What UC Riverside does

UC Riverside is a public research university and one of 10 campuses in the University of California system, serving approximately 26,000 undergraduate and graduate students from California, other U.S. states, and more than 65 countries. Founded in 1907 and headquartered on a nearly 1,200-acre campus in Riverside, California, UCR positions itself as an engine of social mobility (ranked No. 1 by U.S. News) and as one of 71 members of the Association of American Universities, with 2 Nobel Prize winners on faculty, 80+ undergraduate majors, and Forbes' #31 America's Top Colleges ranking. The university offers degree programs across disciplines, UCR Extension (continuing education), and UCR Health (clinical care delivered through the School of Medicine across Inland Southern California).

The university's technology backbone is anchored by a central IT organization (ITS) of 166 staff supporting 31,580 users with 127 services and resolving ~21,592 tickets annually. Recent platform investments include "The Grove," a secure campus-wide generative AI platform launched April 2026 and built around Google Gemini Enterprise, Duo MFA-secured VPN, a ServiceNow-based IT Service Center, a Software Catalog Service (September 2025), and Canvas-based LMS delivery. Research strengths span AI agent safety (the BLIND-ACT benchmark), battery electrochemistry (via the $28M California Energy Commission-funded Electrochemistry Foundry), atmospheric water generation (hosting AquaPoro's ALMA™ continuous-flow pilot), room-temperature quantum computing (joint with UCLA), precision agriculture, and public policy work on broadband, water infrastructure, and EV-transition economics.

UCR's revenue model is diversified across tuition and fees (with differentiated pricing for California residents, out-of-state, and international students), state and federal appropriations, competitive research grants (U.S. Navy, NSF, Templeton Religion Trust, California Energy Commission), philanthropic giving channeled through the UC Riverside Foundation, patient-care revenue from UCR Health, and auxiliary services (housing, dining, parking, recreation, the Barnes & Noble-operated campus store). Distribution is primarily direct: the UC-wide centralized undergraduate admissions portal and UCR-specific graduate and Extension channels for enrollment, on-campus service desks for student services, and direct-to-patient for healthcare. Recent strategic emphasis has been on building flagship research partnerships (NAVSEA, Esri, AquaPoro, Electrochemistry Foundry, Caltech), expanding AI infrastructure, and broadening development/fundraising capacity under incoming Vice Chancellor Travis Smith.

Name

UC Riverside

Legal name

The Regents of the University of California (University of California, Riverside)

Website

https://ucr.edu

Company type

Public

Founded year

1907

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

UC Riverside is a public AAU-member research university in the University of California system, serving 26,000+ students with top social-mobility rankings and research strengths in AI, batteries, and atmospheric water, funded through tuition, state appropriations, grants, healthcare, and auxiliary services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Research Universities with Comprehensive Graduate & Professional Schools (EDAHAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Research Universities with Multi-Campus Systems (EDAHAAAI), Urban/Metropolitan Public Research Universities (EDAHAAAH)

Keywords

• Higher education
• Public university
• Research university
• Undergraduate programs
• Graduate programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Riverside

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: Recurring per-semester tuition charged to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. Differentiated pricing for California residents, out-of-state, and international students; financial-aid and grant packages reduce net price. Business Insider ranked UCR No. 2 nationally for financial aid.
2. Government Appropriations and Research Grants: State and federal appropriations plus competitive research grants from agencies including the Navy ($400K+ to UCR's Bourns College of Engineering via Naval Engineering Education Consortium, 2021–2025), the National Science Foundation, Templeton Religion Trust ($4.7M psychology grant), and the California Energy Commission ($28M for the Electrochemistry Foundry).
3. Philanthropic Donations and Giving: Charitable gifts channeled through the UC Riverside Foundation and Development and Alumni Engagement (DAE) office (currently led by incoming Vice Chancellor Travis Smith). Includes planned giving, scholarships, endowments, and capital campaign contributions.
4. Healthcare Services (UCR Health / School of Medicine): Patient-care revenue from UCR Health clinical operations including primary care, psychiatric, vocational nursing, and ambulatory services across the Inland Empire.
5. Auxiliary Services (Housing, Dining, Parking, Recreation, Retail): Revenue from on-campus residence halls, dining plans, parking permits, recreation-center memberships, the UCR Campus Store (operated by Barnes & Noble), and events on the 1,200-acre campus.
6. Extension and Continuing Education: Fees from UCR Extension online courses and continuing-education programs delivered to adult learners and working professionals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

UC Riverside is a public research university offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs across more than 80 majors, along with continuing education, healthcare services through UCR Health, and a portfolio of campus technology platforms (including the secure AI platform "The Grove"). Revenue comes primarily from tuition, government appropriations and research grants, philanthropic donations, clinical care, and auxiliary campus services such as housing, dining, and recreation.

