Admissions
Prospective students who wish to pursue a Ph.D. in Iranian Studies at UCI must first apply and be admitted to the doctoral program through which their potential advisor accepts students, for example, the Ph.D. Program in History or the Ph.D. Program in Visual Studies. Students are encouraged to contact their potential advisors and the Director of the Specialization before they apply. Once they have accepted UCI’s offer of admission and enrolled, students join the interdisciplinary graduate specialization by submitting a summary of degrees earned and prior undergraduate and graduate coursework taken related to Iranian Studies, together with a brief statement of purpose that details their degree program, interest in the field, current or potential advisor, and potential dissertation research. This should be submitted via email to the Director of the Specialization at the start of their first quarter at UCI.In addition to Ph.D. students whose doctoral work focuses on premodern Iran, the specialization is open to any student currently enrolled in a Ph.D. or M.A. program at UCI whose career goals would benefit from a deeper historical perspective and whose program provides sufficient flexibility to fulfill the requirements of the specialization. Applications to the specialization are reviewed on a rolling basis, although students are encouraged to apply as soon as they decide they wish to pursue it. All students accepted into the specialization are eligible to be affiliates of the Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture.