The school was named in honor of Academy Award-winning Hollywood actress Claire Trevor (1910–2000),[1] a longtime resident of nearby Newport Beach and the stepmother of UCI benefactor Donald Bren.

The school represents the largest contribution to the campus by architect William Pereira, who oversaw its construction in 1970.

It features a distinctive "modular" design in which individual buildings are connected by an overhead network of pillar-supported canopies.

It teaches a wide range of contemporary media, including drawing, electronic art and design, new genres, painting, performance, photography, sculpture, and video and digital filmmaking.

[4] William Inge, author of such plays as Bus Stop, Picnic, and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs taught playwriting in the drama department in the 1970s.