How to Apply to Psychology at UC Irvine: A BA in Social Ecology or a BS in Social Sciences, and Requirements and Timeline for Chinese, Canadian High School and Transfer Students

The University of California, Irvine (UCI) has two psychology majors in two schools:

• Psychology BA in the School of Social Ecology: formerly “Psychological Science,” taught by the Department of Psychology. It begins with core courses in developmental, social, health and abnormal psychology, adds advanced topics such as environmental, clinical and community psychology, and includes a required Field Study internship. The department reports about 1,200 undergraduate majors.
• Psychology BS in the School of Social Sciences: taught by the Department of Cognitive Sciences, focused on mind and brain, with areas in cognitive psychology, language and developmental psychology, clinical psychology and cognitive neuroscience, and more science background courses.

UCI uses the UC application and admits for fall only. Here is what you need to know for fall 2027 entry, based on UCI and University of California information, for students at high schools in China, students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver), and transfer students.

1. Choosing and entering a psychology major

• Choose a major when you apply: select the Psychology BA or BS for UCI in the UC application. UCI’s admissions pages do not say how much the chosen major affects first-year admission.
• Social Ecology BA:
  • introductory courses change to new PSY courses from fall 2026;
  • to change into the major, you need a 2.5 cumulative UC GPA and a 2.5 GPA in PSY 21 and PSY 22 (or in PSY 21, PSY 22 and one upper-division core course).
• Social Sciences BS (2026-27 Catalogue):
  • required courses COGS 9A and 9B (psychology fundamentals), COGS 10A, 10B and 10C (data analysis and statistics) and COGS 14P (scientific Python);
  • four core courses from areas such as abnormal, developmental, personality, perception, decision making, memory, language and cognitive neuroscience, and two research methods courses, most with labs;
  • six science background courses from at least three disciplines (such as biology, chemistry, physics or calculus);
  • students cannot double major in the Psychology BS and the Cognitive Sciences BS;
  • students entering from fall 2025 who change into the major need a 2.7 cumulative UC GPA, 2.7 in the prior quarter, and COGS 9A-B, 10A-B-C and 14P completed with no grade below C.
• Honors: Social Ecology runs a school honors program in which strong students do faculty-guided honors research, and the Catalogue lists an honors program for the Social Sciences Psychology BS.

2. First-year dates and review

• Submit the UC application from October 1 to November 30, 2026, which also counts for scholarships. UCI’s dates page does not list a decision date; outcomes appear in the UCI Applicant Portal.
• No early decision or early action; fall entry only.
• Comprehensive review: A-G GPA, course rigor, honors/AP/IB HL courses, the senior-year program, subject strengths, achievements and personal context, plus your personal insight questions. UCI does not accept letters of recommendation.
• SAT/ACT: UCI does not consider SAT or ACT scores for admission or scholarships.

3. Academic and English requirements for international students

• Academics: 15 year-long A-G-equivalent courses with at least a 3.4 GPA, including two years of history, four of the language of instruction, three of math, two of science, two of a second language, one of arts and one additional course.
• English: required if all or part of your secondary schooling was not in English or you had fewer than three years of English instruction; bilingual schools count as non-English. Minimums:
  • TOEFL iBT (including Home Edition): 4.5 from January 2026, 80 before;
  • IELTS 6.5;
  • Duolingo 115;
  • or ACT English 24, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing 680, AP English Language or Literature 3 or higher, IB English A, among others.
  Take the test by December; UCI needs an actual score, not a planned test date. Self-report on the application and send official scores after admission. IELTS One Skill Retake and TOEFL MyBest are not accepted.
• IB predicted scores: you can report them, but UCI does not use them as the only admission factor or include them in your GPA.

