Full-Time MBA | Frequently Asked Questions

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. 92 units are required to complete the program.

During the second year of the MBA program, you have the opportunity to customize your curriculum in the area of your interest with the electives offered.  The program offers focused areas of study, including:

• Accounting
• Finance
• Global
• 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 and share common intelligence, a proven track record in their academic and professional pursuits, and in their drive to excel and fulfill their leadership potential. For additional information, please refer to the class profile sheet.

Yes, a minimum of 2 years, full-time, postgraduate work experience is required for admission. 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.

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. There are many factors that 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 would recommend trying to make each element of your application as competitive as possible in order to make yourself a strong candidate.

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 masters student. A minimum 3.0 GPA (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; however, our entering class average for the GMAT is 675. For the GRE, we do not publish an average 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.

IS THE GMAT OR THE GMAT FOCUS PREFERRED FOR ADMISSIONS ?

We will accept both the GMAT and the GMAT Focus Edition.

Please view this flyer from GMAC to learn more.

IS THERE A MINIMUM SCORE FOR TOEFL/IELTS REQUIRED FROM INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS?

All graduate applicants are required to demonstrate English proficiency for admissions consideration. Applicants are waived from the English Language Proficiency requirement if they 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 - link to https://www.whed.net/results_institutions.php). 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. A minimum score of 7 on the IELTS or 80 on the TOEFL is required.

We do not have a minimum GPA requirement, however, students who entered the MBA program in the past have reported an average GPA of 3.45.

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).

UCI 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 find out a 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 UCI. 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 UCI 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 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 contact the test center directly 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.

If so, please respond directly to the email notification with the first and last name which is reported on your transcript. This will help our office match up your documentation to your application.

If you have any transfer credits to the university where you have earned your degree, we will need a copy of your unofficial transcript from your transfer colleges and/or universities you attended.

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.

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 bosses 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 cynthia@uci.edu.

If you submitted an application to the MBA 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 to let them know of your interest. In addition, please send the following items to the Recruitment and Admissions office:

• One new letter of recommendation.
• One new essay. This essay should be a statement one to three pages in length, describing your activities since you last applied, including your reason for re-applying to The Paul Merage School of Business.
• An updated copy of your resume.
• Any new test scores, if applicable.
• Application fee of $150.