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Ph.D. Admissions

Welcome Applicants!

We're excited that you have chosen to apply to UC Irvine for your PhD in Public Health degree. Students are admitted for the Fall quarter only. We encourage you to begin the application process early to ensure that your file is complete by the deadline. Applications are reviewed after the posted application deadline.

The deadline for receipt of all PhD in Public Health application materials, including test scores, letters of recommendation, transcripts, and the SOPHAS and UC Irvine applications is

DECEMBER 1

Qualifications for the PhD in Public Health

To be eligible to apply to the PhD, an applicant must meet the minimum academic requirements:

  • Successful completion or expected completion of a bachelor's degree (or foreign equivalent) from a recognized academic institution prior to enrollment at UCI
  • Have a minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 (B average)
  • Possess strong verbal and quantitative skills as reflected by GRE General Test scores

As the PhD Public Health is an interdisciplinary program, we encourage students from a variety of majors to apply.

Application Requirements

The following items are required to apply:

  • Online UC Irvine application and fee and SOPHAS application and fee
  • Statement of Purpose (Submitted in both applications)
  • Personal History Statement (Submitted in both applications if applicable)
  • GRE General Test scores (Submitted to SOPHAS and UCI Graduate Division)
  • Official transcripts from all institutions including community college and graduate coursework (see Transcripts below)
  • 3 Letters of Recommendation (Submitted online to SOPHAS and UCI Graduate Division)

SOPHAS and UC Irvine Application:

  • We do require both applications to be complete and paid in full in order for your application to be considered for review.
  • There is a fee for both applications (SOPHAS - $135 for the initial application; UC Irvine - $120 domestic and $140 international)
  • The UC Irvine Application window opens on September 1st. The SOPHAS application window opens September 3rd.

International Applicants

In addition to the above mentioned items, international applicants must also submit:

  • TOEFL or IELTS scores
Please see the test score section below for instructions on how to submit official test scores. Test scores that are two years or older are not acceptable.

For more helpful information on applying to UCI as an international student, see the UCI Graduate Division International Admissions page.

Transcripts, Test Scores, and Letters of Recommendation

Submitting Transcripts

During the application period, official transcripts from every school that you have attended after high school must be submitted to SOPHAS.

SOPHAS ADDRESS:

SOPHAS
PO BOX 9111
Watertown, MA 02471-9111

UCI Graduate Division:

For application review purposes only, scan and upload copies of transcripts for all institutions attended after high school. In the online application, you will be prompted to upload your scanned documents. Please upload both the front and back sides of the transcript. Uploaded transcripts should be recent and include the following: your name, dates of attendance, grades/marks received, credits and grading legend. 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. Official transcripts will be requested if and when you are admitted and decide to attend UCI. Do not send official transcripts until this time, unless you are requested to do so.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If admitted to the PhD program, you will be required to submit official transcripts to the UCI Graduate Division from every school that you have attended after high school. Admission to the PhD program will be contingent upon receipt of your official transcripts. SOPHAS will not forward official transcripts to the UCI Graduate Division.

How to Submit your Graduate Admission Test Scores

The procedure for submitting your test scores varies by exam score(s) you choose to send. Please read the directions below carefully and remember that your application will not be considered complete or reviewed by the Admissions Committee without the required test scores!

GRE (Graduate Record Examination)

GRE scores must be submitted electronically by the testing service to the UCI Graduate Division and SOPHAS. To send an official GRE score report to UCI, please select institution code 4859. For SOPHAS, please use code 0617. GRE scores are not valid for more than five years.

TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System)

TOEFL or IELTS scores are required from all applicants from countries in which the official language is not English (please see http://www.grad.uci.edu/admissions/applying-to-uci/english-proficiency.html for exceptions to this policy). Scores must be submitted to SOPHAS and UCI. To send scores to SOPHAS, use code 5688 SOPHAS for TOEFL scores www.toefl.com or the code "SOPHAS" for IELTS scores www.ielts.org. To send scores to UCI, please use code 4859 to send official electronic TOEFL scores. IELTS scores may be submitted by asking the testing center to send electronic scores to UC Irvine. No institution code is required.

Letters of Recommendation

  • We require a minimum of three letters of recommendation to be submitted electronically to both the SOPHAS application and the UCI Graduate Division application.
  • The SOPHAS recommendation form has two components, a form with numerical ratings and a comments section. Recommendations without the written comments are considered incomplete by UC Irvine, and will not be sent forward for review by the department.
  • Graduate applications that do not include submitted letters of recommendation to both SOPHAS and the UCI Graduate Division will be considered incomplete by UC Irvine, and will not be sent forward for review by the department.
  • We do not accept hard-copy letters sent to our offices.

Essays -- Statement of Purpose And Personal History

  • You will need to upload your essays to both the SOPHAS application and the UC Irvine application. These must be identical statements that adhere to the word/character limits written below.
  • DO NOT upload your essays to only one application and indicate that we need to see the other application to find your essay. This will be considered incomplete.
  • Word Limits

    Statement of Purpose - 1200 words

    Personal History Statement - 4500 characters (about 750 words)
  • Guidelines

    Your Statement of Purpose should explain why you want to pursue graduate training and conduct research in public health at UC Irvine. You need not choose a specific advisor or research topic when applying, but be sure to identify the issues, questions, and/or experiences that motivate your interest in public health research. Please also review our faculty profiles and identify one or more professors with whom you might be interested in conducting research, which will help us identify a first-year faculty advisor.

    Personal History Statement - Your Personal History Statement gives you an opportunity to add some individuality and depth to the basic information contained in your Statement of Purpose. Please discuss how your personal background informs your decision to pursue a graduate degree; how you might contribute to social or cultural diversity within your chosen field; and/or how you might serve educationally underrepresented segments of society with your degree. You will enter this essay in the "Additional Questions" section of the SOPHAS application.

PLEASE NOTE

Due to the large volume of applications we receive, we cannot confirm receipt of UC Irvine Graduate applications. The department will not confirm the receipt of application materials or online applications to SOPHAS, as SOPHAS has a status page that you can access after your application is received. The completeness and timeliness of your applications is your responsibility, so check back often. Be sure to allow yourself enough time to turn in the applications by the deadline, remembering that unanticipated technical difficulties do sometimes occur. Incomplete applications will NOT be reviewed by the Admissions Committee.

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