4. Students at high schools in China

• Chinese national curriculum: complete 12 years of education and a graduation certificate, and report all grade 9–12 courses. UCI does not mention Gaokao results.
• National plus international curriculum (AP, IGCSE/A-Level or IB): report all grade 9–12 school grades in Academic History and international exams, including planned ones, under Test Scores.
• A-Level: at least five IGCSE/GCSE/O-Levels and three A-Levels with C or better. IB: UCI encourages scores of 5 or higher on internal grades and diploma exams.
• AP scores of 3 or higher, IB HL scores of 5 or higher and A-Level grades of A to C earn UCI credit.

5. Students at Canadian high schools

• BC and all provinces except Quebec: complete 12 years and earn the graduation diploma with competitive grades (UCI publishes no specific score).
• Quebec: the DES plus the two-year CEGEP DEC; CEGEP work can earn up to one year of credit, course by course.
• Students with at least three years of all-English instruction do not need an English test.

6. Costs (US$)

• 2026-27 tuition and fees for the fall 2026 cohort (Registrar): tuition 14,202, student services fee 1,386, campus fees, and student health insurance 3,213.90, for a California resident total of 20,105.05; nonresidents add supplemental tuition of 39,270, for about 59,375. Housing, food, books and transportation are extra.
• Tuition stability: under UC’s Tuition Stability Plan, tuition and the student services fee stay the same for up to six years from entry.
• Total cost: UCI’s public pages do not list a full budget including housing; use the financial aid office’s calculator to estimate.
• Aid: UCI does not offer financial aid to international students, who are also ineligible for federal or state aid; external scholarships are an option.

7. Transfer students

• Minimums: 60 semester or 90 quarter UC-transferable units by the end of spring before entry; a transferable GPA of 2.4 for California residents and 2.8 for nonresidents. UCI says all majors are selective; it gives priority to junior-level California community college transfers and admits four-year college transfers on a space-available basis.
• Psychology transfer requirements:
  • Social Ecology Psychology BA: a 3.0 transferable GPA (3.4 for TAG);
  • Social Sciences Psychology BS: a 3.0 GPA (3.4 for TAG), psychology courses equivalent to COGS 9A and 9C with 2.0 or better (COGS 9B is taken at UCI), and at least four calculus, biology, chemistry or physics courses with 2.0 or better.
• Major choice: transfer applicants must choose a major and may add an alternate; majors cannot be changed during the admission process.
• English: international transfers meet English proficiency with two UC-transferable English composition courses graded C or better; English courses from non-English-medium universities abroad do not count, and UCI recommends taking them at a California community college.
• Credit: courses from abroad must come from degree-granting universities recognized by the country’s education ministry, and technical or vocational courses are not accepted. UCI grants at most 70 semester or 105 quarter units of lower-division credit from non-UC schools; beyond that, subject credit still applies. AP, IB and A-Level credit does not count toward this limit.
• Dates: submit October 1 to November 30; January 31 is the priority deadline for the Transfer Academic Update.

Checklist

Students at high schools in China:

• Submit the UC application October 1 to November 30, 2026, choosing the Psychology BA or BS
• A 3.4 or higher A-G GPA; competitive applicants are usually higher
• TOEFL 4.5 (80 on the old scale), IELTS 6.5 or Duolingo 115, taken by December
• About $59,375 in tuition and fees plus housing and living costs, with no aid for international students

Students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver):

• Apply by November 30, with no SAT/ACT; for the BS, take extra math and science in high school

Transfer students:

• 60 semester units and a 3.0 or higher transferable GPA
• For the BS, complete introductory psychology and four science courses; two English composition courses with C or better

Sources: UC Irvine and the University of California, International students; First-year students; Dates and deadlines; Transfer students; Transfer major requirements; Transfer credit policy; School of Social Ecology psychology major; Department of Psychological Science undergraduate program; 2026-27 Catalogue: Psychology, B.S.; Change of major: Social Ecology; Change of major: Social Sciences; 2026-27 undergraduate fees (fall 2026 cohort); Financial aid for international students; UC English language proficiency. Information is for fall 2027 entry (costs are 2026-27 figures). Check UCI and UC for the latest details.