We first opened our doors in 1908 as the University Farm, the research and science-based instruction extension of UC Berkeley. As the century evolved, our mission expanded beyond agriculture to match a larger understanding of how we should be serving the public. By 1959, UC Davis had grown into a general campus with its own personality and strengths.
Our goal in this 2020 Initiative is to increase financial stability by reducing our reliance on the state for funding. UC Davis is doing this by adding 5,000 new undergraduates — Californian, national and international students — between 2011 and 2020. This initiative has allowed us to provide more international experiences for our campus community. At the same time, we’re creating a more diverse educational climate as we educate future global leaders.
Whether UC Davis is predicting the next global virus before it happens or developing more nutritious wheat for a hungry world, our research is making the world a better place to live. Here is where you will improve health, enrich life and help feed the world. Come to one of the top public research universities to make your mark.
The Office of Research assists our campus by cultivating relationships with government and industry, helping faculty in developing research and scholarly studies, and in coordinating the patenting and licensing of intellectual property.
Together, UC Davis’ two campuses — in Davis and Sacramento — constitute the second-largest individual employer in the Sacramento region, behind only the state of California.
Studyportals ranking look at the scores of the most used ranking systems and present you with one number of how well this University performs.
By U.S. News & World Report
Climbed 1 places compared to 2026
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report presents all the top universities from the U.S. and 60 other countries around the world. They measure the rate of students going to their second year of studies, as well as the rate of students who graduate. It also asks university representatives on the performance of universities, and evaluates university resources, teacher salaries, graduation rates, student academic achievements and satisfaction. After calculating and comparing these criteria, U.S. News ranks the top international universities accordingly.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 89 | 96 | 95 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By TopUniversities
Dropped 23 places compared to 2026
QS World University Rankings is one of the top international rankings measuring the popularity and performance of universities all over the world. They measure university reputation based on the impressions of higher education experts, companies who hire graduates, and teaching quality. QS also considers the ratio of international teachers and students present at universities, as well as the times research papers were mentioned by researchers. After calculating and comparing these criteria, QS ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 130 | 114 | 137 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By Times Higher Education
This university doesn’t have a ranking for 2027 yet. Rankings are updated yearly, so check back later for the latest info.
World University Rankings is a vital resource that provides the definitive list of the world's best universities. They look at how often they're producing new ideas, what their reputation is around the world, and how much they're contributing to science and academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, THE ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 62 | 64 | - |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By Shanghai Jiao Tong University
This university doesn’t have a ranking for 2026 yet. Rankings are updated yearly, so check back later for the latest info.
ARWU World University rankings is the first world university ranking. It ranks the world's top 1000 colleges and universities based on objective indicator. They look at the number of award-winning (Fields Medals and Nobel Prize) scientists who are located there, how much of their research is cited and referenced around the world, and how much they've contributed to different academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, ARWU ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 101 | 101 | - |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
Academic Resources
Freshmen live in a variety of residence halls that include Tercero 3, our first to earn the top national rating for being sustainable. If you are concerned about liking your potential roommate, did you know you can request a roommate at UC Davis? Learn more about your resources available through Student Housing.
10 million library assets
Think of the extensive assets that you can use: 10 million items, including books, journals, databases, music, maps, and photos, among other resources in print and digital formats. Plus, you’ll have access to the whole UC library system – second only to the Library of Congress. You’ll have extensive borrowing privileges just by being a UC Davis student.
You can find world-class health care in Northern California at UC Davis — and find UC Davis discoveries influencing health around the globe. We serve the public — and our own students — by focusing on improving lives, transforming care and sharing knowledge to advance health for all.
At UC Davis, you will make your mark. By forging great friendships, joining clubs, playing sports and taking part in campus life, you will make the most of your time as a college student — and find out who you are. This campus is rich with traditions like Picnic Day and Homecoming, but you will also be part of our biggest Aggie tradition — doing things your way while transforming our university and making the world a better place. You’ll pick up life skills along the way, like leadership. And you’ll find UC Davis is one of a kind, like you.
Play soccer, football, tennis, volleyball, baseball and more at our athletics facilities. Located all over campus, facilities like the UC Davis Health Stadium, come in many makes and shapes.
UC Davis intercollegiate athletics are open to everyone — spectators as well as participants. Being a UC Davis member means you can cheer on 25 NCAA varsity teams.
The Aggies have won conference championships in men's basketball, women's basketball and men's water polo. UC Davis also holds individual conference titles in gymnastics, swimming and diving, and track and field.
Get active in one or more of our 800-plus student clubs. You’ll find several that line up with your interests, whether you are interested in cultural identity, religion, a future profession, artistic expression or community service.
Or, maybe you want to explore. Volunteering with a club or organization is an opportunity to develop leadership and communication skills.
The University of California, Davis is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education and the U.S. Department of Education.
Based on 13 reviews
I really liked the atmosphere at UC Davis. It was challenging, but everyone was very supportive and wanted to help each other succeed. The classes were good and engaging and there were a lot of opportunities. I found it easy to make friends and find clubs where I felt I connected with people. Lastly, and most importantly, there was a wide variety of research opportunities and they provided a great hands-on experience.
My experiences are to be taken with a grain of salt, since I've only been attending for one semester so far. I don't feel like I've really gotten a full experience of what it means to be a UC Davis student. In addition, I've already had two very mediocre professors, but this might be more of an issue with the engineering department specifically.
The downtown area and general college town atmosphere were the main selling point for me, and four years later I'm still very happy with my choice. People are very nice here and willing to help each other out. Most of the problems are things you would find at most universities - not enough parking, not great student support, administration that only cares about money, etc. Since it is a research university, there are lots of research opportunities, but that also means that some professors are really only there to do research and are bad at teaching.
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