AT A GLANCE
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!
#1
university doing the most for the American dream,
The New York Times
College Access Index
#1
university for beach lovers,
Money Magazine
#1
best value public university,
Forbes
#2
in the nation for diversity,
The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education 2021 College Rankings
#2
“coolest school” for sustainability,
Sierra Magazine
#7
university for social mobility,
U.S. News & World Report
#8
best college for transfer students,
Money Magazine
#8
best public university in the U.S.,
U.S. News & World Report
#9
best college in the nation,
Money Magazine
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 more than 60,000 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 176 distinguished faculty and 79 lecturers are 16 academy members - 10 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 6 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.
Assisting in the organizational efforts that keep the school on its successful trajectory are 76 staff members whose years of service range from a few months to more than 30 years, averaging into 11.6 years spent within the UC system.
noteworthy faculty (2023)
23 distinguished professors
16 academy members
8 aaas fellows
6 endowed chairs
6 chancellor's professors
2 national medalists
research excellence (2021-22)
$5.95 million
extramural research funding received
experienced staff (2022)
11.6 years
average years of staff service in UC system
undergraduate and graduate degree programs
anthropology
(B.A., M.A., Ph.D.)
business economics
(B.A.)
chicano/latino studies
(B.A.)
cognitive sciences
(B.S., M.S., Ph.D.)
demographic & social
analysis (M.A.)
economics
(B.A., M.A., Ph.D.)
global studies
(M.A., Ph.D.)
international studies
(B.A.)
language science
(B.A., M.A., Ph.D.)
logic & philosophy
of science (M.A., Ph.D.)
political science
(B.A., M.A., Ph.D.)
psychology
(B.A., B.S.)
public policy
(M.P.P.)
quantitative economics
(B.A.)
sociology
(B.A., M.A., Ph.D.)
statistics/cognitive sciences
(M.S., 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 all subfields within logic & philosophy
of science in the top 20 with the following subfields in the top 3:
#1
Decision Theory, Game Theory, Rational Choice & Formal Epistemology
#2
General Philosophy
#3
Philosophy of Physics
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
dean's
ambassadors council
deconstructing
diversity initiative
diversity, inclusion
& racial healing
first-generation,
first quarter
mock trial
summer academic
enrichment program
student enrollment (2012-2022)
a closer look at uci soc sci's incoming undergraduate class (2022)
639
uci soc sci first-years
642
transfers
37%
first-generation
30%
underrepresented minority students
UCI received over 142,000 applications for fall 2022, setting a new record and continuing to solidify its position as one of the most desired schools in the country. A total of 119,165 aspiring freshmen applied for fall admittance to UCI, an increase of more than 11,000 from the previous year. Another 22,843 applications came from transfer students, the second-highest number among the nine UC undergraduate campuses.
Additionally, UCI was – for the fourth consecutive year – the top UC choice for in-state, first-generation students, with 45 percent of its California-resident applications coming from those who will be the first in their families to attend college. Further, for the second year in a row, the Irvine campus was No. 2 in the UC system for in-state applications from both underrepresented minorities and low-income families.
2022 student enrollment
5,934
undergrad
17
master's
450
ph.d.
total soc sci alumni (2022)
60,000+
*includes living degreed and non-degreed social sciences alumni through June 2022 – official number to be updated after June 2022 graduates are certified*
25%
of UCI's class of '22 are
social sciences alumni
zot! zot! zot!
American Academy of Arts & Sciences
David Easton, 1962†
R. Duncan Luce, 1966†
Harry Eckstein, 1970†
Jack Peltason, 1981†
George Sperling, 1992
David Malament, 1992
A. Kimball Romney, 1994
Brian Skyrms, 1994
Penelope Maddy, 1998
Bernard Grofman, 2001
Donald Saari, 2004
Vicki Ruiz, 2012
Ruben Rumbaut, 2015
Jeff Barrett, 2022
National Academy of Sciences
R. Duncan Luce, 1972†
George Sperling, 1985
A. Kimball Romney, 1995
Brian Skyrms, 1999
Donald Saari, 2001
Barbara Dosher, 2011
National Academy of Education
Ruben Rumbaut, 2013
National Medal of Science
Duncan Luce, 2003†
National Humanities Medal
Vicki Ruiz, 2014
American Association for
the Advancement of Science
Donald Saari, 2000
Brian Skyrms, 2004
Tom Boellstorff, 2016
Bill Maurer, 2016
Carter Butts, 2018
Leo Chavez, 2018
David Neumark, 2019
Gregory Hickok, 2023
UCI Endowed Chairs
Bernard Grofman, 2018
Professor of Political Science, Jack Peltason Chair
Etel Solingen, 2013
Thomas T. and Elizabeth C. Tierney Chair in Global Peace and Conflict Studies
Stergios Skaperdas, 2013
Thomas T. and Elizabeth C. Tierney Chair in Global Peace and Conflict Studies
Zygmunt Pizlo, 2018
Falmagne Endowed Chair in Mathematical Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
Jeffrey Rouder, 2018
Falmagne Endowed Chair in Mathematical Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
Anneeth Hundle, 2019
Presidential Chair in Social Sciences to Advance Sikh Studies
Distinguished Professors
Harry Eckstein, 1980†
David Easton, 1982†
R. Duncan Luce, 1988†
Kim Romney
George Sperling, 1992
Brian Skyrms, 1997 (Philosophy) | 1999 (LPS)
David Malament, 1999
Donald Saari, 2000
Penelope Maddy, 2007
David Snow, 2011
Barbara Dosher, 2012
Vicki Ruiz, 2013
Frank D. Bean, 2015
Ruben Rumbaut, 2015
Jan Brueckner, 2018
Leo Chavez, 2018
David Theo Goldberg, 2018
Bernard Grofman, 2018
George Marcus, 2018
Kristen Monroe, 2018
David Neumark, 2018
Etel Solingen, 2018
Judith Treas, 2018
Edward Telles, 2020
Feng Wang, 2022
Gregory Hickok, 2022
Chancellor's Professors
Nina Bandelj
Jeffrey Barrett
Carter Butts
Simon Huttegger
Francesca Polletta
Charles Ragin
† deceased