The University of California was founded in 1868 and is now composed of eight separate campuses spread throughout the state. It is one of the leading public universities within the US, with all constituent colleges consistently ranked in the top tier.

UC campuses share common features: a reputation for outstanding academic excellence at undergraduate and graduate level, a large diverse student body (typically 20-25,000 students), often spectacular coastal or urban settings and world class social and sporting facilities. UC Berkeley is located just across the Bay from San Francisco in the city of Berkeley. The beautiful campus setting is juxtaposed with the fairly "funky" neighbourhood adjacent to the campus, reminiscent of the freewheeling 60's. As with all US colleges in urban situations, the usual security precautions apply. UCLA is surrounded by the affluent enclaves of Westwood, Beverly Hills and Bel Air, a few miles from Hollywood and the beaches of Santa Monica and Malibu. Both UC Davis, 20 minutes from Sacramento in Northern California, and UC Riverside, an oasis in the middle of the Mojave Desert, are known for their more "rural" locations. UC Santa Barbara, 120 miles north of LA, is bordered on three sides by the Pacific Ocean; similarly UC San Diego is set atop the cliffs of La Jolla just outside San Diego, while UC Santa Cruz, under two hours from San Francisco, is set up in the coastal hills near Santa Cruz, between the Pacific shore and the redwood forests. Finally, UCIrvine is situated in a quiet and affluent suburb of Orange County, 40 miles south of LA. These highly competitive UC campuses offer first rate academic opportunities in a diverse range of campus settings.

The subjects taught across the whole system is very large but does include: American Studies, Anthropology, Art History, Asian Studies, Astronomy, Biology, Biochemistry, Buddhism, Bulgarian, Business, Chemistry, Chinese, Classics, Computer Science, Croatian, Cognitive Science, Dance, Dutch, Economics, Education, Egyptian, Engineering, English Language and Literature, Environmental Studies, Film, French, Genetics, Geography, German, Greek, History, History of Art, Iranian, Japanese, Journalism, Latin, Linguistics, Law, Mathematics, Medieval Studies, Music, Nutrition, Optometry, Philosophy, Physics, Polish, Psychology, Public Health, Romance Languages & Literatures, Russian, Sociology, Statistics, Thai, Turkish, Women's Studies.

A number of places are available.

It is possible to spend the year at University of California either as an integral year or as an additional year.

If the year is spent as an additional year, there will be no credit towards the University of London degree for the courses taken, but a report will be provided by UC at the end of the year. This arrangement allows exchange students to take courses from outside their main academic field of study if they wish.

If the year is taken as an integral year, students are required to prepare a study plan for the period abroad. The study plan must be approved by the student's department before the application for the exchange is submitted and, subsequently, when course availability is finalised.

Students in any department who are in their first or second year may apply for an exchange place at UC if they wish to spend the year as an additional year in between their first and second or first or second and final years at Royal Holloway.

Students who are in their first year may be able to spend the year as an integral year ie. the second year of a three year degree. Eligibility for any credit transfer arrangement will vary from department to department (see general notes). In departments where the transfer of credit is difficult, it will be more appropriate to spend the year as an additional year.