Graduate Application Process

The UC Irvine Graduate Division maintains an excellent website with instructions on the graduate application process.

It provides detailed instructions on how to apply, lists important deadlines (under “Select School” choose “Information and Computer Sciences” and then scroll to the program of your choice), and has information for international applicants.

The Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences Student Affairs Office also maintains a website with further information regarding graduate admissions.

A couple of important notes:

  • Fee Waivers are available for fall quarter admission state supported programs only. They are open to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and DACA/AB540 eligible only; international students are not eligible. Eligibility is based on program participation, financial need or U.S. veteran status and is determined by completion of the online application. For more information and to see which programs qualify for the fee waiver, please visit the Graduate Division’s Fee Waivers website.
  • If you are a prospective Ph.D. student who wants to work with one of the faculty members in the Department of Informatics, you must choose the Informatics Ph.D. or the Software Engineering Ph.D. as the program of your choice in your application. We are unlikely to see your application if you choose the Computer Science Ph.D. program.
  • If you are a prospective M.S. student interested in being admitted to our programs, you must choose the M.S. in Informatics or the Software Engineering M.S. program. We are unlikely to see your application if you choose the Computer Science M.S. program.
  • If you are a prospective Master’s student interested in being admitted to one of our professional programs, you should choose either the Master of Human-Computer Interaction & Design or the Master of Software Engineering program.
  • We offer full funding for all students in our Ph.D. programs, for the full duration, as long as you continue to make satisfactory academic progress toward the degree.
  • We unfortunately are not in a position to guarantee funding to our M.S. students. Quite a few of them, however, find a spot in a research laboratory or as a teaching assistant, providing them with funding that way. We also structure our course offerings in such a way that it generally is possible to graduate within four quarters.
  • The MHCID program offers a variety of internal scholarship programs, including our 20 for 20 program that reduces 20% of the program’s cost to the top 20% of applicants. Complete details about MHCID costs and financial aid can be found here.
  • The MSWE program offers a limited number of fellowships to domestic students.  For more information, please visit https://mswe.ics.uci.edu/admissions/cost-and-financial-aid/.
  • Because of strong demand, admission to our programs is highly competitive. We pay attention to all aspects of the application package, including personal statement, letters of recommendation, and additional materials (e.g., design portfolio, link to GitHub profile, GRE test scores, scholarly papers submitted and/or published, writing samples).

Should you have any questions about the graduate application process, please do not hesitate to contact us via our vice chair for graduate affairs or by contacting our Student Affairs Office at 949-824-5156.

Graduate Commencement

Applying to UC Irvine is the first step toward furthering your research and advancing your career.