It was established in 1970 and is situated on 55 acres (22 ha) of land[4] in the southwestern portion of the city, adjacent to the University of California, Irvine (UCI).

The school comprises six main academic buildings, a performing arts theater, a band room for instrumental music, a swimming pool, eight tennis courts, an indoor gymnasium supplemented with other indoor athletic facilities, a stadium, and several practice fields.

[5] Housed within the facilities are the departments of English, world languages, math, science, social science, instrumental music, art, industrial technology, athletics, physical education, English proficiency programs, special education, and the Orange County Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program.

[13] University High School is often noted for its various academic teams, including Physics Bowl, Science Bowl, Science Olympiad, Academic Decathlon, Model United Nations, International Space Settlement Design Competition, Speech and Debate and math competitions (including ARML, and Math Day at the Beach).

These teams generally attain high scores, often winning prestigious awards such as Best Club Delegation at Berkeley Model United Nations (BMUN) in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2018 or first place at Math Day at the Beach for three years in a row (2008–2010).

Students participated in TARC (The American Rocketry Challenge), by building and launching model rockets.

In 2001, the University winterguard took home a gold medal in their division at the Winter Guard Association of Southern California Championships.

Some of the most popular sports include football, tennis, water polo, swimming, track and field, soccer, lacrosse, and basketball.

[42] Numerous varsity team members are nationally ranked and are often recruited to top Division I NCAA programs.

The girls' tennis team is notable as well, reaching the CIF Finals on numerous occasions and winning several Pacific Coast League championships in recent years.

[47][needs update] Residents of the UC Irvine student family housing units (Palo Verde and Verano Place) are zoned to University High School.