University of California, Irvine

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, we draw on the unyielding spirit of our pioneering faculty, staff and students who arrived on campus with a dream to inspire change and generate new ideas.We believe that true progress is made when different perspectives come together to advance our understanding of the world around us. And we enlighten our communities and point the way to a better future. At UCI, we shine brighter.

UCI’s strategic plan sets forth an ambitious path to reach new heights of excellence and social impact. Based on four strategic pillars, we have a clear direction into the foreseeable future that echoes the promise of our university’s founding mission. We will mobilize knowledge, we will serve the people, and we will educate the best and brightest.

This ambitious strategic vision sets out a bold road map for growth and expansion, while being mindful of the need to develop new models of financial sustainability. It builds on UCI’s strengths to make our university even better. It was developed with extensive participation by the university community, reflecting our fundamental commitment to shared governance, and honors the spirit of all those who contributed to our culture of innovation and excellence. It intends to meet the expectations of those who participate in the life of this great institution, based on four strategic pillars.

UC Irvine offers a wide variety of highly ranked academic and professional degree programs, and we encourage talented and forward-thinking students from across the country and around the world to apply. Our graduate programs are designed to enable you to achieve your potential through rigorous training, the opportunity to work with faculty who are the top in their field, and an environment that provides you with the resources that you need to be successful. We value our graduate students as important participants in the scholarship and research conducted at UC Irvine.

The Graduate Division Admissions staff process more than 14,000 applications each year and provides a wide range of services to prospective students, applicants, admitted students, faculty and staff.

There are many different ways to fund your graduate education at UC Irvine. Funding packages for doctoral and MFA students may include various combinations of types of funding, such as teaching assistantships, research assistantships, or internal or extramural fellowships. UC Irvine also offers a range of intramural funding opportunities for continuing graduate students. We encourage you to learn more about the most commonly used types of funding by visiting the Funding section of our website. Students are strongly encouraged to apply for extramural fellowship support, an important aspect of your funding picture as a graduate student. UCI runs an aggressive extramural funding initiative to encourage and assist graduate students in applying for fellowships. Through the Graduate Resource Center, funding workshops are offered all year and you can get a head start by attending during the summer prior to your first year on campus.

All U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent resident graduate students who wish to receive any form of financial support (including university fellowships) from UCIrvine are required to submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year. Students applying for need-based financial aid and/or federal loans must also submit any documents as requested by the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.

We are delighted that you’ve chosen to undertake your graduate work at UC Irvine and aim to provide you with a superior educational environment and experience. The Graduate Division holds a campus-wide New Graduate Student Orientation each Fall to help new students become familiar with the expectations of graduate study and navigate the many services available to them.

On a brilliant day in 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson stepped from a helicopter into an undeveloped Irvine Ranch meadow and dedicated the land that would become UCI. The founding administration and faculty established traditions of rigorous academics, progressive research, interdisciplinary teaching and independent thinking. From the classrooms and labs, businesses were born, jobs created and discoveries made.

Today, UCI anchors Orange County as a world renowned research institution that serves more than 31,000 students and has a $5 billion economic impact on the region. Take a look at some of our historical milestones that have defined UCI’s identity as a powerhouse for knowledge, innovation and public service.

UCI is committed to excellence through diversity and to the goal of reflecting diversity in our faculty, student and staff populations, as well as our teaching, research and public service endeavors.The Office of Inclusive Excellence oversees institutional accountability, mounts education and training programs, conducts responsive research, and builds partnerships with universities and colleges dedicated to inclusive excellence. This office fosters and fortifies a campus culture in which faculty and students alike expect equity, support diversity and practice inclusion.