AT A GLANCE
 

students at a beach bonefire

A QUICK LOOK AT UCI'S RECENT RANKINGS ON A NUMBER OF SCALES PROVIDES EVIDENCE OF WHAT MANY OF US ALREADY KNOW TO BE TRUE - UCI IS ABSOLUTELY ON FIRE AND IS THE PLACE TO BE!

 


 

 

 

 

 

 


 

And as the largest academic unit on the Irvine campus, the School of Social Sciences plays a major role in driving the university’s success. Led by a standout faculty and superb staff, the school supports more than 6,000 Anteaters in highly ranked undergraduate and graduate degree programs. With more than 25% of all UCI graduates leaving campus with a degree from the social sciences, our alumni - numbering 60,478 Anteaters strong - take their world-class education across the globe as they make their mark in courtrooms, boardrooms, classrooms, and entrepreneurial endeavors.

Learn more within the following facts about everything the School of Social Sciences encompasses. And if you find yourself wanting to take a deeper dive into what makes us great, reach out. We’d love to connect!

 


 

soc sci by the numbers (2022-23)
 

 

16

 

 

RESEARCH INSTITUTES
& FACILITIES

 

 

9

 

 

TOP-RANKED
DEPARTMENTS

 

 

13

 

 

UNDERGRADUATE
DEGREE PROGRAMS

 

 

12

 

 

MASTER'S & Ph.D. PROGRAMS

 

 


 

The UCI School of Social Sciences faculty and staff are committed to providing the highest quality research and educational experience. Among the school’s 182 distinguished faculty and 79 lecturers are 17 academy members - 11 fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 5 members of the National Academy of Sciences, and 1 member of the National Academy of Education - 8 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 23 UCI Distinguished Professors, 6 UCI Chancellor’s Professors, and 5 UCI Endowed Chairs. Since the school’s founding, there have been 2 National Medal recipients among the faculty.

Diversity is paramount to the School of Social Sciences’ success.

Social sciences is proud to highlight its efforts to recruit and retain female and underrepresented minority faculty. Among our new incoming faculty for fall 2023, 50% identify as female and 64% as underrepresented minority professors.

Assisting in the organizational efforts that keep the school on its successful trajectory are 73 staff members whose years of service range from a few months to more than 33 years, averaging into 12.1 years spent within the UC system.

 


 

 

noteworthy faculty (2023)
 

23  distinguished professors

17  academy members

8  aaas fellows

6  chancellor's professors

5  endowed chairs

2  national medalists

 

 


 

 

research excellence (2022-23)

$9.4 million

extramural research funding received

experienced staff (2023)

12.1 years

average years of staff service in UC system

 


 

 

undergraduate and graduate degree programs

 

anthropology

anthropology
(B.A., M.A., Ph.D.)

cognitive sciences

cognitive sciences
(B.S., M.S., Ph.D.)

economcis

economics
(B.A., M.A., Ph.D.)

global studies

global studies
(M.A., Ph.D.)

language science

language science
(B.A., M.A., Ph.D.)

political science

political science
(B.A., M.A., Ph.D.)

psychology

psychology
(B.A., B.S.)

public policy

public policy
(M.P.P.)

sociology

sociology
(B.A., M.A., Ph.D.)

 

 


 

 

gradute program rankings
 

#08

 

anthropology
National Research Council

#14

 

cognitive sciences
U.S. News & World Report

#17

 

economics
U.S. News & World Report

#01

 

logic & philosophy of science
Philosophical Gourmet Report

#21

 

political science
U.S. News & World Report

#09

 

sociology
U.S. News & World Report

NEW FALL 2020

 

global studies
 

NEW FALL 2020

 

language science
 

 
Social sciences graduate programs are highly ranked. Of the school’s U.S. News & World Report ranked programs, all four earned top 25 spots among public U.S. universities and top 50 rankings overall:

  • Economics, 17th among public universities, 38th overall
  • Political science, 21st among public universities, 41st overall
  • Psychology, 14th among public universities, 30th overall
  • Sociology, 9th among public universities, 20th overall

The National Research Council and Center for a Public Anthropology ranked anthropology 8th, and the Philosophical Gourmet Report ranked six subfields within logic & philosophy of science in the top 3:
 

 
New among the school’s graduate programs: Ph.D. programs in global studies and in language science.

 


 

 

outstanding students

Students are the lifeblood of the university and nowhere on campus is that more true than in social sciences. The school houses 6 of the campus’s top 25 most popular undergraduate majors - business economics, political science, psychology, sociology, economics, and international studies - and hosts award-winning programs including the Dean’s Ambassadors Council, Mock Trial, the Summer Academic Enrichment Program, the Diversity, Inclusion, and Racial Healing Ambassador Program, the Deconstructing Diversity Initiative, and the First Gen, First Quarter Challenge. With help from the Dean’s Leadership Society and Alumni Network, the school also supports outstanding students in UCDC and the Summer Undergraduate Research Program.

Graduate students in social sciences have an excellent track record of publishing in their fields’ top journal and securing external research funding from prestigious organizations ranging from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health to the Russell Sage, Wenner-Gren, and Ford Foundations.

Social sciences Ph.D. recipients are widely sought by universities, government organizations, and large corporations including Harvard, London School of Economics, Michigan, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Princeton, Rutgers, UCLA, University of Wisconsin, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Mind Research Network, Amazon, and Google, to name a few.
 

 


 

 

school-sponsored student programs
 

 


 

 

a closer look at uci soc sci's incoming undergraduate class (2023)
 

904

 

uci soc sci first-years

586

 

transfers

44%

 

first-generation

36%

 

underrepresented minority students

 

For the third year in a row, UCI set a record as more than 143,000 students applied for 2023 admission. A total of 121,074 aspiring first-year students applied for fall, an increase of more than 2,000 from last year.
 
Another 22,087 applications came from transfer students, the second-highest number among the nine UC undergraduate campuses. For the fifth consecutive year, UCI was the top UC choice for first-generation, in-state students, with 45% of its California-resident applications coming from those who will be the first in their families to attend college. And, for the third year in a row, the Irvine campus was #2 in the UC system for in-state applications from underrepresented minorities (37,192) and #1 for low-income families, with 48% of applicants identifying as low-income.

 


 

 

total soc sci alumni (2023)

62,756

 

*includes living degreed and non-degreed social sciences alumni through June 2023 commencement - number updated annually following certification of June graduates

 

 

27%

 

of UCI's class of '23 are
social sciences alumni
zot! zot! zot!

 


 

 

anteater surfer

 

* deceased

 

© UC Irvine School of Social Sciences - 3151 Social Sciences Plaza, Irvine, CA 92697-5100 - 949.824.2766