Graduate Admissions

Our nationally-accredited Master of Public Health (MPH) prepares students to lead and work collaboratively on the assessment of health-risk factors and the management of prevention strategies. Our MPH is a professional degree and includes a greater depth of methodological approaches, combined with a skill-based aspect across the core disciplines of public health.

The MPH program offers four areas of emphasis. Applicants must select one area of emphasis to pursue at the time of application.

Minimum requirements for admission to the MPH Program:

• Cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 (B average) or better
• Successful completion or expected completion of a bachelor’s degree (or foreign equivalent) from a regionally accredited academic institution prior to enrollment at UCI. (As the MPH program is an interdisciplinary program, we encourage students from a variety of majors to apply.)
• Demonstrated quantitative skills/abilities. Ways this can be demonstrated include, but are not limited to, grades in quantitative college coursework, scores on quantitative standardized tests, academic or professional quantitative research experience

The GRE is not required for admission to the MPH program.

Our doctorate in public health degree prepares graduates to create new knowledge through deep understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of public health challenges, research methods, applied research, and their application to contemporary and emerging trends in public health.               

Minimum requirements for admission to the Ph.D. in Public Health:

• Have a minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 (B average
• Successful completion or expected completion of a bachelor’s degree (or foreign equivalent) from a recognized academic institution prior to enrollment at UCI
  (As the Ph.D. Public Health is an interdisciplinary program, we encourage students from a variety of majors to apply to begin the application process early to ensure that your file is complete by the deadline.)
• Possess strong verbal and quantitative skills as reflected by GRE General Test scores (GRE required for Fall 2024 admissions cycle) 

The Environmental Health Sciences graduate programs provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary and appropriate to teach and/or conduct basic and applied research programs in inhalation/pulmonary toxicology, biochemical neurotoxicology, reproductive and developmental toxicology, chemical pathology, toxicokinetics, radiation toxicology, molecular carcinogenesis, exposure assessment, risk assessment, environmental epidemiology, environmental justice, and community-based participatory research.

Minimum requirements for admission to the Environmental Health Sciences Graduate Program:

In cases where students with deficiencies in certain areas are admitted into the graduate program, those deficiencies will be made up during the first year of residence in the program. The student will be notified of any apparent deficiency at the time of acceptance into the graduate program.

Suggested college level courses to fulfill requirements:

• Biology – One year of general biology; one quarter of molecular biology or biochemistry is strongly recommended
• Mathematics – One year of calculus and/or statistics
• Chemistry – One year of chemistry; organic chemistry is strongly recommended for environmental toxicology track

Students seeking the Ph.D. degree in Epidemiology are usually interested in a research career, often in academia but possibly in industry or government. Conferral of the doctoral degree results from demonstrations of mastery of core training, familiarity with the current state of the science in one or more areas, and capability to make important contributions to knowledge in one or more areas of Epidemiology.

Applicants must meet the basic requirements of the UCI Graduate Division. While the Department of Epidemiology has no additional requirements, admission to our PhD program is competitive. Applicants with master’s degrees are preferred, as are those whose interests clearly correspond to strengths of the department.

All programs require completion of the SOPHAS Application.

The SOPHAS Application also requires an SOPHAS application fee to be paid or waived through its website at the time the application is submitted.

For questions related to the SOPHAS application, please contact SOPHAS directly.

All programs require completion of the UCI Graduate Application. The UCI Graduate Application requires an UCI application fee to be paid or waived at the time the application is submitted. Note: if you are requesting a fee waiver, your application must be submitted at least five days prior to the UCI application deadline for the program to which you are applying.

SOPHAS Application:

Submit official transcripts from each U.S. college or university where you completed one or more courses. If coursework from one institution is posted on another institution’s transcript, you must still submit a transcript from the institution where the course was completed.

If you attended a foreign institution, you must submit an official transcript evaluation from World Education Services (WES).

Visit the SOPHAS Applicant Center to learn more about submitting official transcripts for your SOPHAS Application.