Product overview

UC Riverside operates as a research university rather than a single software product, but it offers a portfolio of technology products, platforms, and digital services to its campus community. At the core of its recent technology strategy is The Grove (UCR's Secure AI Platform, launched April 2026 and built around Gemini Enterprise), supported by the UCR Information Technology Solutions (ITS) service portfolio — including the ServiceNow-based IT Service Center, the UCR Software Catalog Service, the Campus WiFi Assessment Initiative, the Loan2Learn device-lending program (sunsetting June 2026), and the new Duo MFA-protected VPN. Educational technology is delivered through the Canvas LMS integration, while the UCR Library provides a module-style ecosystem spanning the Tomás Rivera Library, the Orbach Science Library, Special Collections & University Archives, Digital Scholarship services, Maker Services, Geospatial Information services, the UC Library Search catalog (powered by Ex Libris Alma) plus WorldCat Discovery, AI Support Services, the Graduate Research Core Competencies Badge program (issued via Accredible), and the Spring 2026 Finals Week Stress Relief program. Student-life and administrative services include UCR Extension, UCR Health, Athletics, and Human Resources tools (UCPath integration). Together, The Grove and ITS services form the platform layer, while the library modules and academic services layer on top.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• UCR Library: University library system serving UCR students, faculty, and researchers, including the Tomás Rivera Library, Orbach Science Library, and Special Collections & University Archives.
• UCR Arts
• UCR Health
• UCR Extension
• GoHighlanders

Products and services

• Undergraduate Degree Programs More than 80 undergraduate degree programs delivered through UC Riverside's central California campus, with separate admissions tracks for first-year, transfer, out-of-state, and international students.
• Graduate and Professional Degree Programs Research-intensive master's, doctoral, and professional programs (including the School of Medicine) for graduate applicants seeking advanced credentials.
• UCR Extension Online Courses Continuing-education and professional development courses and certificates delivered online to adult learners and working professionals.
• UCR Health Clinical Services Patient-care services delivered through UCR Health clinical operations across Inland Southern California, including primary care, psychiatric, vocational nursing, and ambulatory services.
• UCR Library System University library system offering borrowing, study spaces, equipment lending, research support, AI support services, digital scholarship, geospatial information, maker services, and access to the Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Water Resources Archives.
• The Grove (Secure AI Platform) UCR's secure, campus-wide AI platform announced in April 2026, providing a trusted generative-AI workspace for UCR faculty, students, and staff, with imagery referencing Gemini Enterprise.
• UCR Information Technology Solutions (ITS) Central IT organization providing 127+ services and apps to 31,580 users across administrative, communication, security, infrastructure, research, and teaching categories, backed by a ServiceNow-based IT Service Center.
• UCR Canvas (eLearn) Learning Management System used for course instruction, library instructional content, and enrollment for badge programs.
• Campus Auxiliary Services (Housing, Dining, Parking, Recreation) On-campus residence halls, dining plans, parking permits, recreation-center memberships, and the UCR Campus Store (operated by Barnes & Noble) for the campus community.

