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Grad Only All UCI

WHY UCI?

Outstanding Faculty

Each of our academic schools have internationally known and outstanding faculty members. From Irvine's scientific laboratories to its theatrical stages, graduate students engage in one-on-one, mentor-mentee relationships with these exceptional academicians. Our faculty are well represented among the nation's premier academic societies including, but not limited to, the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, and the National Academy of Sciences and Engineering.

In 1995, Professors Frederick Reines and F. Sherwood Rowland were awarded coveted Nobel Prizes, respectively in physics and chemistry. These awards made UCI the first public university to have faculty win Noble Prizes in two separate fields in the same year.

Major Headlines acknowledging faculty accomplishments in their respective fields are a regular phenomenon.

In addition, our graduate students are annual recipients of many national fellowship competitions such as Fulbright, National Science Foundation, Mellon, Javits and Truman Fellowships. The Graduate Quarterly, UCI's graduate division newsletter, publishes a list of recent graduate scholarship awards, prestigious appointments, conference presentations and published works.

Dynamic Curriculum

UCI's curriculum combines the highest standards for academic endeavor with a pervasive philosophy of innovation. The American Graduate Schools 2000, published by U.S. News and World Report, ranked certain UCI graduate programs among the top 25 in the nation. Recognized programs included the School of Humanities creative writing program (ranked 6th); School of Physical Sciences organic chemistry (ranked 9th), the Claire Trevor School of the Arts drama and theater program (ranked 12th), and the School of the Humanities English program (ranked 16th).

The Paul Merage School of Business

Recently ranked 1st by Financial Times, 5th among Techno-MBA Programs by ComputerWorld, and 10th by U.S. News & World Report, the Paul Merage School of Business has a reputation of top-tier distinction. The Paul Merage School of Business is also among the first business schools to establish an integrated focus on Information Technology for Management (1996). This cross-disciplinary focus allows students to gain a thorough understanding of how the interplay of information and technology is changing the way business is done. Graduates are able to build business values, whether they are launching a company or breaking new ground in an existing firm. As well, students have access to Catalyst, a web-based intranet site that gives faculty and students a forum in which to continue their discussions outside the classroom. This initiative has been named one of the top 50 intranet sites in the nation by CIO magazine.

The School of Biological Sciences

The School of Biological Sciences' areas of emphasis include studies in learning and memory, developmental biology, cell signaling, cancer genetics, virology, molecular evolution, cell and tissue regeneration, infectious diseases, immunology, macromolecular structure, degenerative diseases of the nervous system, aging, physiology and ecology. This school boasts the only research institute in the world dedicated exclusively to the multidisciplinary investigation of the basic brain mechanisms responsible for learning and memory at its Center for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory.

Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Science

Recently listed among the top ten of the nation's univerisites for getting an education in information technology, the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Science has attained considerable distinction in its thirty year existence. The faculty of ICS are active participants in international academic research and have proven vital in the development of industry business in the UCI region. ICS is presently exploring a variety of research areas including computer science theory, embedded computer systems, artificial intelligence, networks and distributed systems, databases, graphics, computer systems design, software engineering, human-computer interaction, and computer-supported cooperative work. ICS is unique in its multi-disciplinary approach to the study of computer science. It is the only program at any UC Campus that is autonomous; i.e., separate from an Engineering school owing to its diversity of subject matter and research.

The Henry Samueli School of Engineering

UCI's Henry Samueli School of Engineering is currently providing technological leadership in the genesis of the fuel cell industry, exploring spray and droplet technology, and developing core resources in biophotonics, robotics, computation sciences and nanoscale systems.

