Application and Admission

Serving prospective graduate applicants, current and returning students, and graduate programs, Graduate Admissions provides comprehensive support throughout the graduate application process. The office assists applicants in navigating the online application system and understanding general university admission requirements. The office also releases official decisions, and finalizes documentation by verifying that official academic records and test scores match the materials submitted during application review.

Graduate Admissions

University Office Building, Room 140 University of California, Riverside 900 University Avenue Riverside CA, 92521

• (951) 827-3313

grdadmis@ucr.edu; graduate.ucr.edu/admissions

Applicants should apply at grad.ucr.edu/apply.

The admission process has as its prime objective the selection of those students most likely to complete their chosen graduate programs with distinction. After consultation between the program and the Graduate Division, the final authority to admit rests with the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies.

Applicants are initially reviewed and rated based on their unofficial undergraduate and, where appropriate, postbaccalaureate GPAs. The minimum requirement for admission to graduate status is the bachelor’s degree or its academic equivalent from an accredited institution awarded prior to the quarter for which admission is sought.

Soon after the program forwards its recommendation to the Graduate Division, the applicant is notified of the dean’s decision via email. An offer of admission is valid for a specific quarter only. Admitted students wishing to postpone enrollment may submit a deferment request; deferment and entry term are subject to program approval. If approved, updated transcripts must be submitted for any coursework completed during the interim.

Students who accept an offer of admission must provide official transcripts with final grades and proof of degree (if not posted on the transcript). For students who accept an offer to start in the summer or fall terms, official records must be received by October 1 to prevent a registration hold on second-quarter However, the evaluation process is intended to be flexible, and programs take a variety of other factors into consideration when making their admissions recommendations, including GRE or other test scores, GPA in the major subject, letters of recommendation, program-specific requirements, and the reputation of the degree-granting program or institution previously or currently attended. enrollment (deadlines for winter and spring admits vary by term of entry).

Students who have completed coursework at any institution outside of the United States, including English-speaking international institutions, must submit an official WES iCAP Course-by-Course evaluation report sent directly from World Education Services.

The campus-wide standard deadline for all applicants seeking fellowship awards, teaching or research assistantships, and other merit-based support for fall quarter is January 5. However, individual graduate programs may establish earlier priority deadlines for funding consideration.

The campus-wide standard application deadlines for admission-only consideration of new domestic students are May 1 for summer quarter, June 1 to August 1 for fall quarter (deadlines vary by program, with August 1 as the final campus cutoff), November 1 for winter quarter, and February 1 for the spring quarter.

Applicants should consult their prospective program to confirm program-specific cutoffs. For general domestic, international, and continuing or returning student deadlines, visit graduate.ucr.edu/deadlines.

Please refer to the International Student Admissions section below for information about international student deadlines.

A nonrefundable application fee must be submitted at the time of application:

Domestic application fee (AB 540 and/or DACA status, US citizens, and US permanent residents):

$135 all programs (except Business Analytics, all M.B.A. [including Online and Professional], M.Fin., & M.P.Ac.)

$155 Business Analytics, all M.B.A. (including Online and Professional), M.Fin., & M.P.Ac.

International application fee (non-immigrant):

$155 all programs (except Business Analytics, all M.B.A. [including Online and Professional], M.Fin., & M.P.Ac.)

$180 Business Analytics, all M.B.A. (including Online and Professional), M.Fin., & M.P.Ac.

Applicants must submit:

• Academic Records and Degrees (Transcripts)

• Letters of Recommendation (Three (3) are required for most programs)

• Graduate Statement of Purpose

• GRE, GMAT or approved program alternative

• English Language Proficiency (all applicants)

• Program-Specific Requirements

Applicants may provide unofficial copies of transcripts and proof of any degree(s) awarded during the application review process. Transcripts must show grades for all coursework completed prior to the application submission date. If the institution's language of instruction is not exclusively English, applicants must provide certified English translations alongside the original-language documents.

Letters of recommendation assist the departmental committee in evaluating your qualifications, academic trajectory, and potential for success in graduate study. Strong recommendations come from faculty, research advisors, or supervisors who have directly observed your academic or professional capabilities. All recommendations must be submitted through the online portal; paper letters will not be reviewed. Graduate Degrees and Programs

Discipline M.A. M.S. M.F.A. Ph.D.

Art History • •

Accounting, Auditing and Assurance M.P.Ac.

Anthropology • • •

Astronomy • •

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology • •

Bioengineering • 2 •

Biomedical Sciences • •

Biophysics • •

Business Administration •

Business Analytics •

Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology • •

Chemical and Environmental Engineering • 2 •

Chemistry • •

Classics • 1 •

Comparative Literature • 1 •

Computational Data Science •

Computer Engineering • 2

Computer Science • 2 •

Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts •

Critical Dance Studies • 1 •

Earth and Planetary Sciences • •

Economics • •

Education • M.Ed. •

Electrical Engineering • 2 •

Engineering •

English • 1 •

Entomology • 2 •

Environmental Sciences • •

Environmental Toxicology • •

Ethnic Studies • •

Evolutionary Biology (w/SDSU) •

Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology • •

Experimental Choreography •

Finance M.Fin.

Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics • 1 •

History • •

Management (Including Online & Professional programs) • 1 M.B.A.

Materials Science and Engineering • •

Mathematics • • •

Mathematics, Applied •

Mechanical Engineering • 2 •

Medicine M.D.

Microbiology • 2 •

Music • •

Neuroscience • 1 •

Philosophy • •

Physics • • •

Plant Biology • •

Plant Pathology • • Graduate Degrees and Programs (Continued)

Discipline M.A. M.S. M.F.A. Ph.D.

Political Science • •

Psychology • 1 •

Public Health M.P.H.

Public Policy M.P.P. 2

Religious Studies • •

Robotics •

Sociology • 1 •

Southeast Asian Studies •

Spanish • •

Statistics • 2

Statistics, Applied •

Visual Art •

1 Applications are not accepted from students wishing to work toward the master’s degree only.

2 A combined 4+1 program is offered in this discipline (designed to lead to a bachelor’s

degree and master’s degree in five years.)

The Graduate Statement of Purpose gives the admissions committee a holistic view of your academic background, research interests, and future goals. It is essential for determining how well UCR’s faculty, resources, and community align with your scholarly and professional aspirations.

Consult with your program to determine if test scores (GRE General test, GMAT, or approved program alternative) are required or optional. Submitted GRE General test and GMAT test scores must be no older than 5 years old. Expiration rules for alternative exams vary by test. We will accept the in-person or at home versions of the GRE General test.

Applicants whose native language is not English, and who have not earned an undergraduate (bachelor's or first-degree equivalent) or advanced degree (master's or doctorate) from an institution where English is the exclusive language of instruction, must submit official passing scores from an approved English language proficiency exam (see acceptable exams and minimum scores below). Examinee score reports may be submitted for admission review; students who accept an offer of admission are required to report official scores. Both exams must be taken within two years prior to the intended quarter of enrollment at UCR.

We accept the following English language proficiency exams:

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), administered by the Educational Testing Service (ets.org). The minimum acceptable scores are: 80 out of 120 for the internet-based exam (iBT) taken before January 21, 2026, and 4.0 out of 6.0 for exams taken on or after January 21, 2026. We do not accept the TOEFL ITP+ or the TOEFL MyBest™ scores offered by ETS.

Applicants may submit scores from the Academic Module of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The minimum acceptable score is an overall bandscore of 7 with no score less than 6 on any individual component.

Program-specific requirements include, but are not limited to, custom application questions, samples of previous academic work, writing samples, statements about research experience, coursework completed, or foreign language competence, and portfolios of artistic or creative endeavors.

International students follow the same procedures and are governed by the same regulations as domestic applicants with the following exceptions:

International students who accept an admission offer will be required to provide a minimum verification of support (based on program) after accepting an offer of admission. The International Students and Scholars office will be unable to issue a Certificate of Eligibility (I-20 or DS-2019) without evidence of the student’s ability to pay all fees and expenses for the duration of the program of study.The campus-wide standard application deadlines for admission-only consideration of new international applicants are March 1 for summer quarter, June 1 for fall quarter, September 1 for winter quarter, and December 1 for the spring quarter.

Applicants should consult their prospective program to confirm program-specific cutoffs.

The International Students and Scholars office specializes in providing information and a broad range of services to international students and can be contacted at (951) 827-4113, internationalstudents@ucr.edu, or visit international.ucr.edu.

Additional information about these options can be found at graduate.ucr.edu/returning-continuing-students Add a Major: Currently enrolled UCR graduate students can request to add another major with the approval of the new program and their current program. This change is requested via the online application system.

Change of Major: Currently enrolled UCR graduate students can request to change their major with approval of the new program. This change is requested via the online application system.

Change of Degree Objective (PhD to Master's): Currently enrolled UCR graduate students can request to change their degree objective from PhD to master's within the same major via a petition in R'Grad.

Change of Degree Objective (Master's to PhD): Currently enrolled UCR graduate students can request to change their degree objective from Master's to PhD within the same major via the online application system.

Readmission: Students who have inactive graduate student status or are not identified as ready to enroll, must reapply to the University to continue their degree programs, or apply to a new graduate degree program, for readmission consideration. They should follow the same process as new students to apply for readmission. The Graduate Division will retain a student’s file for five years. Students applying for readmission within that five year period will not have to provide the University with new transcripts if they have not enrolled elsewhere but will need to provide a new statement of purpose and one letter of recommendation. Students who have been gone over five years must order transcripts from all former institutions attended.

Prospective applicants to teaching credential programs should contact the UCR School of Education Teacher Education Program, education.ucr. edu for admission information and application materials or see School of Education later in this catalog.