Graduate STAR 3+1 Track
Our Graduate STAR 3+1 Track is for students seeking to become competitive applicants and successful students in high-ranking U.S. graduate programs within a five-year period. This program offers a unique curriculum to current fourth year / senior university students who want to accelerate their learning in fields such as engineering and data science and analytics for business. Students will receive integrated academic, professional, and communication skills training through rigorous credit-bearing courses. Moreover, students may be eligible to participate in a 10-week unpaid Professional Internship Experience to boost their resumes and interaction with business professionals in the U.S.
Upon successful completion of the 3+1 Track and graduation requirements for the bachelor’s degrees issued by students’ home universities, students will continue to attend UCI or another graduate school by completing the master’s degree program that has accepted them. We have partnership agreements with various universities; please contact us to inquire if your home university is one of them!
STAR does not offer conditional or guaranteed admission to UC Irvine or any other university. Refer to the official UC Irvine DCE website for any STAR program information.
Important Notes
- Courses are scheduled based on availability and may vary depending on university partner agreements. Course equivalent substitutions will be recommended when courses become unavailable.
- Program approval is required for enrolling in more than 12 units. The maximum number of units covered by the program tuition is 16 units per quarter.
Program Benefits
- Major-focused study plan that includes undergraduate academic and professional credit-bearing classes that may satisfy the pre-requisites of and be transferable to your desired graduate program*
- Gain exclusive networking opportunities with select graduate programs to showcase your strengths and to receive pre-admission consultation
- Enhance your skills with optional Intensive Academic English and advanced training in Professional Communication (e.g., interview and presentation) to help you become proficient in English language use in any formal setting
- Get specialized ACTS (Authentic, Comprehensive, Targeted, Strategic) guidance on your application process for colleges and universities in the U.S.
- Gain practical work experience in an optional unpaid Professional Internship Experience in select fields of U.S. businesses and industries
- School partnership and scholarship opportunity: STAR is excited to partner with several prestigious institutions in the U.S, including Northwestern University School of Professional Studies, Pepperdine University Graduate Business and Law Schools, and A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management at UC Riverside. Highlights of our partnerships include priority application review and an English requirement (e.g., TOEFL and IELTS) waiver for select partners. Scholarships from our partners are also available.
*Final credit transfer is determined by the student’s current or future institution.
Eligibility and Requirements
- The completed Graduate STAR application with a non-refundable $200 application fee.
- Copy of your current passport page that shows your photo.
- Copies of all your current official academic transcripts to prove your completion of at least three years of college education and to meet the minimum GPA requirement of 3.0 (or equivalent). Engineering track’s recommended GPA is 3.2
- Documentation for any educational gap since the start of university/college attendance, which must be supported with explanations and evidence.
- Proof of English language proficiency (one of the options below taken within the past two years):
Acceptable Test Minimum Score Duolingo 95 IELTS 6.0 Internet-based TOEFL 71 Paper-based TOEFL 530 TOEIC 685 CASEC 650 Kaplan Test of English (KTE) 450 CEFR or ISE B2 iTEP 3.5 Pearson Academic 50 GEPT High-Intermediate Advanced Cambridge Completion EIKEN Japanese Test in Practical English Grade Pre-1 English Program Completion - Kaplan International: Higher Intermediate
- FLS International: Level 16
- ELS Language Centers: Level 112
Other Program Completion Currently attending or graduated from a university where English is the primary language of instruction according to the World Higher Education Database Notes
- TOEFL iBT MyBest Scores and Special Home Edition and IELTS Indicator will be accepted if all exams were taken within the past two years.
- To send an official TOEFL or IELTS test score, please select the institution code B166.
- The English Placement Test can be requested for students who do not have an English Proficiency Test Score at the time of application. An additional fee of $50 must be submitted with the application fee. Our program entry requirements and English exemption are not the same as any other programs at UC Irvine.
- Our program acceptance requirements are not the same as any other programs at UC Irvine.
- UC Irvine DCE reserves the right to deny acceptance to STAR. Applicants who are not accepted into STAR by UC Irvine DCE will be notified in writing.
Program
Approximate Tuition
$32,050Format
UC Irvine CampusDuration
9 monthsPlease visit our Tuition and Fees page to view a list of associated costs
Have Questions?
Talk to an enrollment coach
Call: +1 (949) 824-5414
Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm (Pacific)
Curriculum
Required core courses, approved target courses and recommended support courses.
Required Core Courses
This course is designed to help graduate-level applicants with the university selection and application process. Students will be introduced to the comprehensive review process and how their academic and professional credentials impact the schools they choose. They will be guided through school selection and personal statement processes. They will explore the ethics of submitting authentic applications and be given structured information on how to write compelling narratives of their experiences under ethical guidelines that promote original, unique work. The objectives of this course will be achieved through discussions, activities, assignments, and assessments.
Prerequisites: A minimum of TOEFL 61 or equivalent English proficiency
Research and Citation
This course is designed to help international students develop the critical thinking and writing skills necessary to excel in academic, research-related writing tasks in a university-level course. In addition, the course will put great emphasis on academic honesty and plagiarism. Through course discussions, practices, and assignments, students will learn to integrate and comment on multiple academic sources to support an argument and engage with texts to understand, interpret, and evaluate what specific language and rhetorical features communicate. Students will also develop a range of sophisticated sentence structures and a strong command of academic expressions used in academic writing.