Quantifiable outcome

• No. 1 U.S. News Social Mobility ranking
• +8 more outcomes

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

AI capability7 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• AquaPoro Technologies Inc. (with CE-CERT at UCR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 June 2026AquaPoro Technologies, a deep-tech startup developing atmospheric water generation systems using its proprietary ALMA™ technology, is partnering with UCR's CE-CERT (College of Engineering – Center for Environmental Research and Technology) to break ground on the world's first continuous-flow atmospheric water harvesting system at UC Riverside. AquaPoro closed a $5M seed round led by Breakout Ventures with participation from Cerberus Ventures, Humba Ventures, and One Small Planet. Commercial interest is reported from a leading national beverage manufacturer and a multinational water treatment company.
• UCR Campus Partners (Academic Resource Center, ASUCR, Basic Needs, The Well)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 18 May 2026Partner organizations supporting the Spring 2026 Finals Week Stress Relief event series (food giveaways, contests, craft events) for currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students at the UCR Library.
• U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division (NAVSEA)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Five-year education partnership agreement signed May 8 between UC Riverside (Bourns College of Engineering) and the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center Corona Division. Builds on over a decade of joint research. Provides faculty and students access to Navy facilities, equipment, and expertise in data science, AI, engineering, and metrology, and facilitates joint research proposals, student exchanges, fellowships, and internships. Between 2021 and 2025, the Navy awarded $400,000+ in grants to UCR via the Naval Engineering Education Consortium, and NAVSEA employs 169 UCR alumni.
• Electrochemistry Foundry (ECF) ConsortiumflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2026UCR is a member of the ECF consortium alongside UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the Volta Foundation, the Catalyst Innovation Group, and South Korea's Top Material. ECF received a $28 million California Energy Commission award to build a 20,000 sq ft shared-use battery pilot manufacturing line in Hayward, CA, scheduled for completion late 2026. Aims to bridge the costly "pilot-scale gap" between lab research and industrial-scale production.
• UC Santa Barbara (UCSB)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2026UC Santa Barbara joined the Electrochemistry Foundry consortium alongside UC Riverside, UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Volta Foundation, Catalyst Innovation Group, and Top Material. ECF develops a 20,000 sq ft shared-use battery pilot manufacturing facility in Hayward, CA, scheduled for completion in late 2026 with $28M in CEC funding.
• Esri (Jack Dangermond)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 March 2026UC Riverside and Esri have a half-century collaboration. On April 15, UCR hosted a Chancellor's Distinguished Lecture bringing Chancellor S. Jack Hu and Esri founder Jack Dangermond together to celebrate and strengthen the partnership, which has helped shape geographic information system (GIS) innovation and global mapping practice.
• Caltech (California Institute of Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 March 2026UCR research team collaborated with Caltech on a study estimating that U.S. data centers will require $10B-$58B in new water infrastructure to meet 697M-1.45B additional gallons/day peak cooling demand by 2028 — roughly equivalent to New York City's daily water supply.
• CalMatters and UC Berkeley Possibility LabcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 February 2026UC Riverside public policy report co-published with CalMatters and UC Berkeley's Possibility Lab recommends California regulate broadband internet as a state utility, completing the state's $6 billion middle-mile fiber network and creating municipal broadband cooperatives.
• UCLA, UC Merced, Sacramento State (multi-university consortium)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 November 2025UCR partners with UCLA, UC Merced, and Sacramento State on a three-year California Institute for Water Resources study quantifying benefits and impacts of California's 2030 indoor residential water-use standard (47 GPCD under SB 1157). Findings delivered to the California Department of Water Resources by January 2028. Public webinar scheduled September 29.
• UCLA (joint quantum computing research)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 August 2025UCLA and UC Riverside researchers jointly announced the development of a quantum computing system capable of operating at room temperature, which could reduce energy consumption and enable device integration.
• Teamsters 1932 Training CenterminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 23 June 2025UCR released the State of Workers in the Inland Empire report on June 10 at the Teamsters 1932 Training Center in San Bernardino, presenting findings on labor-market demographics, wages, and the EV transition for California's Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles): Direct UC-system peer and fellow AAU member; competes with UCR for in-state admits, federal research dollars, and faculty talent. UCLA's size, brand, and industry partnerships set the upper bound UCR benchmarks against within the UC system.
• UC Berkeley: Direct UC-system peer and AAU member; flagship public research university and UCR's most direct academic and research competitor for top California admits and federal research funding.
• UC San Diego: Direct UC-system peer and AAU member; competes with UCR for STEM talent, biotech/pharma industry partnerships, and federal research dollars across AI, life sciences, and engineering.
• UC Davis: Direct UC-system peer and AAU member; comparable in scale and research intensity, with overlapping agricultural, biomedical, and engineering research portfolios that compete with UCR for grants and faculty.
• UC Santa Barbara: Direct UC-system peer and AAU member; joint Electrochemistry Foundry consortium partner with UCR. Competes for engineering, materials science, and physics talent and grants.
• UC Irvine: Direct UC-system peer and AAU member; comparable in size and growth trajectory, competing with UCR for Southern California admits, research funding, and industry partnerships in Orange County.
• UC Merced: Newest UC-campus peer; both UCR and UC Merced are inland, growth-focused UC campuses competing for similar first-generation and Inland/Central Valley student populations.
• UC Santa Cruz: Direct UC-system peer; competes with UCR for California admits and federal research dollars, particularly in physical and biological sciences and engineering.

Regional players

• California Baptist University: Largest private university in Riverside, competing with UCR for Inland Empire students, particularly transfer and commuter populations, though it does not match UCR's research profile or selectivity.
• La Sierra University: Riverside-based private university sharing the same regional student market as UCR; competes for Inland Empire undergrads but operates at smaller scale and without UCR's research footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UCRiverside
• YouTubeyoutube.com/UCRiverside
• Facebookfacebook.com/UCRiverside
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/university-of-california-riverside
• Instagraminstagram.com/ucriversideofficial
• TikToktiktok.com/@ucriverside

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UC Riverside