The institute will focus on four areas the singer and actress is most passionate about: the public sphere, climate change, intimacy and power between men and women, and the impact of art on the culture, according to a press release. The institute's goal involves "solving societal challenges."

"It is my great pleasure to be able to fund an institute at UCLA, one of the world's premier universities. This will be a place where future scholars can discuss, engage and argue about the most important issues of the day; where innovators will speak truth to power, help save our planet, and make glass ceilings for women an anachronism; and in the process give us a chance to have a brighter, more promising future," the award-winning icon said in the release.

The institute's four research centers will be housed in UCLA's Division of Social Sciences.

"While it's easy to reflect on the past, I can't stop thinking about the future and what it holds for our children, our planet and our society. The Barbra Streisand Institute at UCLA will be an exploration into vital issues that affect us all," Streisand said in the release. "The fact that my father, Emanuel Streisand, was an educator makes this Institute even more meaningful to me."