School of Physical Sciences

The School of Physical Sciences offers course work and research leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in the Departments of Chemistry, Earth System Science, Mathematics, and Physics and Astronomy. Over the course of the past century and a half, physics, chemistry, and mathematics have evolved into interdependent but separate intellectual disciplines. This development is reflected in the departmental structure of UCI's School of Physical Sciences. In the same period, these fundamental disciplines have moved into domains of abstraction unimagined by early scientists. This trend to abstraction with its concomitant increase in understanding of the physical universe provides the major challenge to the graduate student of the physical sciences. Mathematics, physics, and chemistry, while providing the foundation of the technology that dominates contemporary civilization, underlie to an ever-increasing extent the new developments in the biological and social sciences. Earth system science is grounded in the traditional physical sciences while breaking new paths in the quantitative study of changes in the global environment. The faculty and research efforts of the school are internationally recognized. In 1995, Professors Frederick Reines and F. Sherwood Rowland were awarded Nobel Prizes for their research, respectively in physics and chemistry. These awards make UCI the first public university to have faculty win Noble Prizes in two separate fields in the same year.

Department of Education

The UCI Department of Education, in cooperation with UCLA offers a doctoral degree program in educational leadership. The program, leading to this Ed.D. degree prepares outstanding educational leaders who are able to articulate and accomplish important improvements in educational practice while attending to the complex demographic, social, and economic challenges faced by K-12 education. The program emphasizes a range of social and behavioral science frameworks and research methodologies and has a strong focus on using theory, research, and reflective practice to select, orchestrate, and implement useful and effective educational reforms.

Also offered is a Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) that integrates either of two UCI teacher credential programs with an advanced degree program in a 15-month sequence of full-time study and student teaching. The M.A.T. program at UCI places special emphasis on the preparation of new teachers for leadership, and provides them with the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to be successful in California's schools serving culturally and linguistically diverse student populations. The Cross Cultural Language and Academic Development (CLAD) Emphasis is embedded in both credential programs. Graduate fellowships are available for students who meet requirements and commit, upon graduation from the program, to teach for four years in schools with large populations of students from low-income families or in a low performing school (bottom half of the Academic Performance Index).

The School of Social Science

The School of Social Science is well known for its Virtual Reality Laboratory which is pursuing scientific research on human behavior in virtual environments. The school also houses the unique Center for the Study of Democracy. In 1995, the National Science Foundation selected UCI to establish a Graduate Research Traineeship on Democratization & Democratic Politics. Other funded research projects in the Social Sciences are exploring such diverse issues as globalization and human rights, new cultures in finance, naturalization and immigrant issues, and income dynamics in China.

The School of Social Ecology

The School of Social Ecology serves as a perfect illustration of the campus' progressive nature. The School has attracted both national and international attention for its first of a kind multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary programs. Its programs are directed to improving the way groups of individuals, institutions and communities function. Current research initiatives are examining urban water resources, human adaptation, community and environmental health psychology, gangs and violent crimes, and civic governance.

The Claire Trevor School of the Arts

Our university courts the leading edge of creativity and industry in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts through the addition of its newest facility; the Beall Center for Art and Technology. Students are offered the opportunity to study the relationships between culture, communication, science and industry, as well as exhibit their work in this state of the art venue. UCI is also proud to present its ArtsBridge initiative that seeks to address to growing need for arts education presently in decline in elementary and high school programs. ArtsBridge aims to provide, on a local level in Orange County, classes, workshops, performances and other interactive arts experiences to students from kindergarten to the 12th grade.

The School of the Humanities

With the facilities available to the School of Humanities, UCI has become a leader in critical theory, and serves as a Humanities Research Institute for the UC system's campuses. In addition, it also boasts the Thesaurus Lingae Graecae Research Institute, a comprehensive digital library of Greek literature; and the Humanities Center.

School of Medicine

The University of California at-large, one of the world's largest and most prestigious centers of higher education, is home to five distinguished medical colleges. Among them is UCI's School of Medicine. In addition to the Medical Doctorate (M.D.), the College offers graduate programs of study leading to the Ph.D. degree in both Pharmacology and Environmental Toxicology. The medical school also offers a prestigious Medical Scientist program leading to both the M.D. and Ph.D. degrees

Alumni Accomplishments

The quality of our faculty is reflected in the success of our graduate student alumni. The Pulitzer Prize has been awarded to these graduates of UC Irvine's Program in Creative Writing.

Richard Ford (MFA '70) for fiction
Yusef Komunyakaa (MFA '80) for poetry
Michael Chabon's (MFA '87) Wonder Boys
Whitney Otto's (MFA '90) How to Make an American Quilt