The University of California, Riverside is one of ten campuses of the University of California, generally recognized as the preeminent public university system in the world. Located in the Inland Empire of Southern California, the 1,200-acre campus lies at the foot of the Box Springs Mountains in Riverside, a city of about 250,000 people.

The origins of the campus date back to 1907 when the University of California Citrus Experiment Station was established in Riverside to conduct research benefiting Southern California agriculture. In 1954, the College of Letters and Science opened for classes. In 1959, UCR became a general campus, adding graduate and professional studies.

Enrollment at UC Riverside is presently about 13,000, approximately 10 percent of whom are graduate students. The campus continues to expand, with a number of buildings being constructed or remodeled. These include aca-demic settings such as laboratories, libraries, and performing arts studios, as well as housing and recreational facilities.

The UCR campus is one of the most beautifully landscaped in the UC system, due, in large part, to its origin as a citrus experimental station. An extensive collection of plants and flowers from all over the world is planted throughout the 1,200-acre campus, and most specimens are labeled for the benefit of the inquisitive passerby. The campus includes the UCR Botanical Gardens, recognized as one of the finest collections of plant species in the world.