Your graduate journey
A Message from Dean Tyrus Miller
I am delighted you are considering one of UCI School of Humanities’ renowned graduate programs! The expertise in research and teaching you will gain through intensive work with our faculty and your graduate peers can be the keystone of a lifetime of meaningful work in the humanities.
I know what an important decision lies ahead of you. I encourage you to inform yourself about our programs and consult with us about your scholarly and professional goals for your graduate study.
The School of Humanities fosters vibrant interdisciplinary conversations and exploration through a rich variety of research centers, initiatives, and events, which you are invited to participate in and even help to plan and organize. Please be sure to explore not only the website of your chosen graduate program, but also the full School of Humanities website for opportunities that our broad community of scholars can offer during your graduate study.
You are the future of humanities scholarship. I hope you start that bright future here as a graduate student at UCI!
Tyrus Miller
Dean, School of Humanities
Professor of English and Art History
All admitted Ph.D. applicants will receive five-years of guaranteed financial support from the School of Humanities, which will consist of a combination of fellowship, TAship, and research assistantship support. All admitted M.F.A. applicants will also receive a funding package from the School of Humanities, which will provide three years of teaching assistant positions.
In addition to the school funding package, departments and programs will nominate eligible applicants for UCI graduate recruitment fellowships. If such additional funds are awarded, the applicant will be notified by the program and UCI Graduate Division.
Your graduate degree is your passport to exciting new fields of study and partnerships with our world-renowned faculty scholars.
Comparative Literature, Ph.D.
Culture & Theory Ph.D.
East Asian Studies Ph.D.
English M.E., M.F.A., & Ph.D.
European Thought & Culture M.A.
Film & Media Studies Ph.D.
History M.A. & Ph.D.
Philosophy Ph.D.
Spanish Ph.D.
Visual Studies Ph.D.
You are empowered to embark on several paths of interdisciplinary study via graduate emphases to be taken concurrently with any degree program.
Asian American Studies
Ancient Iran and the Premodern Persianate World
Critical Theory
Feminist Studies
Film & Media Studies
Latin American Studies
Medical Humanities
Persian/ Iranian Studies
Visual Studies
M.A. Art History
M.A. Asian American Studies
UCI is located in the heart of beautiful Orange County, nestled between Los Angeles and San Diego counties and just five miles from SoCal’s sunny shores. But what’s more important is that UCI, as a community itself, fosters a vibrant, diverse and inclusive environment. A sampling of our ongoing commitment to inclusive excellence:
UCI is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI).
The UC-wide First-Gen Initiative was launched at UCI and then adopted by the broader UC community.
The UCI School of Humanities provides a range of opportunities to study, and engage with, a diversity of cultures and languages. With multiple inter-school centers focused on ethnic and international identities, instruction in 14 languages, and academic paths in area and ethnic studies, as well as gender and sexuality studies, we are the school on campus from which to study diversity and practice inclusion.
UCI is ranked #1 by The New York Times’ College Access Index of U.S. universities based on their commitment to economic diversity.
Many of our students participate in the Competitive Edge program, an eight-week initiative designed to help incoming Ph.D. students underrepresented in their fields acclimate to the campus, access resources, and conduct research with faculty and peer mentors.
UCI offers comprehensive housing options for all graduate students, including family housing and childcare programs and services. UCI guarantees an offer of on-campus housing to all incoming, full-time Ph.D. and M.F.A. students who are admitted prior to the housing
Points of Pride
Top graduate rankings
#2 Literary criticism and theory by U.S. News & World Report
#21 Epistemology by Philosophical Gourmet
#20 English by U.S. News & World Report (tie)
#30 History by U.S. News & World Report (tie)
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Faculty distinctions
Pulitzer-Prize-winning professors:
John R Miles (emeritus), English, 1996
Barry Siegel, English, 2002
Hector Tobar, English, 1992
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National Humanities Medal recipient: Vicki Ruiz (emerita), History, 2015
American Academy of Arts & Sciences members:
Margaret Gilbert, Philosophy, 2016
Vicki Ruiz (emerita), History, 2012
Ngugi wa Thiong’o, English & Comparative Literature, 2014
Learn with trailblazing faculty mentors. Your future mentors have launched new fields of scholarship, written awardwinning publications, forged innovative cross-disciplinary partnerships and more. Most importantly, they care about your success.
