and 3 MacArthur Fellows.^[16]

The campus supports a number of research centers and laboratories, including:

The Crocker Nuclear Laboratory on campus has had a nuclear accelerator since 1966.^[151][152] The laboratory is used by scientists and engineers from private industry, universities and government to research topics including nuclear physics, applied solid state physics, radiation effects, air quality, planetary geology and cosmogenics.^[153] UC Davis is the only UC campus, besides Berkeley, that has a nuclear laboratory.

Agilent Technologies will also work with the university in establishing a Davis Millimeter Wave Research Center to conduct research into millimeter wave and THz systems.^[154]

The Associated Students of UC Davis (ASUCD) is the undergraduate student government at UC Davis.^[155] ASUCD represents student interests at the local and state levels and oversees a number of student-run services, including the Coffee House, a campus dining option, and Unitrans, the public bus system that primarily serves students and local residents. ASUCD employs a notable number of students annually through its various units.^[156]

UC Davis is home to KDVS, a student-run freeform radio station that began broadcasting in 1964 from the laundry room of Beckett Hall. Over the years, it has featured interviews with figures such as activist Angela Davis and then-Governor Ronald Reagan in 1969. The station currently broadcasts at 90.3 FM and streams online.^[158] While the station exists, its audience is niche, and programming is mostly independent music and talk shows.

The university has over 800 registered student organizations, though participation varies. These range from political groups to professional societies, language clubs, and special-interest organizations.^[159] Graduate students are represented by the Graduate Student Association (GSA), while law students are part of the Law Students Association.

Other student-run activities and campus services: KDVS, the student-run radio station, which has a dedicated but small audience.^[160] The Entertainment Council, which organizes occasional concerts and events, though major headliners are rare.^[161][162] The university’s location in Davis, a small college town with limited nightlife, contributes to a quieter campus atmosphere.

Bicycles dominate the streets of UC Davis and the surrounding city, sometimes turning daily commutes into a chaotic dance of wheels, near misses, and the occasional overconfident fixie rider. While the university and local government have gone all in on bicycle-friendly infrastructure—complete with bike circles, oversized lanes, and even dedicated traffic signals—navigating these features during peak hours can feel more like a test of survival than a convenience. UC Davis even boasts a road and mountain bike team that has won several national championship titles, proving that some students take this whole cycling thing very seriously.^[163] Campus police, some of whom also patrol on bikes, are particularly keen on enforcing rules, cracking down on offenses like bicycling under the influence ("BUI") and riding without headlights at night—both of which are more common than one might hope. Students can attempt to keep their bikes functional at the ASUCD Bike Barn or various repair shops around town, though theft and mysterious disappearing bike parts remain a rite of passage for many.

For those unwilling to brave the bike chaos, UC Davis operates Unitrans, a bus service known for its vintage London double-decker buses that somehow still chug along since their introduction in 1968. While charming, the system, run entirely by students, struggles with overcrowding, and catching a bus at peak hours often involves a healthy dose of optimism. A separate inter-campus bus service^[164] shuttles travelers between UC Davis and UC Berkeley twice daily from Monday to Friday, though its limited schedule means riders must plan their trips with the precision of a military operation. Additionally, Davis is home to one of the busiest stations on the Capitol Corridor intercity rail service, operated by Amtrak, providing a crucial escape route for students looking to flee to the Bay Area or Sacramento.

The central campus is bounded by freeways on two sides (Highway 113 and Interstate 80). All other UC campuses are either somewhat distant from the closest freeway or are directly adjacent to only one freeway. Two freeway exits are entirely within UCD's boundaries. One, off Highway 113, is signed "UC Davis / Hutchison Drive" and the other, off Interstate 80, is signed exclusively as "UC Davis." Despite the university's extensive bicycle infrastructure and public transportation service, easy freeway access coupled with increasing housing costs in the city of Davis has led to increased numbers of students commuting via automobile. Some students choose to live in the neighboring communities of Sacramento, Dixon or Woodland, and use their own cars or the county-wide Yolobus to get to UC Davis. In addition, a private charter bus that connected the Davis and Sacramento campuses was replaced in 2020 by the Causeway Connection bus service, in partnership with Yolobus and Sacramento Regional Transit.^[165] Other students also commute by motorcycle, but are also subject to similar parking rates as their four-wheeled counterparts.

UC Davis publishes a weekly student newspaper, The California Aggie. The Aggie was first published in 1915 as the Weekly Agricola after its approval by the Associated Student Executive Committee. At this point, UC Davis was considered the University Farm, an extension of UC Berkeley.^[166]

Initially, the Weekly Agricola was focused on both student news and farming-related topics. Novelist Jack London was one of the first readers of the Weekly Agricola. In 1922, it was renamed to match the school's athletic name.^[166] Between March 2014 and October 2016, the Aggie was not in print but was still accessible online. The Aggie is in print and available on campus again as of October 2016.^[167]

Social fraternities and sororities have been present at the University of California, Davis, since 1913. However, Greek life at UC Davis is relatively small compared to many other universities, with only about 8% of undergraduate students participating in fraternities and sororities. This percentage is notably lower than at institutions where Greek life plays a more central role in campus culture. While UC Davis does have a variety of fraternities and sororities, their influence on student life is limited compared to schools with more established or dominant Greek systems.

There are currently 13 social fraternities affiliated with the university's Interfraternity Council (IFC)^[168] and 11 sororities under the Panhellenic Council.^[169] These numbers are modest in comparison to universities where Greek life comprises a substantial portion of the student population, such as those in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) or large private institutions with deep-rooted fraternity and sorority traditions.