Prerequisites: Successful completion of Academic Reading and Writing preferred or equivalent English proficiency level
or
Scientific Writing
The goal of this course is to help students to improve their reading and writing skills in fields related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Students will read field-related texts, including journal articles, reports, and proposals. They will become familiar with using the standard formal structure of scientific writing, IMRaD (for Introduction-Methods-Results-Discussion), in addition to related genres such as lab reports, proposals and literature reviews. They will practice vocabulary-learning strategies to improve reading comprehension and build technical vocabulary specific to their field. Students are prepared for their university classes through informal writing, brainstorming in preparation for writing, instruction in the writing process, and explicit instruction in academic discussion language when analyzing readings in class. Students will conduct research on a topic related to their field and complete a research paper using appropriate citation formats for paraphrased and quoted information from outside sources. Additionally, they will review essential structural and content rules and learn proofreading strategies for identifying and correcting errors in their own writing.
Prerequisites: Successful completion of Academic Reading and Writing preferred or equivalent English proficiency level
Approved Target Courses
- Intro to Python Programming course or
Practical Math and Statistics for Data Science course - Accelerated Certificate Courses from Data Science and Data Analytics for Business
Scientific Writing
The goal of this course is to help students to improve their reading and writing skills in fields related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Students will read field-related texts, including journal articles, reports, and proposals. They will become familiar with using the standard formal structure of scientific writing, IMRaD (for Introduction-Methods-Results-Discussion), in addition to related genres such as lab reports, proposals and literature reviews. They will practice vocabulary-learning strategies to improve reading comprehension and build technical vocabulary specific to their field. Students are prepared for their university classes through informal writing, brainstorming in preparation for writing, instruction in the writing process, and explicit instruction in academic discussion language when analyzing readings in class. Students will conduct research on a topic related to their field and complete a research paper using appropriate citation formats for paraphrased and quoted information from outside sources. Additionally, they will review essential structural and content rules and learn proofreading strategies for identifying and correcting errors in their own writing.
Prerequisites: Successful completion of Academic Reading and Writing preferred or equivalent English proficiency level
DCE Engineering Technology/EECS courses
UC Irvine Undergraduate Engineering courses (departmental approval is required)
Recommended Support Courses
View professional/continuing education courses (also includes Professional Internship Experiences and Accelerated Certificate Programs).
Frequently Asked Questions
- Complete the online STAR application form and pay the non-refundable $200 application fee.
- Upon receiving the $200 application fee. You will be asked to upload
- a copy of your passport.
- a bank statement dated within the past 6 months with a minimum required amount. This will certify you have sufficient funds for tuition and living expenses. The bank statement must be in English and provide the balance amount in US Dollars.
- the Statement of Financial Support Form if you are not the bank account holder
- Evidence of an English language proficiency score
- University transcripts
- If they are a transfer student
- submit a completed Transfer Evaluation Form.
- I-20 from their current school
- Upon receiving the $200 application fee. You will be asked to upload
- Once we receive the completed app and you are admitted into the program, you will receive an email from ip@ce.uci.edu with instructions on how to pay the $5,000 Program Deposit within 15 days. The email will also include a link for you to acknowledge and sign the STAR registration policies.
Note: Students who are government-sponsored must provide an official letter of financial support in lieu of the Program Deposit and any additional tuition and mandatory fees to avoid any delay in the application process or enrollment cancellation. - After you have signed the acknowledgment form and DCE has received your required program deposit, you will receive an official Letter of Acceptance (LOA) and Form I-20. With the Letter of Acceptance and Form I-20, you will be able to submit a request for an F-1 student visa from the U.S. Embassy or consulate in your area.
- The balance of the program tuition and fees are due 37 days prior to the start of the program. Confirmation of enrollment must include full payment of tuition and fees.
Please see Registration Policies & Deadlines for cancellation and postponement requests.
UC Irvine DCE is committed to serving students from diverse backgrounds. While the acceptance preference will be given to students who have met our minimum acceptance requirements, we recognize individual circumstances and offer a comprehensive review of every applicant. Students who do not meet our minimum acceptance requirements are still encouraged to apply. It is important that students provide additional information (e.g., resume, community service, awards and achievements, and extra-curricular classes and activities) to demonstrate their unique circumstances.
Current university students should check with their universities about accepting courses and units from the STAR 3+1 track.
Every graduate admissions office holds the final determination of the transferability of the units a student earns in STAR. Students should inquire with their future institution whether units are transferrable.
These are the progression criteria that are taken into consideration:
- Pass every CE or P/NP graded class
- Maintain at least a B average or cumulative GPA of 3.0
- Comply with the program policies (e.g., be in good academic standing) at all times
- Achieve at least TOEFL 80, IELTS 6.5, or Duolingo 115 before enrolling in any UCI undergraduate credit courses
Students who meet the above progression criteria are expected to follow the program curriculum or their designed study plan. When students fail to meet the above progression criteria, students will be required to follow an alternative study plan or add one or more quarters.
UC Irvine has over 100 graduate programs. 3+1 is intentionally designed for students who want to obtain their master’s degree within 12-15 months of their undergraduate program completion with professional training for their careers through experiential learning and real-world application.
Graduate STAR students can also choose to apply to our partner graduate schools and other graduate schools in the U.S. during their Graduate STAR studies.
Yes. The minimum full-time requirement is 12 units each quarter. An F-1 student visa is required for students who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents to study in this program on the UC Irvine campus.
Please visit Program Dates for available intakes.
Please visit Student Resources for more information.
Funding is currently not available for students who are enrolled in our program. However, students may find any financial assistance opportunities by contacting the consulates in their home countries. There are also scholarship websites available: IEFA, International Scholarships, International Student.