FAQs

Our program is open to all majors. We simply require applicants to complete 6 accounting prerequisites:

• Financial Accounting
• Managerial Accounting
• Intermediate Accounting I
• Intermediate Accounting II
• Auditing
• Taxation

Work experience is not required. We recommend applicants add internships, campus involvement, and extracurricular activities on their resume.

The MPAc program is STEM-designated and eligible students have the option to apply for up to 36 months of Optional Practical Training (OPT) upon graduation. This longer duration is especially attractive to companies interested in providing immigration sponsorship to international students. For more information about OPT and OPT STEM eligibility, please visit the UC Irvine International Center website.

No. We only have a Fall start date. Non-accounting majors and applicants enrolled in our summer pre-session will begin in June to matriculate in the Fall.

The MPAc program structure is designed to provide students with an opportunity to pursue a winter internship. However, limitations exist for students who have not completed their undergraduate study at a U.S.-based institution. While limitations to the winter opportunity exist for international candidates, these students will be fully eligible to take part/enroll in several elective offerings available through our Full-Time and Flex MBA program and the Merage School’s Real Estate program. International students who have completed their undergraduate studies at a U.S.-based institution may be eligible to pursue a winter internship.

We encourage applicants to review the admissions deadlines in advance to ensure all materials are submitted on time. Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible to ensure they receive a decision by the corresponding decision deadline.

We use a waitlist to ensure that we can make admission offers across every application deadline. We do not have a specific number of available offers for any given deadline. Our offers vary each year, depending on the quality and size of the applicant pool.

International applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow sufficient time to obtain their student visa.

The GMAT or GRE are not required but strongly recommended for applicants whose GPAs are under 3.3. While these tests are not required, the admissions team is looking for evidence of strong verbal and quantitative skills. Note that GMAT and GRE scores are good for up to five years.

GRE results should be sent to UC Irvine institution code: 4859. For more information on the GRE, please visit: ets.org/gre.

GMAT results should be sent to UC Irvine institution code: 0DP-7R-40. For more information on the GMAT, visit: mba.com.

The minimum score for admission is 80 for the Internet-based test. TOEFL scores are valid for up to two years from your test date. Applicants may receive a waiver of the TOEFL if (1) all the requirements for the high school diploma, bachelor’s degree, or an advanced degree in a country where the primary and dominant language is English, and (2) English was the language of instruction of the school where the requirements were completed. If transfer credits were applied to your degree, these courses must have been completed in a country where English is the primary or dominant language for the TOEFL waiver to apply. For more information, visit UCI Grad Division's English Proficiency page.

As an alternative to the TOEFL, you may also take the Academic Modules of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). For the IELTS, the minimum required score for admission is 7, with a score of no less than 6 on any individual module.

TOEFL: Be sure to have your exam results sent to UC Irvine using the institution code: 4859. Visit TOEFL for more information.

IELTS: UC Irvine Graduate Division only accepts scores submitted electronically by the IELTS test center. No paper Test Report Forms will be accepted. An institutional code is NOT required. Please contact the test center where you took the IELTS test and request that your test scores be sent electronically directly using the IELTS system. All IELTS test centers worldwide can send scores electronically to our institution.

Applicants are waived from the English Language Proficiency requirement if they have earned an undergraduate or graduate degree from a U.S. institution or institution at which English was the sole language of instruction according to the World Higher Education Database (WHED). Please see WHED's instructions on how to search for your institution. If English is not the sole language of instruction listed or if no language is listed at all, the waiver does not apply and the applicant is required to take and pass an approved English proficiency test. We accept both the TOEFL and IELTS exams. The scores from either exam are valid for up to two years from your test date. The minimum score for TOEFL (Internet-based) is 80. For the IELTS, the minimum required score for admission is 7, with a score of no less than 6 on any individual module. Exam results should be sent to UC Irvine institution code: 4859. Review the English Proficiency requirement.

Applications are reviewed by our admissions committee holistically, which means we look at the overall competitiveness of your application, not just one component. Many factors go into our decisions, including undergraduate performance, recommendations, the GMAT/GRE (if applicable), TOEFL (if applicable), work experience, essays, and fit with the program. All of these components are carefully reviewed once your application is submitted and complete with all supporting materials. The Admissions Committee will balance the diversity of education, work experience, background, and leadership potential to build a diverse and high caliber of students.

To check the status of your application, log into your application and review your Checklist. We will notify applicants via email if their application is incomplete once it has been reviewed.

You may only apply to one program at the Merage School in a given admissions year. If you are uncertain about which program you would like to pursue, our admissions team is happy to discuss your background and career interests to determine which program would be the best fit. If you have already started an application, submitted an application, or received an admissions decision from one program but wish to apply to a different program, please contact the admissions office associated with the program you initially applied to. The admissions office will provide further guidance and instructions.

Contact our program office at specialtymasters@merage.uci.edu to schedule a consultation.

If you applied to a Merage School Master’s program within the last two years, you are considered a re-applicant. The first step towards reapplying is to contact the Recruitment and Admissions office of your program of interest and request instructions to re-apply.

No. Our program staff handles all transcript evaluations. WES services are non-binding, meaning they do not have the authority to overrule the evaluations conducted by UC Irvine’s Graduate Division. WES is considered a suggested guide and not an official evaluation of your credentials.

We are unable to accept unofficial test scores or transcripts. For your application to be complete, official documents should be sent to:

UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business
Attn: Master of Professional Accountancy Program
4293 Pereira Drive, SB1 Suite 4200
Irvine, CA 92697-3125

GMAT: UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business, Master of Professional Accountancy Program, institution code: 0DP-7R-05
GRE: UC Irvine institution code: 4859
TOEFL: UC Irvine institution code: 4859
IELTS: You must submit a Test Report Form (TRF) to:
UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business
Attn: Master of Professional Accountancy Program
4293 Pereira Drive, SB1 Suite 4200
Irvine, CA 92697-3125

We will not receive your official TOEFL or GRE score reports until 2-3 weeks after you have submitted your online application.

Applicants with a 3-year bachelor's degree* (except for the United Kingdom) need either an additional 1-year master's degree, a 1-year Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in the same field of study as the 3-year degree, or a 2-year master's degree in any field to be recognized as equivalent to a 4-year bachelor’s degree from the United States. We also accept the Chartered Accountant Final Examination certificates as postgraduate coursework when it is combined with a 3-year bachelor’s degree in accounting.