While UC Davis hosts both national and local fraternities and sororities with diverse histories, they do not play a particularly prominent role in defining the university's culture, especially when compared to institutions with more deeply ingrained Greek traditions.^[170]

The UC Davis Aggies (also referred to as Cal Aggies or Ags) compete in NCAA Division I sports league in the Big West Conference. For football, the Aggies compete in Division I FCS (formerly known as Division I-AA), and are members of the Big Sky Conference, granting UC Davis the distinction of being one of only three UC campuses to field a football team (Cal and UCLA being the other two). The Aggies are also members of the PAC-12 in lacrosse, Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in gymnastics, the America East Conference in field hockey, the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association and Davis Men's Crew Club for rowing. Starting July 1, 2026, the Aggies will become members of the Mountain West Conference. ^[171] This will not include UC Davis Football which will remain part of the Big Sky Conference and will continue to compete in the FCS division.

The UC Davis Men's Crew Club is one of the successful clubs both on campus and in the West. In 2008 the JV boat won first in nationals at the ACRA Championships in Tennessee and in 2009 the Varsity boat got second place in nationals at the ACRA Championships. They consistently compete against teams such as Stanford, the University of Washington and UC Berkeley.

The UCD men basketball team motivated a decision (following a year of heavy discussion by campus administrators, faculty, staff, students, alumni and the local community) in 2003 for the athletics program to re-classify to Division I.^[172][173]

The Aggie football team plays Sacramento State in the annual Causeway Classic for the Causeway Carriage. The team also plays Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the annual Battle for the Golden Horseshoe. UC Davis students gather at sporting events to rally as the Aggie Pack, the largest student-run school spirit organization in the United States.{{^[174]citation needed|date=November 2021}} The Aggie Pack cheers on the sports team along with the Spirit Squad to the music of the Cal Aggie Marching Band and its alumni band. Aggie Stadium is the home of the UC Davis football and lacrosse teams.

Because of budget pressure, wrestling was cut from the athletic department in April 2010. Other cuts included men's swimming, men's indoor track, and women's rowing. The athletics department had to cut $1.79 million out of the budget. 14 women's teams and 9 men's teams were funded for the 2010–2011 school year.^[175]

The official school colors are blue and gold. The blue is due to the UC's early connection to Yale^[176] and as a result is often referred to as "Yale Blue" (e.g., see).^[177] and^[178] UCD's official blue, usually called "Aggie Blue", is Pantone 295,^[179] which is distinct from Yale Blue (approximately Pantone 289).^[180]

The official school mascot is the mustang.

UC Davis has implemented several environmentally sustainable initiatives across its campus. In 2010, the university opened a renovated Dining Commons in the Cuarto residential area, emphasizing the use of local produce and sustainability practices. UC Davis operates multiple buildings that have received LEED certification, covering three of the five main LEED categories.^[181]

Notable examples include the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science.^[182] The university also developed UC Davis West Village, which was designed as a "zero net energy" community.^[183]

The university has received recognition for its sustainability efforts, including two Best Practice Awards at the 2009 annual Sustainability Conference hosted by the University of California, California State University, and California Community Colleges. These awards were for a campus lighting retrofit project and sustainable design in new construction.^[184]

UC Davis has introduced additional sustainability measures, such as harvesting olives from campus trees to produce olive oil^[185] and table olives for use in its dining halls.^[186] The university has incorporated drought-tolerant landscaping^[187] and operates a landfill that converts methane gas into energy.^[188] In 2011, UC Davis received an A− rating on the College Sustainability Report Card.^[189]

In 2014, UC Davis partnered with Diamond Developers to design a proposed sustainable city in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.^[190] The draft plan for the project included an "eco-village" spanning 120 acres, designed to house 1,200 people with a mix of residential units, schools, and retail spaces.^[191] The partnership later expanded to include a sustainability-focused professional training program.^[190]

UC Davis was the first university to implement a fee for single-use bags on campus and has worked toward eliminating plastic bags entirely.^[192]

The university is also home to the Agricultural Sustainability Institute (ASI),^[193] which is part of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES). The institute supports research, education, and outreach efforts in sustainable agriculture and food systems.

Additionally, UC Davis hosted the Governors' Global Climate Summit 3 (GGCS3),^[194] an event that brought together leaders from various sectors to discuss climate-related initiatives. The summit featured more than 1,500 attendees from over 80 countries, focusing on expanding collaborations for sustainable development.

No.	Portrait	Chancellor	Term	Notes
1		Stanley B. Freeborn	1958–1959
2		Emil M. Mrak	1959–1969
3		James Henry Meyer	1969–1987
4		Theodore L. Hullar	1987–1994
5		Larry N. Vanderhoef	April 1994 – August 16, 2009	Although Vanderhoef originally planned to step down on June 30, 2009, he decided to stay on until August 16, 2009, at the request of UC president Mark G. Yudof.[195][196]
6		Linda Katehi	August 17, 2009–August 9, 2016	Katehi was placed on "investigatory administrative leave" on April 27, 2016, after she was accused of violating of several University of California policies. She resigned on Augusut 9, 2016.[197][198][199]
–		Ralph Hexter	April 27, 2016–July 31, 2017	Hexter became acting chancellor on April 27, 2016, when Katehi was placed on "investigatory administrative leave" and continued in that capacity after Katehi submitted her resignation until a replacement chancellor was installed.[200]
7		Gary S. May	August 1, 2017–present	[201]

^[202]

UC Davis currently has over 260,000 living alumni.^[203] Notable alumni of UC Davis include two astronauts; scientist Charles Moen Rice, 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate and Katherine Jungjohann; US Treasurer Anna Escobedo Cabral; and actor Matthew Moy.

• C.N. Gorman Museum
• Justice Waits
• Manetti Shrem Museum of Art
• Mondavi Center
• The Pavilion (UC Davis)
• Jerry Hinsdale

• Official website
• UC Davis Athletics website