A programmatic powerhouse. Full financial aid and funding. A lens-worthy location. The reasons students choose the UC Irvine School of Social Sciences for their graduate pursuits are many.

Ranked #17 among all public economics programs in the country (U.S. News & World Report), the UCI graduate program in economics offers students six years of guaranteed funding.

Scholars in the department have a proven track record of earning competitive research funding from national agencies, including the National Science Foundation, Army Office of Research, and U.S. Department of Agriculture; from private foundations including the Russell Sage Foundation and Arnold Foundation; and from campus-level fellowships, such as the Public Impact, Fletcher Jones and Chancellor's Club fellowships.

The department has achieved national stature by attracting well-known senior scholars to its faculty and through the advancement of a host of young economists who have achieved national prominence. Graduate students within the department have incredible opportunities to publish alongside these world-renowned faculty.

And if that wasn't enough, the UCI campus - located less than 10 miles from Newport Beach - is the #1 university doing the most for the American dream (New York Times College Access Index), and in the top 10 for best value (Princeton Review).

Learn more about economics at UCI...

 
The department has 32 permanent faculty members with research and teaching interests that span a broad range of fields. In addition to strengths in micro theory, macroeconomics, and econometrics, the department has expertise in many applied fields.

• Minimum wage debate
• California policy toward enterprise zones
• Regulation of airline alliances
• California high-speed rail demand forecasts
• Public health
• Government regulation

Students have an opportunity to earn a master's degree while in pursuit of their Ph.D. And graduate students from UCI's economics program have gone on to work in high-tech startups, research consultancy companies, government offices, and in professorial posts around the world.