How to Apply to Art at UC Irvine: The Claire Trevor School of the Arts B.A. in Art Requires 10 Images or up to 5 Minutes of Video plus a One-Page Artist Statement, Fall Entry Only, with Portfolio Requirements and Timeline for Chinese and Canadian High School Students and Transfer Students

At the University of California, Irvine (UCI), undergraduate art is taught in the Department of Art at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts. The degree is the B.A. in Art, and there is also an art minor. UCI uses the University of California (UC) application, and all majors in the School of the Arts admit for fall only. This guide sets out what UCI publishes for fall 2027 entry for students at high schools in China, students at Canadian high schools (including British Columbia and Vancouver) and transfer students.

1. The degree and courses

• Degree: the department’s only undergraduate major is the B.A. in Art, with an art minor. The department page lists no undergraduate design degree.
• Studio range: drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, digital imaging, video, performance art and new media, with visiting artists, theorists and curators.
• Major requirements (department page): Art 1A-B-C in the first year in residence; Art 9A and 11A; one art history course (40A–42F); one course each from Art 20–39, 40–70 or 95–99, and 71–94, plus one more from those ranges; six upper-division courses from Art 100–115 and 130–195; and two from Art 116–129 or any Art 100 with “Issues” in its title.
• Honors: juniors (or seniors staying an extra year) can apply for Honors in Art with a year in good standing in the major, a 3.2 overall GPA and 3.4 in art courses, up to 10 work samples and a statement of up to 250 words on research and career goals.
• Changing in: current UCI students can apply to the major after two lower-division studio courses with a B or higher.

2. Portfolio requirements

• Required: all applicants to the Art major, first-year and transfer, submit a portfolio and a one-page artist statement.
• Content: 10 images, or up to three videos totalling no more than 5 minutes, or a mix, plus a one-page artist statement.
• Format: one image or one video per slide; no slides with multiple images, text descriptions or labels, and no graphic design templates with text. Descriptions are entered separately in the submission process.
• Review: art faculty with expertise in each media area review portfolios. You select the media in your portfolio (painting, drawing, sculpture, photography & printmaking, new media or video) and the media you may want to study; faculty do not expect you to have studied every medium. Criteria are creativity and inventiveness, formal and technical skills, conceptual aptitude and thematic cohesion.
• How to submit: UCI Admissions emails all Art applicants in early December with instructions.
• Deadline, two statements: the department page says portfolios are due 4 January 2027; the admissions dates page lists the School of the Arts audition/portfolio window as 1 December to 31 January and says to check the applicant portal for your deadline. Follow the date in your portal.
• No interview is mentioned.

3. Application timeline (fall 2027)

• UC application: the admissions dates page gives 1 October to 30 November 2026 for fall 2027 admission and scholarships. The art department page describes the filing period as 1 to 30 November; both are shown here, and the UC application system is the authority.
• Fall only: School of the Arts majors admit for fall quarter only.
• Recommendations: UCI does not accept or consider letters of recommendation.
• Transcripts: you self-report grades; official transcripts are requested only after admission and your Statement of Intent to Register (SIR).
• Application fee: not stated on the UCI pages read for this guide; check the UC application.

4. International academic and English requirements

• Academics: the international page lists these subjects with a minimum average GPA of 3.4: two years of history, four years of the language of instruction, three years of college-preparatory maths (four recommended), two years of science (three recommended), two years of another language (three recommended), one year of visual and performing arts and one more year from these areas.
• English: decided by the language of instruction, not citizenship. If all or part of high school was not taught in English, or you have had less than three years of English instruction by graduation, you must demonstrate proficiency: IELTS 6.5; TOEFL iBT 4.5 from January 2026 (80 before); Duolingo 115; or ACT English 24, SAT EBRW 680, AP English 3+ and other listed options. Test by December; IELTS One Skill Retake and TOEFL MyBest are not accepted.
• Agents: UCI does not partner with agents; an application completed by anyone other than the student violates UC policy.

5. Students at high schools in China

• National curriculum: complete 12 years of education with a certificate of graduation and report all grade 9–12 coursework. If you take both the national curriculum and an international curriculum (AP, IGCSE/A-Level or IB), report all courses and internal grades in Academic History and list international exams, including planned ones, on the International Exams page.
• Gaokao and art exams: not mentioned; whether they are considered is not published. Ask UCI Admissions.
• A-Level: at least five IGCSE/GCSE/O-Levels and three A-Levels at C or better. IB: scores of 5 or higher on internal grades and diploma exams are encouraged.
• Most students in the national curriculum will need English scores (see section 4).

6. Students at Canadian high schools

• BC and other provinces outside Quebec: earn the high school graduation diploma after 12 years of education with competitive grades; UCI publishes no specific marks.
• Quebec: complete the DES and the two-year CEGEP DEC; up to one year of transfer credit may be awarded course by course for CEGEP work.
• English: three or more years at an English-medium high school means no English test is needed.

7. Transfer

• Art major transfer requirements (not part of TAG): a cumulative UC-transferable GPA of 2.7 and a required portfolio, as in section 2.
• University level (from another guide on this site, checked this month): 60 semester or 90 quarter UC-transferable units by the end of spring before entry; non-residents need at least a 2.8 transferable GPA; all majors are selective, with priority for California community college juniors. Both the 2.7 major figure and the 2.8 university figure are published; meet both.
• English: international transfers complete two UC-transferable English composition courses with a C or better; English courses from universities outside the U.S. where English is not the main language of instruction do not count.
• Credit: academic courses from ministry-recognised universities abroad can earn credit; technical or vocational courses do not. Lower-division credit from non-UC schools is capped at 70 semester or 105 quarter units.
• Dates: apply 1 October to 30 November; 31 January is the priority deadline for the Transfer Academic Update (TAU).

8. Costs and scholarships (US$)

• Fees (2026-27, fall 2026 cohort, from another guide on this site): California residents 20,105.05; non-residents pay an additional 39,270 in supplemental tuition, about 59,375 in total. Housing, food, books, transport and materials are extra. Whether art carries extra materials or studio fees is not published, and fall 2027 fees are not yet published.
• Aid: UCI does not offer financial aid to international students, who are also ineligible for federal and state aid.
• Arts scholarships: the School of the Arts lists scholarships for continuing students, applied for through UCI’s Scholarship Universe; Art majors have the Art Department Scholarship Fund, the need-based Bailey Scholarship in Art and others. Eligibility for international students and amounts are not published.

Checklist

Students at high schools in China:

• Submit the UC application between 1 October and 30 November 2026, choosing the Art B.A.
• Prepare 10 images or up to 5 minutes of video plus a one-page artist statement; watch for the admissions email in early December
• Submit the portfolio by the date in your applicant portal (the department page says 4 January 2027)
• Take IELTS 6.5, TOEFL iBT 4.5 (80 before January 2026) or Duolingo 115 by December

Students at Canadian high schools:

• Submit the UC application by 30 November and the portfolio by your portal date
• No English test after three years of English-medium schooling; Quebec students need the DEC

Transfer students:

• UC-transferable GPA of 2.7 or higher (2.8 minimum for non-residents at university level) and 60 semester units
• Prepare the portfolio in section 2; complete the Transfer Academic Update by 31 January

Sources: UC Irvine, Department of Art: B.A. in Art; Programs in Art; Arts scholarships; Dates and deadlines; International students; Transfer major requirements; 2026-27 undergraduate fees (fall 2026 cohort); Financial aid for international students. Information is for fall 2027 entry (costs are 2026-27 figures). Check UCI for the latest details.