Welcome to the School of Social Sciences

The School of Social Sciences at UC Irvine expands the frontiers of research and education on individual and social behaviors. From the philosophical foundation of science to the functioning of the human brain, from small group and organizational dynamics to markets, cultures, institutions and norms in global contexts, our faculty and students conduct research on the human dimensions of complex individual and social systems. By understanding the human world, we seek to improve it.

Research innovation for society
Research within the School of Social Sciences takes center stage as faculty and students explore local, international and global issues affecting individual and social behaviors. Taking a multi-disciplinary approach, the School has achieved research excellence in areas concerned with population, migration and diversity; national, international and global issues; culture and society; games, decisions and mathematical behavioral science; and cognitive and brain sciences. Several centers are organized around core social and analytic problems, such as democracy, globalization, immigration, population, peace and conflict, organizations, cognition and perception, and ethics. Others are organized around the methodological development of new tools for social research and policy, such as mathematical behavioral science, ethnography and demography.

Educating tomorrow’s leaders today
The School of Social Sciences’ nationally ranked degree programs are designed to prepare students with a thorough understanding of the human world. Graduating more students every year than any other school on campus, the School of Social Sciences is the largest academic unit on campus and is home to five of the ten largest majors at UCI. The School offers a variety of areas of study to allow students the opportunity to take a generalized or more focused approach to their education in the social sciences.

Creating a dynamic educational experience is of the utmost importance to the School. Accordingly, student resources such as the Undergraduate Advising Office, Academic Resource Center, and Graduate Studies Office exist to facilitate such an experience. Career centered school programs and activities provide students opportunities to network with professionals while learning more about potential career tracks within the social sciences realm.

Global problems demand a global vision
From violent conflict prevention research and education to focusing on early childhood development issues, the School of Social Sciences’ community outreach programs take a global approach to solving global community issues. Locally, our research centers provide professional public presentations by recognized political and social figures as well as public intellects and scholarly experts. At the national level, our Social Science scholarship contributes to public policy developments in issues of great relevance to California and the nation. On a global scale, our faculty and students spend many hours each year contributing their expertise to improvement of local, state, national and international communities and institutions.

We invite you to further explore our website to learn more about the exciting opportunities and activities happening within the School of Social Sciences.