The University of California (UC) is a public research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz, along with numerous research centers and academic abroad centers. The University of California was founded in 1868 and operates under a decentralized management structure, with each campus and its associated programs operating somewhat autonomously. The UC system is one of the most prestigious public university systems in the United States, and its campuses are consistently ranked highly in various national and international university rankings.