Bill Maurer outside Social Science Tower
  • September 28, 2026

  • A fall message from Bill Maurer, UCI social sciences dean

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I'm thrilled to welcome everyone back for an amazing year in the UC Irvine School of Social Sciences. And to our new, incoming Anteaters: Welcome home - we're excited you're here!

Among this year's entering class of social scientists are 1,497 undergraduate first-years and transfers and 54 new Ph.D. and master's students who've come from universities around the globe to study alongside our world-class faculty. Altogether, our student body includes more than 5,500 Anteaters across our school's two dozen top-ranked undergraduate and graduate degree programs, and we're looking forward to an incredibly inspiring and productive year.

Speaking of rankings: U.S. News & World Report just released its 2027 list of Best Colleges, and for the 12th year running, UCI landed among the top 10 public universities in the country, placing eighth - our highest public-university ranking in over a decade. And, included in this year's evaluation cycle, undergraduate programs in economics and psychology ranked among the nation's top 15 at public universities with psychology tied for 6th among public universities and 12th overall, and economics tied for 11th among publics and 31st overall. These placements, alongside recent graduate rankings which saw all of our established programs in the top 25, prove what those of us here already know: UCI social sciences is the premier place for students seeking a top-notch education.

Throughout social sciences, we continue to boldly transform societies, economies and human well-being for the better through innovative research, award-winning teaching and engaged service. This past year offered countless examples of that effort and the passion, purpose and collective commitment that drive our Anteater community.

Our faculty came together to share what's at stake as federal grant terminations halt vital social science work. And despite a continually shifting and uncertain landscape, our researchers rallied to secure funding for work ranging from efforts to improve AI decision making and bridge the human-AI communication gap to studies examining schools' involvement in parenting, how children learn language, and the causes of individual events.

Our social sciences Anteater community answered our call to help ensure that ongoing disruptions in federal funding don't derail our graduate students' Ph.D. progress. With support from our incredible 64,000+ alumni community and friends, alongside four of our centers and our wonderful Dean's Leadership Society, we were able to launch and award eight inaugural Dean's Leadership Society Doctoral Dissertation Research Support Fellowships for the coming year for projects as diverse as family dynamics, memory and war, representing the breadth and depth of social sciences research, and the very best and brightest among our graduate student researchers.

Our undergraduates engaged in equally important work, contributing to honors research in our many labs and active projects, and as dynamic participants in our school's academic and outreach programs from LeadHER and UC PRIME Pre-Health Pathways to the Summer Program in Research & Leadership, Social Sciences Academic Resource Center and others.

Our social scientists continued to publish prolifically in top-tier publications and numerous books spanning findings from culture's role in health to long-term impacts of California's "Mansion Tax" and everything in between. Important works tackled topics in language, parenting, immigration, political fundraising, the foster system, Indigenous histories, archaeological finds, and more. In recognition of research and academic excellence, four social scientists were elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences this past year. With their inductions, eight of our nine departments now boast members of prestigious National and American academies and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

And our faculty and graduate students ensured their important work extended beyond the confines of campus and academic journals by sharing their expertise on critical, trending topics through more than 400 media appearances across print, digital, TV, radio, podcasts and other outlets including The New York Times, OC Register, LA Times, MSN, Psychology Today, NPR, Associated Press, Sky News and CBS News, to name a few.

That's really what's so important about the bold work done in social sciences: it impacts the world around us, improving the ways we live, work and connect. And we remain committed to sharing it through insightful scholarship, longstanding community partnerships and engaging events you can find throughout the year on our online calendar.

As we embark on a new year full of opportunities, we will of course encounter challenges. I am heartened by the collective power of our incredible community - our students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends - who make me proud every day to be an Anteater, and I invite you all to continue joining us in our boundaryless pursuit of positive change.

Zot, zot, zot!
Bill Maurer, Dean

 

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