UCI Graduate Application:

For application review purposes, you will be prompted to upload unofficial copies of transcripts from each U.S. and foreign college or university where you have completed one or more courses. Transcript evaluations will not be accepted for the UCI Graduate Application. Things to note:

• Front and back copies of each page of every transcript must be uploaded.
• Uploaded transcripts must include your full name, dates of attendance, grades/marks received, credits and a grade legend.
• If coursework from one institution is posted on another institution’s transcript, you must still submit a transcript from the institution where the course was completed.
• Official transcripts will be requested if you are admitted and accept your admission to UCI. Please do NOT send official transcripts to UCI until you receive notification to do so.
• UCI reserves the right to require official transcripts at any time during the admission process and rescind any offer of admission made if discrepancies between uploaded and official transcript(s) are found.

Information about transcript requirements for the UCI Graduate Application can be found on the UCI Graduate Division Applying to UCI webpage.

Please visit the Graduate Division Applying to UCI webpage and click on “English Language Proficiency Requirements for Admission” for current UCI requirements. 

All graduate applicants, except those who have earned an undergraduate degree from an institution at which English was the sole language of instruction according to the World Higher Education Database, are required to demonstrate English proficiency for admissions consideration. If English is not the sole language of instruction listed or if no language is listed at all, the waiver does not apply and the applicant is required to take and pass an approved English proficiency test (TOEFL or IELTS). Please see the test score section below for instructions on how to submit official TOEFL or IELTS test scores. Test scores that are two years or older are not acceptable.                  

Minimum scores for admissions consideration:

• TOEFL iBT -80
• IELTS -overall minimum score of 7 and no scores less than 6 on any individual module.

Once admitted, minimum scores for teaching assistant opportunities for PhD students:

• TOEFL: Minimum 26 on speaking section
• IELTS: Minimum 8 on speaking section

Alternatively, admitted students may be recommended for remediation or additional testing prior to teaching assistant position if they don’t meet the qualifications.

Both the SOPHAS and UCI Graduate Applications require a minimum of three letters of recommendation to be submitted electronically. Recommenders will be required to upload a recommendation letter. Additionally, the SOPHAS recommendation system requires recommenders to complete an online form with numerical rankings. We do not accept hard-copy letters sent to our offices.

Recommendations can come from academic advisors, professors, supervisors, mentors or anyone else familiar with your academic and professional abilities.

Each application has an online recommendation system. You will need to enter the names and email addresses of each of your recommenders into each application. It is okay to use the same 3 recommenders for both applications. Your recommenders will then receive an email from each system with a unique link to access the recommendation form associated with your application.

Find additional information about recommendations in each application, visit the following:

Please note: Applications are not considered complete until all three recommendations have been submitted.

Applicants for our graduate programs are selected using a holistic evaluation system. These essays will assist both the admissions committee and fellowship review committees to evaluate your preparation for your proposed field of study and your background and motivation for graduate study.

In the Statement of Purpose, you should focus on your academic, professional and research background and interests. Please use Statement of Purpose to describe your aptitude and motivation for graduate study in your area of specialization.

A sample of topics you might address in your statement include:

• Academic plans and research interests
• Relevant experience
• Future career goals
• Why UCI would be a good intellectual fit for you

The Statement of Purpose word maximum is 1200 words. We recommend you use a document program (MS Word, Google Docs, etc.) to draft your statement and ensure you adhere to the word limit. You will be able to upload the saved document to your SOPHAS application. You will need to copy and paste the text of your statement into the UCI Graduate Application.

Applicants for our graduate programs are selected using a holistic evaluation system. These essays will assist both the admissions committee and fellowship review committees to evaluate your preparation for your proposed field of study and your background and motivation for graduate study.

In the Personal History Statement, you should focus on your personal background. Please use this statement to describe how your personal background informs your decision to pursue a graduate degree.

A sample of topics you might address in your statement is below. However, please structure your statement in any way that you feel best represents your personal history.

• Any educational, familial, cultural, economic or social experiences or opportunities relevant to your academic journey
• Challenges and/or obligations you have had to address in order to achieve your educational goals and how you addressed them
• Prior employment, as a student or as a working professional, that is relevant to your pursuit of a graduate degree
• How your perspectives, activities, or goals have or may contribute to inclusivity and/or broaden your understanding of experiences of diverse groups of people
• Leadership, outreach, or community service experiences and goals that have or will benefit others or the community

The Personal History Statement word maximum is 1200 words. We recommend you use a document program (MS Word, Google Docs, etc.) to draft your statement and ensure you adhere to the word limit. You will be able to upload the saved document to your SOPHAS application. You will need to copy and paste the text of your statement into the UCI Graduate Application.