Admission is for the fall quarter only, and the application deadline is January 15th for the following fall quarter.

The next deadline for applications is January 15, 2025, for Fall 2025.

Application Requirements
These are required components of an application. Please review the information below carefully and follow the links for additional specific information. You must supply a valid e-mail address that you will maintain for at least 8 months after you apply. If you are admitted, you will be notified via this e-mail address. The following items are required to complete your application.

  1. Application for Admission
    You must complete and submit your online application for graduate admissions.  Paper applications are no longer accepted at UCI.
  2. Application Fee
    • $120 for U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents
    • $140 for all other applicants
      Your application cannot be reviewed until UCI has received your non-refundable application fee. The non-refundable application fee may be made by credit card only. For more details about application fee, please see the Graduate Division's Application Fee Information page. For information about fee waivers, click here.
  3. GRE
    GRE scores are not required for the Fall 2025 admission cycle.
  4. TOEFL or IELTS Scores
    Applicants whose primary language is not English are required to demonstrate proficiency in English for admission consideration by submitting scores from either the TOEFL or IELTS test.

    The TOEFL is administered by the Education Testing Service (ETS). Please select institution code 4859 to have your TOEFL scores sent electronically to UCI. Results of institutional (non-ETS) administrations of the TOEFL are not accepted. Test results cannot be older than two years. Required scores: minimum score of 80 on TOEFL iBT and minimum score of 550 for the paper-based test.

    As an alternative to TOEFL, applicants may also take the IELTS exam (institutional code is not required to submit IELTS scores electronically to UCI). An overall minimum score of 7, with a score of no less than 6 on any individual module, is required for admission consideration.

    Applicants are waived from the English Language Proficiency requirement if they have earned an undergraduate degree from an institution at which English was the sole language of instruction according to the World Higher Education Database (WHED). This waiver is for admissions purposes only.  Students who are appointed as Teaching Assistants are still required to receive a passing score on an appropriate English language proficiency exam prior to serving as a Teaching Assistant. More information regarding English language proficiency requirements can be found here.
  5. Letters of Recommendation
    Three letters of recommendation are required from instructors in a discipline related to your proposed field of study who are in a position to analyze your abilities and academic promise. Letters will be submitted online to your application by your recommenders (paper letters of recommendation will not be accepted). Please refer to Letters of Recommendation for more information about requesting and submitting letters of recommendation.
  6. Statement of Purpose and Personal History Statement
    The Statement of Purpose should focus on your academic/research background and interests. The Personal History Statement should focus on your personal background and any challenges or obstacles you may have encountered in your academic journey and how you overcame them.
  7. Transcripts
    Upload unofficial transcripts from every institution attended since high school to your online application. If the transcript is not in English, an official English version from the University must also be submitted. If you are admitted to the program, you will then be required to provide an official transcript in a sealed envelope from every post-secondary institution attended from which you earned a degree.
  8. Writing Sample
    Please upload your writing sample to your online application. You are required to submit one writing sample on a topic of your choice or from a previously written paper, in English. It should be no more than 30 pages in length, typed and double-spaced.

For more information on admission to UCI, please see Graduate Division's Applying to UCI and Frequently Asked Questions pages.