University of California’s Latino population breaks records across the state

( KRON ) — The Latino population is making record-breaking impacts at one of the nation’s most foundational public education systems.

In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month and reaching record-high enrollment in 2024, the University of California shared some profound impacts the Hispanic population has had on its schools across the state.

In fall 2023 , Latino students at the University of California were the second-largest demographic group, representing nearly a quarter of the UC population and more than half of first-generation college students.

According to UC, almost four of every ten California first-year admits in 2024 are Latino. Latino students also comprised the largest proportion of California Community College (CCC) transfer admits in 2024, increasing to over a third of UC’s transfer population.

Across the non-academic workforce, UC said Latinos represent over a quarter of their staff. Over the last decade, Latino faculty have also grown , with additional efforts to encourage faculty diversity underway .

Today, Latinos at UC make up one in three first-year admits, the largest proportion of domestic community college transfers, the second-largest demographic group, and half of first-generation students. We look forward to building on this progress and honoring the achievements of our Latino community throughout this month.

Jorge Silva, associate vice president for Communications, UC Office of the President

Five of the nine UC schools are currently Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), which are schools with a Latino population representing more than 25% of its demographic. Current HSI schools include UC Irvine, UC Merced, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara and UC Santa Cruz.

UC Berkeley, Davis, LA, and San Diego are emerging HSIs with a Latino population representing 15-25% of their campuses.

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, UC is also celebrating Reginaldo Francisco del Valle, an instrumental figure in establishing the Branch State Normal School in Los Angeles in 1882. 27 years later, the assets of the Normal School were absorbed by the University of California, becoming its first Southern California campus, UCLA.

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