California

===Higher education===
{{main|List of colleges and universities in California}}
[[File:Berkeley glade afternoon.jpg|thumb|right|[[University of California, Berkeley|UC Berkeley]] is the oldest campus of the [[University of California]], and the state's flagship public university.]]
[[File:Stanford University Main Quad - 7 June 2009.jpg|thumb|right|[[Stanford University]] is a private university that is one of the top-ranked universities in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=QS World University Rankings 2023: Top Global Universities |url=https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2023 |access-date=November 28, 2022 |website=Top Universities |language=en}}</ref>]]
California public [[postsecondary education]] is organized into three separate systems:
* The state's [[Public university|public]] [[research university]] [[State university system|system]] is the [[University of California]] (UC). As of fall 2011, the University of California had a combined [[student]] body of 234,464 students.<ref name="About">{{Cite web |title=Log In—Confluence |url=https://confluence.ucop.edu/login.action?os_destination=%2Fpages%2Fviewpage.action%3FspaceKey%3DUC101%26title%3DAbout%2Bthe%2BUniversity%2Bof%2BCalifornia&permissionViolation=true |website=confluence.ucop.edu}}</ref> There are ten UC campuses; nine are general campuses offering both undergraduate and graduate programs which culminate in the award of bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctorates; there is one specialized campus, [[UC San Francisco]], which is entirely dedicated to graduate education in [[Health care in California|health care]], and is home to the [[UCSF Medical Center]], the highest-ranked [[Hospitals in California|hospital in California]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=July 15, 2007 |title=America's Best Hospitals 2007 |url=http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/best-hospitals/honorroll.htm |magazine=[[U.S. News & World Report]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711023109/http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/best-hospitals/honorroll.htm |archive-date=July 11, 2007 |access-date=July 15, 2007}}</ref> The system was originally intended to accept the top one-eighth of California high school students, but several of the campuses have become even more selective.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gilmore |first=Janet |date=December 19, 2016 |title=85,000 students seek admission to Berkeley's 2017–18 freshman class |url=http://news.berkeley.edu/2016/12/19/85000-students-seek-admission-to-berkeleys-2017-18-freshman-class/ |access-date=May 8, 2017 |website=Berkeley News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kendall |first=Rebecca |title=UCLA breaks several records with 2017 freshman applications |url=http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-breaks-several-records-with-2017-freshman-applications |access-date=May 8, 2017 |website=UCLA Newsroom}}</ref><ref name="Powell">Powell, Farran. "California Students Face Competition for College Options". ''U.S. News & World Report''. N.p., February 6, 2017. Web. May 7, 2017.</ref> The UC system historically held exclusive authority to award the doctorate, but this has since changed and CSU now has limited statutory authorization to award a handful of types of doctoral degrees independently of UC.
* The [[California State University]] (CSU) system has almost 430,000 students. The CSU (which takes the definite article in its abbreviated form, while UC does not) was originally intended to accept the top one-third of California high school students, but several of the campuses have become much more selective.<ref name="Powell" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Rising number of rejections raises fears that Long Beach is becoming 'elite' university |url=https://edsource.org/2016/rising-number-of-rejections-raise-fears-that-long-beach-is-becoming-elite-university/95431 |access-date=May 8, 2017 |website=EdSource}}</ref> The CSU was originally authorized to award only bachelor's and master's degrees, and could award the doctorate only as part of joint programs with UC or private universities. Since then, CSU has been granted the authority to independently award several doctoral degrees (in specific academic fields that do not intrude upon UC's traditional jurisdiction).
* The [[California Community Colleges]] system provides lower-division coursework culminating in the associate degree, as well as basic skills and workforce training culminating in various kinds of certificates. (Fifteen California community colleges now award four-year bachelor's degrees in disciplines which are in high demand in their geographical area.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Baccalaureate Degree Program {{!}} California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office |url=https://www.cccco.edu/About-Us/Chancellors-Office/Divisions/Educational-Services-and-Support/What-we-do/Curriculum-and-Instruction-Unit/Curriculum/Baccalaureate-Degree-Program |access-date=October 8, 2022 |website=www.cccco.edu}}</ref>) It is the largest network of higher education in the U.S., composed of 112 colleges serving a student population of over 2.6{{spaces}}million.

California is also home to notable private universities such as [[Stanford University]], the [[California Institute of Technology]] (Caltech), the [[University of Southern California]], the [[Claremont Colleges]], [[Santa Clara University]], [[Loyola Marymount University]], the [[University of San Diego]], the [[University of San Francisco]], [[Chapman University]], [[Pepperdine University]], [[Occidental College]], and [[University of the Pacific (United States)|University of the Pacific]], among numerous other private colleges and universities, including many religious and special-purpose institutions. California has a particularly high density of arts colleges, including the [[California College of the Arts]], [[California Institute of the Arts]], [[San Francisco Art Institute]], [[Art Center College of Design]], and [[Academy of Art University]], among others.