The University of California—San Francisco is a public institution that was founded in 1864. The health sciences-focused university has facilities throughout San Francisco and only offers graduate-level programs. The school has three main locations – the Parnassus, Mission Bay and Mount Zion campuses. In a recent year, the school enrolled more than 3,000 students. Tuition costs are higher for non-California residents, and student housing is available near the university's Parnassus and Mission Bay campuses.

The university, which follows a quarter-based academic calendar, has four professional schools – dentistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacy – as well as a graduate division, which offers master's and doctoral programs, two certificate programs and a physical therapy program. A few graduate programs are offered through UCSF Global Health Sciences, an arm of the university that focuses on international health issues. The language of instruction at the university is English.

The UCSF Medical Center is one of the university's teaching hospitals and is highly ranked in several specialties. Other medical institutions affiliated with the university include the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, the UCSF Dental Center and the San Francisco VA Medical Center. UCSF receives more research funding from the National Institutes of Health than any other public school in the U.S. The university has research partnerships with companies such as Pfizer and GE Healthcare, as well as with medical institutions around the world like the Kenya Medical Research Institute and Aga Khan Health Services–Tanzania.

University of California--San Francisco is ranked #15 in Best Global Universities. Schools are ranked according to their performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence.