University Of California Irvine

About

In 1965, the University of California, Irvine was founded with a mission to catalyze the community and enhance lives through rigorous academics, cutting-edge research, and dedicated public service. Today, they draw on the unyielding spirit of their pioneering faculty, staff and students who arrived on campus with a dream to inspire change and generate new ideas. They believe that true progress is made when different perspectives come together to advance their understanding of the world around them. And they enlighten their communities and point the way to a better future. At UCI, they shine brighter.

Majors:

• Anthropology, B.A.
• Applied Physics, B.S.
• Art, B.A.
• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, B.S.
• Biological Sciences, B.S.
• Biology/Education, B.S.
• Biomedical Engineering, B.S.
• Biomedical Engineering: Premedical, B.S.
• Business Administration, B.A.
• Chemical Engineering, B.S.
• Chinese Studies, B.A.
• Civil Engineering, B.S.
• Classics, B.A.
• Cognitive Sciences, B.S.
• Comparative Literature, B.A.
• Computer Engineering, B.S.
• Computer Science and Engineering, B.S.
• Criminology, Law and Society, B.A.
• Dance, B.A.
• Data Science, B.S.
• Developmental and Cell Biology, B.S.
• Drama, B.A.
• Earth System Science, B.S.
• East Asian Cultures, B.A.
• Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, B.S.
• Economics, B.A.
• Education Sciences, B.A.
• Electrical Engineering, B.S.
• Engineering, B.S.
• English, B.A.
• Environmental Engineering, B.S.
• Film and Media Studies, B.A.
• French, B.A.
• Genetics, B.S.
• German Studies, B.A.
• Global Cultures, B.A.
• History, B.A.
• Japanese Language and Literature, B.A.
• Korean Literature and Culture, B.A.
• Language Science, B.A.
• Literary Journalism, B.A.
• Mathematics, B.S.
• Microbiology and Immunology, B.S.
• Music, B.A.
• Neurobiology, B.S.
• Nursing Science, B.S.
• Pharmaceutical Sciences, B.S.
• Philosophy, B.A.
• Physics, B.S.
• Political Science, B.A.
• Psychology, B.A., B.S.
• Public Health Sciences, B.S. / Public Health Policy, B.A.
• Religious Studies, B.A.
• Social Ecology, B.A.
• Social Policy and Public Service, B.A.
• Sociology, B.A.
• Software Engineering, B.S.
• Spanish, B.A.

Admission

To be considered for admission, international applicants must meet the same subject requirements as all other applicants.

You must have completed secondary school with excellent grades/marks in academic subjects and have earned a certificate of completion that enables you to be admitted to a university in your home country and is equivalent to a U.S. high school diploma.

The following academic subject requirements must be completed with a minimum average GPA of 3.4:

• 2 years of history (in place of U.S. History, history of your country)
• 4 years of English (or in the language of instruction at your school)
• 3 years (four years recommended) of college-preparatory mathematics*
  *Math courses taken in the seventh and eighth grades/intermediate school may be used to fulfill part of this requirement. Integrated math courses (e.g. Math I, Math II, etc.) with geometry content may be equated with a standard course in geometry.
• 2 years of college-preparatory laboratory science, including or integrating topics that provide fundamental knowledge in two of these three subjects: biology, chemistry, or physics.
• 2 years of a second language
• 1 yearlong course (or 2 semesters) of visual and performing arts
• 1 additional course from any subject areas above

English Proficiency Requirements

If your secondary/high school was completed in a country where English was not the language of instruction, or if you have less than three years of high school curriculum instruction in English in the U.S., you are required to demonstrate English proficiency.

Various examinations and scores may be used to demonstrate proficiency in English:

• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) examination: (school code: 4859)
• Internet-based test (IBT): score 80 or higher
• Score 3, 4 or 5 on the AP examination In English Language and Composition, or English Literature and Composition
• Score 5, 6 or 7 on the IB Higher Level examination in English (Literature, or Language and Literature)
• Score 6.5 or higher on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
• Score 560 or higher on the Writing section of the SAT Reasoning test OR score 31 or higher on Writing and Language in the SAT with Essay

Student Housing

Mesa Court

Mesa Court is a first-year housing community with 29 classic halls and three towers. Classic halls offer single-, double- and triple-occupancy rooms. The Mesa Court Towers offer quad-occupancy rooms. Each residential community has a common space for studying and socializing, a small kitchen, and laundry facilities. 

Middle Earth

Middle Earth is not only a place where Hobbits live in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy; it is also a housing community at UC Irvine! Centrally located just off of Ring Road between Social Science and Engineering, Middle Earth is made up 24 classic halls and 2 towers. Classic halls offer single-, double-, and triple-occupancy rooms, and tower buildings offer double-, triple-, and quad-occupancy rooms. 

Rankings

• U.S. News & World Report ranks The Henry Samueli School of Engineering 39th among engineering schools whose highest degree is a doctorate.
• The Paul Merage School of Business' undergraduate major was ranked 38th by U.S. News & World Report.
• The most current U.S. News & World Report rankings for top 50 national graduate programs include these UCI majors: literary criticism & theory (1), criminology (3), clinical training – law (7), tax law (8), organic chemistry (10), English (17), chemistry (20), law (23), sociology (23), education (23), aerospace engineering (24), computer engineering (28), physics (28), computer science (30), environmental engineering (31), business – part-time (32), civil engineering (32), biomedical engineering (33), biological sciences (33), history (34), engineering (36), psychology (36), mechanical engineering (37), public health (37), mathematics (39), Earth system science (41), materials science engineering (41), business (43), political science (45), medicine (45), economics (47) and electrical engineering (50).
• U.S. News & World Report ranks UCI's online program for a Master of Advanced Study in criminology, law & society the No. 1 online graduate criminal justice program in the country.

UCI is among the Top 5 fastest rising universities by Nature Index, an international journal of science, which gives high ranks to their programs in chemistry, physical sciences, earth and environmental sciences, and life sciences. The university placed third behind Princeton University and Northwestern University.