UCLA Computer Science

What UCLA Computer Science does

UCLA Computer Science is an academic department within the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, part of the University of California public university system. Founded as part of UCLA in 1919, the department delivers undergraduate and graduate education in computer science and computer science & engineering, supported by 46 faculty, 46 research labs and centers, 1,337 undergraduate students, and 492 graduate students. Its research portfolio spans algorithms and theory, AI and machine learning, bioinformatics, computer graphics and vision, databases, distributed systems, embedded systems, human-computer interaction, networks, operating systems, programming languages, robotics, security and privacy, software engineering, VLSI and computer-aided design, and quantum computing.

The department's research output is anchored by a distinguished faculty cohort that includes Turing Award winner Judea Pearl, NAE member Lixia Zhang, IEEE Fellow Amit Sahai, and ACM/ISCA-recognized contributors such as Jason Cong and Miryung Kim. Notable proprietary and open-source research outputs include the ALPHA AI mathematical discovery platform (DARPA expMATH, $5M grant), the Batfish network verification system (ACM SIGCOMM Networking Systems Award), the Caffeine deep learning FPGA accelerator (nearly 800 citations from AMD, Google, Intel, Nvidia), tensor-product attention mechanisms that reduce LLM key-value cache memory by up to 10x, and the NaturalFuzz/NaturalSym software testing tools. Batfish was commercialized through the Intentionet startup, illustrating a path from research to industry deployment.

Revenue mechanics draw on four streams: (1) federal and state research grants (DARPA, NSF, DOE) including a $5M DARPA contract for AI math research; (2) industry partnerships and fellowships such as the Amazon Science Hub for Humanity and AI (Amazon's first public-university partnership, launched 2021), the Toyota Research Institute University Research Program 3.0, and Fetch.ai Innovation Lab awards; (3) tuition and student fees for undergraduate, graduate, and the Pre-College Computer Science Summer Institute (CSSI), which offers Gen AI and IoT tracks; and (4) philanthropy and endowments via the UCLA Samueli giving program. Go-to-market operates through centralized UCLA/UC admissions for students, the CSAP affiliate program for industry recruiting and research collaboration, and open-source software distribution for research adoption.

Name

UCLA Computer Science

Legal name

UCLA Computer Science Department

Website

https://cs.ucla.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1919

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

UCLA Computer Science is an academic department within UCLA Samueli School of Engineering that delivers undergraduate and graduate computer science education to ~1,830 students, conducts research across major CS subfields through 46 faculty and 46 labs, and engages industry partners such as Amazon and Toyota through fellowships and collaborative research.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education / Computer Science Department

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Computer Training (611420)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Universities with Computing, Data & AI Focus (EDAHAEAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Computer Science & Programming Tutoring (K–12 & Intro College) (EDANAAAE)

Keywords

• Computer science education
• Graduate research programs
• Pre-college summer institute
• Research grants and partnerships
• Open-source research tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Federal and State Research Grants: The department generates revenue primarily through competitive federal research grants from agencies including DARPA, NSF, DOE, and industry partnerships, as well as state funding allocated through UCLA. Major grants include a $5 million DARPA contract for AI math research.
2. Industry Partnerships and Fellowships: Corporate partnerships including Amazon Science Hub, Toyota Research Institute, Fetch.ai, and others provide doctoral fellowships, faculty research funding, and infrastructure support. The Science Hub partnership provides tuition, stipends, and AWS credits.
3. Tuition and Student Fees: Revenue from undergraduate and graduate tuition, supplemented by summer programs such as the Pre-College Computer Science Summer Institute which offers certificates or course credit.
4. Philanthropy and Endowments: The department receives donations through the UCLA Samueli giving program, including endowed chairs and research funds.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

UCLA Computer Science is an academic department that delivers undergraduate and graduate computer science education (BS, MS, PhD) and operates a Pre-College Computer Science Summer Institute (CSSI) for high school students. The department conducts research across AI/ML, software engineering, cryptography, networking, VLSI, and quantum computing through 46 research labs and centers, and disseminates open-source tools such as Batfish, Caffeine, and FlexLLM. It engages industry through the Computer Science Affiliates Program (CSAP) and partnerships with Amazon, Toyota Research Institute, and DARPA.

Product overview

UCLA Computer Science is an academic department within the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, not a commercial product company. Its offerings consist of educational programs (undergraduate/graduate degrees, the Pre-College CSSI summer institute), research centers and labs (Center for Domain-Specific Computing, VAST Laboratory), and open-source research tools and frameworks (NaturalFuzz, NaturalSym, FlexLLM, Caffeine). The department also partners with industry through initiatives like the Science Hub for Humanity and AI with Amazon, and leads major AI research projects such as the DARPA-funded ALPHA mathematical AI system. There is no unified commercial product platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Computer Science Affiliates Program (CSAP): Industry partnership program connecting UCLA CS with companies for collaboration, research, and student engagement.

