Overview
The Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis (ITS-Davis) is the world’s leading academic center for sustainable transportation. Our mission is to serve the needs of society and promote a more effective, sustainable, and equitable transportation system. We conduct multidisciplinary research on important transportation issues; inform government and industry decision-making; and train the next generation of transportation leaders and experts.
ITS-Davis is home to more than 80 affiliated faculty and researchers, and over120 graduate students. With our affiliated centers and a budget of over $20 million, we are a force for good in a rapidly changing world. We have a strong commitment to research, interdisciplinary education, and engagement with government, industry, and non-governmental organizations.
We are putting our cutting-edge research to work by informing policy and business decisions and by advancing public discourse on key transportation, energy and environmental issues.
Our researchers lead influential international, national, and regional initiatives on electric, automated, and shared vehicles, low carbon fuels, urban mobility, transit, bicycle use, active transportation, and more. We are unraveling the mysteries of consumer behavior, developing and analyzing new technologies, and creating tools that will enable government and industry to succeed. We play an essential role steering our transportation system to a more sustainable future.
The National Center for Sustainable Transportation, funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation, has been a part of ITS-Davis since 2013. Through this center, we manage large research initiatives on energy, environmental, and social issues.
ITS-Davis hosts an award-winning graduate program, Transportation Technology and Policy (TTP), which draws from more than 30 different academic disciplines. Our hundreds of master’s and doctoral alumni are leaders in government, industry, and academia.
ITS-Davis also serves as one of the four ITS branches under the UC-ITS umbrella. The other branches are located at UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, and UCLA. The four institutes work together to implement a statewide research program funded through California’s Public Transportation Account and the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017.