Benefit from a one-stop career and professionalization hub. Humanities Commons—a dedicated physical space and professional network run by Humanities faculty and staff—is your personalized research, career preparation and networking hub. Humanities Commons provides valuable services for graduate students, including grant and fellowship advising, paid internship opportunities, professionalization workshops, publishing guidance and more.
Experience and take part in exciting interdisciplinary initiatives. Humanities faculty lead several inter-campus initiatives that will broaden your perspective and delight your senses, including Illuminations, the Chancellor’s Arts & Culture Initiative; the Latin American Film Festival; Viet Stories: Vietnamese Oral History Project; Forum for the Academy and the Public; and more. These initiatives bring some of the world’s most renowned authors, thinkers, creatives and activists to campus, including Viet Thanh Nguyen, Edward Snowden (via Google Hangout), Ted Chiang, Colson Whitehead and Lalo Alcarez. Join a distinguished family of alumni. Join thousands of Humanities alumni who have gone on to land tenure-track teaching positions, author bestselling novels, found businesses, lead creative initiatives, direct films and more. Graduate-student alumni have landed tenure-track teaching positions at Cornell University, Duke University, New York University, Yale University, as well as several California State Universities and University of California institutions. Many of our alumni have gone on to pursue careers outside of academia in publishing, museum curating, software engineering, consulting and more. Discover in the Humanities laboratory. The UCI Libraries is an invaluable partner with our students, providing access to the Critical Theory Archive, the Orange County & Southeast Asian Archive, Shakespeare’s First Folio and more, as well as dedicated humanities-research librarians.
Your research-funding partner
We have a strong track record of helping our talented students secure recognition for their scholarly achievements. Through our network and support, students have been successful in securing significant external fellowships, including:
Academy of Korean Studies Fellowship Program
American Association of University Women (AAUW) Dissertation Completion Fellowship
American Philosophical Society (APS) John Hope Franklin Dissertation Fellowship
Ford Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellowship
Fulbright Student Program Award
Fulbright Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Award
Mellon/American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Dissertation Completion Fellowship
Social Science Research Council Dissertation Award
Luce/ACLS Dissertation Fellowships in American Art
Japan Foundation Dissertation Fellowships
DAAD German Academic Exchange Service Research Fellowships
In addition, the School of Humanities and UC Irvine offer more than 50 privately funded fellowships and awards designated to support graduate students.
At the UCI Humanities, interdisciplinary study within the School of Humanities and across campus is our focus. More than 10 centers housed within the School become your laboratory for interdisciplinary research, collaboration and networking.
A sampling of our centers:
Asian Studies
Critical Korean Studies
Critical Theory
Early Cultures
Forum for the Academy and the Public
Jewish Studies
Latin American Studies
Medical Humanities
Samuel M Jordan Center for Persian Studies
Shakespeare
"Being a part of the School of Humanities has given me access to cross-campus partnerships with the sciences, paid internship opportunities, and the ability to be a part of important conversations and initiatives outside of my discipline."
-Danilo
Caputo, Ph.D. candidate in English and Shakespeare scholar
Learn more about Danilo: https://bit ly/SustainableShakespeare
The applications/admissions cycle occurs only once a year for Fall Quarter admission only.
Supplemental application materials and application deadlines vary by program. Be sure to check individual program websites for specific details.
The following materials are required for all applicants:
Online application
Official TOEFL or IELTS scores (if applicable)
Unofficial transcripts of all post-secondary work
Letters of recommendation
