Admissions

The Humanities Office of Graduate Study
The Humanities Office of Graduate Study assists programs and their faculty in recruiting and retaining graduate students, mainly through supplying and administering fellowships. For incoming students, these include the prestigious Dean's fellowship, the Regents' stipend, tuition fellowships for out-of-state and foreign students, and special fellowships from named donors. The most highly ranked applicants will also be awarded dissertation fellowships they will use in the future. We also nominate students for a variety of diversity fellowships: the Eugene Cota-Robles Fellowship and the Graduate Opportunity Fellowship for entering students, and the Faculty Mentoring Program Fellowship and the President's Dissertation Year Fellowship for continuing students. The Humanities Office of Graduate Study also assists in developing and coordinating school-wide interdisciplinary graduate programs and emphases. Already well-established, and nationally recognized for its excellence, is the Critical Theory Emphasis, open to graduate students from all departments.

Admission to the Philosophy Track
UCI’s graduate program in Philosophy is a doctoral program. At present, no students are admitted to pursue only the M.A.

To be admitted to the Philosophy program, students must have done well in their previous academic work and must be formally accepted as candidates for the degree by the Department of Philosophy. Furthermore, an applicant must have received a Bachelor's degree or its equivalent from a college or university of acceptable standing. Although there are no formal course requirements for admission, applicants must satisfy the committee on admissions that their preparation in philosophy and allied disciplines is sufficient for undertaking study of philosophy at the graduate level. Applications from those already holding M.A. degrees are welcomed.

Application Checklist:
Open: September 1
Close: The Final deadline to submit applications is January 17, 2022. Early applications are strongly encouraged.

Institution Code: 4859
Application Fees (non-refundable): 
$120 - domestic students
$140 - international students
This payment must be paid by credit card ONLY. 

The application/admissions process occurs only once a year for Fall Quarter admission only via an online application.  The online application is centrally run by UCI Graduate Division.  Should any issues arise with the application, contact their office directly at mail to:  gradapplicant@uci.edu.

All applicants are required to submit the following materials:
• Official TOEFL or IELTS Scores (Electronic Submission). All graduate applicants are required to demonstrate English proficiency for admissions consideration.  Applicants are waived form 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)
• Transcripts – Applicants must upload unofficial transcripts for all institutions attended since high school. 
• Personal History Statement & Statement of Purpose – Required by all students.
• Three Letters of Recommendation - Letters must be uploaded digitally; paper Letters of Recommendation will not be accepted.
• Writing Sample - Writing samples must demonstrate your ability to research and write within the field of Philosophy.  There are no page restrictions or formatting. 

To learn more about the University’s admissions process, including electronic application, click here and Frequently Asked Questions.

Decisions are made and applicants are notified by the middle of March. Admission to the program is highly competitive; in recent years only about 10% of applicants have been admitted.

Financial Support
Everyone admitted to the graduate program in Philosophy receives a five-year funding package that includes tuition, comprehensive student health insurance, fellowship support, and TA appointments.  Students are not required to apply separately for admission and financial support.

Other Funding Opportunities
The Philosophy Department encourages you to apply for graduate fellowships from government agencies and foundations. We have limited funding available for foreign students.

The Department is often able to provide teaching assistantships and associateships to all active graduate students in good standing in their second through fifth years.

If you have questions about application procedures or financial aid, email philos@uci.edu. For further information on the academic program, contact the Director of Graduate Studies, Professor Duncan Pritchard.