Applying to UCI

English Language Proficiency Requirements for Admission

All graduate applicants are required to demonstrate English proficiency for admissions consideration.  Applicants are waived from 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). Please see WHED’s instructions on how to search for your institution. 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.  Approved tests and minimum scores are outlined in the next section.  

IMPORTANT NOTE: If a student will be supported as a Teaching Assistant (TA) by their program, please read the English proficiency requirement policy for Teaching Assistantships. Some programs require students who have not earned an undergraduate degree from an institution at which English was the sole language of instruction according to WHED to demonstrate English language proficiency to serve as a TA when they apply to the program. Please check with the program(s) to which you intend to apply for individual requirements.

TOEFL

The TOEFL is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS).

• Please select institution code 4859 to have your official score sent to UCI. No department code is needed.
• We only accept scores submitted electronically by ETS.
• Test results that are two years old or older are not acceptable.
• We do not accept MyBest scores; you must submit all individual test scores.
• Results of institutional (non-ETS) administrations of the TOEFL are not acceptable.
• We will accept the TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition test.  The same minimum score applies.
• We do NOT accept the TOEFL ITP Plus test for China or the TOEFL Essentials test.
• For more information, please visit their website at www.ets.org/toefl

TOEFL Score Requirements for Admission Consideration:

• An overall minimum score of 80 

IELTS

As an alternative to the TOEFL, you may submit scores from the Academic Modules of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

• We only accept scores submitted electronically by the IELTS test center. No paper Test Report Forms will be accepted.
• Test results that are two years old or older are not acceptable.
• We will accept the IELTS Indicator test.  The same minimum score applies.
• An institutional code is NOT required. Please contact the test center directly where you took the IELTS test and request that your test scores be sent electronically using the IELTS system. All IELTS test centers worldwide are able to send scores electronically to our institution. 
• For more information, please visit their website at www.ielts.org

IELTS Score Requirements for Admission Consideration:

• An overall minimum score of 7 for admission, with a score of no less than 6 on any individual module.

Remediation

If the head of a unit or appropriate delegate finds sufficient grounds to believe that any graduate student appointed as a Teaching Assistant or Teaching Associate does not have spoken English proficiency adequate for undergraduate instruction, they must require the student to undertake a remediation process, in consultation with the Program in Global Languages & Communication and approved by the student’s academic unit, prior to additional appointment as a Teaching Assistant or Teaching Associate. Such a determination should be made on the grounds of inadequate proficiency alone (as indicated in student evaluations, faculty observations, or the like). This remediation process will be required regardless of how the student was initially certified for oral English proficiency (that is, regardless of earning an undergraduate degree at an institution where English was the sole language of instruction or by achieving a passing score on one of the tests noted above).

Process for consulting with the Program in Global Languages and Communication regarding a remediation process for a Teaching Assistant or Teaching Associate: The graduate program requesting consultation regarding a remediation process for a Teaching Assistant or Teaching Associate who is believed to not have spoken English proficiency adequate for undergraduate instruction should email TOEP@uci.edu with the following information: (1) the student’s information (name, UCI ID number, email address), and (2) the contact information (email) of the delegate from the hiring department who is requesting the consultation and/or overseeing the remediation process for the student. The staff in the Program in Global Languages and Communication will then contact the student to set up an appointment during which the student will meet with an Academic Coordinator in the GLC Program who will review, discuss, and/or assess the student’s oral English proficiency. After meeting with the student, the GLC Program will provide a recommendation for a remediation plan to the delegate from the hiring department and the student’s home department/program.

You are required to have three letters of recommendation submitted on your behalf. The letters should be submitted by instructors in a discipline related to your proposed field of study who are in a position to analyze your abilities and academic promise.  

Access to Letters of Recommendation

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 gives students (persons admitted and enrolled), the right to inspect letters of recommendation written in support of applications for admission. The law also permits students to waive that right if they choose, although such a waiver must be voluntary and cannot be a condition of admission, award, or employment.

Waiving your right of access to the letters of recommendation is optional. However, the Admissions Committee cannot use letters of recommendation intended by the recommender to be confidential unless the applicant waives access by signing the Waiver of Access statement. The process for “waiving access” or “declining to waive access” is described below.

Online Submission

For the Applicant

Complete the Letter of Recommendation section on the online application. This will allow you to enter in your recommenders’ names and e-mail addresses. An automated e-mail invitation will be sent to each of your recommenders. It is strongly recommended that you waive or decline to waive your rights of access to your letters of recommendation. After you have completed and submitted your application, you may continue to manage and monitor the status of their submission by logging into your online application and viewing the status page. 

Please note that you can submit the application prior to all your letters of recommendations are received, but check with your program to verify the deadline of when all the letters need to be received.

The application will accept Interfolio.  If you need any support or have questions regarding Interfolio, please contact them directly at https://www.interfolio.com/contact/. 

We do not accept paper recommendation letters. Your recommenders must submit the letters via the recommendation form that is sent to them via email.

For the Recommender

Your student will provide your contact information on their application which will generate an automated e-mail inviting you to log in and complete a recommendation form. Please follow the steps on the form and submit your recommendation for their application. The form will support document uploads or you may copy and paste the text of your letter.  We do not accept paper recommendation letters.

For application review purposes only, scan and upload copies of transcripts for all institutions attended since 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.

Some programs require submission of additional materials; please contact your program of interest to determine if any additional materials are required.

Application deadlines differ by program, so please determine the deadline for your program by visiting your program of interest in the Degree Programs section of the website. You must supply a valid e-mail address that you will maintain at least 8 months after you apply. If you are admitted, you will be notified via this e-mail address.