The University of California (UC) is a public university system in the state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University system and the California Community Colleges system.

The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over US$7.3 billion, the ninth largest in the United States.

Its first campus, UC Berkeley, was founded in 1868, while its tenth and newest campus, UC Merced, opened in the fall of 2005. All campuses enroll both undergraduate and graduate students, with two exceptions: the University of California, San Francisco campus enrolls only graduate and professional students in the medical and health sciences, and the independently administered University of California, Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco enrolls only graduate and professional students in legal studies.

The University of California's campuses boast large numbers of distinguished faculty in almost every field. Six of its undergraduate campuses are ranked among the top 50 universities by both the U.S. News and World Report and the Academic Ranking of World Universities. The University is considered a model for public institutions across the United States, although as of the 2005-06 fiscal year, only 29 percent of its total budget comes from the State.