Products and services

• Pre-College Computer Science Summer Institute (CSSI) Three-week intensive college-level pre-college program offered in two sessions for Summer 2026 (Session A3: June 26-July 10; Session B3: July 13-July 31). Features hands-on projects and capstone projects with UCLA faculty and PhD students. Enrollment options include Certificate of Completion or Course Credit (up to 4 units of UCLA course credit). Four tracks available: Introduction to Computer Science, Introduction to AI, Gen AI, and Internet of Things. Designed for high school students seeking rigorous college-level CS exposure.
• UCLA Computer Science Graduate Programs (MS and PhD) Graduate admissions and degree programs including MS and PhD in Computer Science. Features research labs, faculty mentorship, and industrial partnerships through CSAP (Computer Science Affiliates Program). Currently enrolling 492 graduate students.
• UCLA Computer Science Undergraduate Programs (BS in CS and CS&E) Undergraduate degree programs in Computer Science and Computer Science & Engineering, providing education at the undergraduate level to understand, design, implement, and use the software and hardware of digital computers and digital systems. Currently enrolling 1,337 undergraduate students.
• Computer Science Affiliates Program (CSAP) Industry engagement program connecting company affiliates with UCLA CS students and faculty for recruiting, collaborative research, student engagement activities, and technology transfer. Provides industry partners access to top talent and research collaboration opportunities.

Quantifiable outcome

• UCLA ranked No. 1 public university for seventh consecutive year (U.S. News & World Report 2024)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability12 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

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

• Toyota Research Institute (University Research Program 3.0)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025UCLA CS joined Toyota Research Institute's University Research Program 3.0, a five-year initiative supporting collaborative research in AI, robotics, and automated driving. Professor Bolei Zhou's lab is participating in building next-generation driving simulators.
• Amazon (Science Hub for Humanity and Artificial Intelligence)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Amazon's first partnership with a public university, established in 2021. Science Hub brings together academic and industry researchers to advance AI-driven solutions to pressing societal challenges. Funds doctoral fellowships, faculty and student research projects, and community outreach programs. Through this partnership, 26 CS doctoral students received Amazon fellowships in a single quarter (2026 winter). Also coordinates Amazon's $68M AI Ph.D. Fellowship program at UCLA.
• Boston Global Forum / AI World SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Nonprofit think tank co-founded by former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. The AI World Society initiative honored Professor Judea Pearl as one of 50 AI Pioneers for America's 250th anniversary.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL): MIT's flagship AI and computer science research lab with parallel scope in AI/ML, systems, theory, and robotics. Directly comparable as a top-five US CS research department producing both graduates and open-source research outputs adopted by industry.
• University of Washington Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering: UW CSE is a top public-university CS school with strong AI/ML and systems research, comparable scale, and similar industry-affiliate structure (e.g., Microsoft/Amazon-region partnerships).
• University of Michigan Computer Science and Engineering Division: Michigan CSE is a top public-university CS division with comparable scale (~1,500+ grad students historically), broad AI/systems/theory research portfolio, and similar industry-affiliate and online-program offerings.
• Georgia Institute of Technology College of Computing: Georgia Tech CoC is a top public-university computing college with comparable AI/ML/systems research scale, a strong online master's program (OMS CS) that competes directly with UCLA's online engineering offering, and similar industry-partnership structure.
• Princeton University Computer Science Department: Princeton CS is a peer in theory, AI, and systems research with comparable doctoral-program selectivity and federal-grant footprint. Competes with UCLA CS for cryptography and theory faculty.
• Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science: CMU SCs is a top-ranked CS school with comparable scale of AI research, industry partnerships, and graduate output. Frequently co-publishes and competes with UCLA CS for AI faculty hires and federal AI grants.
• UC Berkeley Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS): Berkeley EECS is the in-system public-university peer within the University of California, with overlapping AI/ML, systems, and theory research, shared faculty recruitment market, and comparable funding-base profile.
• Stanford University Computer Science Department: Stanford CS is one of UCLA CS's closest peers in AI research breadth, faculty-to-startup pipeline, and Silicon Valley industry engagement. Both compete for the same federal AI-research grants and doctoral talent pool.
• Caltech Computing and Mathematical Sciences (CMS): Caltech CMS is a smaller but similarly elite technical CS department emphasizing theory, AI, and interdisciplinary research. Comparable faculty-to-student ratios and federal-grant-driven research model.
• Cornell University Computer Science Department: Cornell CS is a top public/Ivy computer science department with comparable AI, systems, and theory research, similar faculty scale, and overlapping industry-affiliate programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UCLAComSci
• Facebookfacebook.com/UCLAComputerScience
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ucla-computer-science
• Instagraminstagram.com/uclacomputerscience

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about UCLA Computer Science