The Full-Time MBA is a two-year program that follows the quarter system. The academic year typically runs from late September to mid-June, although you will begin Orientation in your first year in early September. Students must complete 92 units to graduate.

During the second year of the Full-Time MBA program, you will have the opportunity to customize your curriculum in your area of interest with electives. The program offers these focused areas of study:

• Accounting
• Finance
• Global Business
• Healthcare
• Information Systems
• Marketing
• Operation and Decision Technologies
• Organization & Management
• Real Estate
• Strategy

The Admissions Committee seeks to create a dynamic and diverse MBA class with students who will make a unique contribution to the MBA experience. Students come from various academic and professional backgrounds. They share certain traits in common, including intelligence, a proven track record in their academic and professional pursuits, and a drive to excel and fulfill their leadership potential.

Yes, a minimum of 2 years of full-time, postgraduate work experience is required for admission. Full-Time MBA students have an average of five years of full-time work experience.

There are no specific prerequisite requirements for the Full-Time MBA program. However, the Admissions Committee does look for evidence of quantitative proficiency in all applicants. We strongly recommend that applicants complete, at a minimum, a college-level mathematics and statistics course.

GMAT/GRE waivers are available to domestic and international candidates with 2+ years of full-time professional work experience and a strong record of academic performance as an undergraduate or master's student. A minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 (based on a 4.0 scale) is required for the GMAT/GRE waiver to apply.

We do not have a GMAT or GRE minimum score requirement. For reference, our entering class average for the GMAT is 675. We do not publish an average GRE score at this time.

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

Official GMAT/GMAT Focus Score: Exam results should be sent to UC Irvine institution code: 0DP-7R-16. For more information on the GMAT, visit: mba.com.

We will accept both the GMAT and the GMAT Focus Edition. Please view this flyer from GMAC to learn more.

All graduate applicants are required to demonstrate English proficiency for admissions consideration. The English Language Proficiency requirement is waived for applicants who have earned an undergraduate or master’s degree from an 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, the waiver does not apply, and the applicant is required to take and pass an approved English proficiency test. A minimum score of 7 on the IELTS or 80 on the TOEFL is required.

We do not have a minimum GPA requirement. Students who entered the Full-Time MBA program in the past have reported an average undergraduate GPA of 3.45. We strongly recommend the GRE or GMAT for applicants with an undergraduate GPA less than 3.0.

The admissions team will take your highest total score into consideration when reviewing your application.

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 the GMAT, TOEFL (if applicable), work experience, undergraduate performance, recommendations, essays/goals, fit with the program, etc. All of these components are carefully reviewed once your application is submitted and complete with all supporting materials. We recommend trying to make each element of your application as competitive as possible to make yourself a strong candidate.

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

TRANSCRIPTS:
UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business
Attn: Full-Time MBA Program
4293 Pereira Drive, SB1 Suite 4200
Irvine, CA 92697-3125

GMAT: UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business, Full-Time MBA 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: Full-Time MBA 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.

Yes. Applicants are notified of admissions decisions and fellowship award packages continuously throughout the admissions cycle. The class fills throughout the cycle, so apply as early as possible.

Because the nature of the applicant pool can change from year to year, we do not grant admission deferrals.

We do not transfer MBA credit from other universities, so any work you completed at other institutions would not count toward a degree at the Merage School. It may be possible to waive core courses, which is at the discretion of the faculty and will not expedite your graduation. All students must complete the same number of units (92).

UC Irvine policy prohibits the awarding of duplicate degrees. We are unable to consider your application if you have an MBA degree from another university.

Once the online application and supporting documents are received, your application goes through an initial review process and selected applicants are invited for an interview. Applicants usually learn of our decision 2-4 weeks following the interview.

Once you have submitted your online application, we will notify you regularly via email with updates on the status of your application. We notify you when supplemental materials have been received and when your application is complete and has been forwarded for review.

You will need to upload unofficial transcripts from each college and university attended with your online application. These will be used to conduct the initial review. The transcript from your degree-granting university needs to show evidence of degree conferral. Transcripts from non-U.S. universities should also include a copy of the degree certificate showing proof of graduation.

You will be asked to submit official transcripts if you are admitted and have decided to attend UC Irvine. Institution(s) where a degree was earned will need to be sent. Send official copies of transcripts to:

UCI Graduate Division
120 Aldrich Hall
Irvine, CA 92697-3180

If you earned your degree at a U.S. institution and your school is able to securely transmit your degree posted transcript to UC Irvine electronically, you may have the transcript sent to gradtranscripts@uci.edu.

No. We are unable to accept unofficial test scores. We will not receive your official score reports until 2-3 weeks after you have submitted your online application. Your application will be updated once we receive your official test scores from the Graduate Division. Official test results should be sent to:

GMAT: UC Irvine institution code: 0DP-7R-16

GRE: UC Irvine institution code: 4859

TOEFL: UC Irvine institution code: 4859

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 directly contact the test center where you took the IELTS test and request that your test scores be sent electronically using the IELTS system.

If you have submitted your application with re-take test date information, we will not update these sections of your application until we have received your new official score report even if you have already submitted previous test scores. Our office will wait until we have received your new score report to ensure we use the highest obtained score.

Please respond directly to the email notification with the first and last name which are reported on your transcript. This will help our office match up your documentation to your application.

If the transcript from the institution where you earned your degree includes transfer credits, you must submit unofficial transcripts from the institutions where you originally earned those credits.

Interviews are by invitation only, are required for admission and are conducted by the Admissions Committee. The interview is a way for us to evaluate your interpersonal and communication skills, as well as a way for you to ask questions and determine whether the Merage School is right for you.

If invited to an interview, you will be informed via email. Interviews are conducted in person or via Zoom.

You may only apply to one program at the Merage School in a given admissions year. If you are uncertain 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.

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.

* For example: Degrees from India, Australia, Italy, etc. If you have any questions about your 3-year degree, please contact us at: mba@merage.uci.edu.

Recommenders who can speak to your reasons in pursuing an MBA are preferred. They may be obtained from people who know you professionally, such as clients, former managers or others, or academically, such as former professors.

We ask that you only provide information for only two recommenders in your application. However, applicants may submit a maximum of three letters of recommendation.

Your recommenders will receive a link to complete our online recommendation form after you enter their information in your online application. We prefer that your recommenders complete the online form. If your recommenders prefer to complete the PDF version of our online recommendation form, please email the PDF to mba@merage.uci.edu.