AT A GLANCE
A QUICK LOOK AT UCI'S RECENT RANKINGS ON A NUMBER OF SCALES PROVIDES EVIDENCE OF WHAT MANY OF US ALREADY KNOW TO BE TRUE - UCI IS ABSOLUTELY THE PLACE TO BE!
#1
university for beach lovers
Money Magazine
#6
best public college in the nation
Forbes
#3
in the nation for diversity
The Wall Street Journal /
Times Higher Education 2022 College Rankings
#4
best value public university
Princeton Review
#9
best college in the nation
Money Magazine
#9
best public university in the U.S.
U.S. News & World Report
And as the largest academic unit on the Irvine campus, the School of Social Sciences plays a major role in driving the university’s success. Led by a standout faculty and superb staff, we support more than 5,800 Anteaters in highly ranked undergraduate and graduate degree programs. With 25% of all UCI graduates leaving campus with a degree from the social sciences, our alumni - numbering more than 64,000 Anteaters strong - take their world-class education across the globe as they make their mark in courtrooms, boardrooms, classrooms, and entrepreneurial endeavors.
Learn more within the following pages about everything the School of Social Sciences
encompasses. And if you find yourself wanting to take a deeper dive into what makes
us great, reach out. We’d love to connect!
soc sci by the numbers (2025-26)
17
Research Institutes & Facilities
9
Top-Ranked Departments
12
Undergraduate Degree Programs
12
Master's & Ph.D. Programs
Within the UCI School of Social Sciences, passion and purpose drive all that we do.
From our outstanding student, alumni, and community collective to our distinguished
faculty and staff, we are the wave makers and mold breakers - the people who aren’t
afraid to forge new pathways, pursue new programs, and break with tradition in search
of solutions that create positive change. Critical to this effort are our 178 prestigious faculty and 40 lecturers tasked with teaching, leading, and serving the next generation of change
makers. Assisting in the organizational efforts that keep us on our successful trajectory
are 70 staff members whose years of service range from one to more than 35 years, averaging 13.5 years spent within the UC system.
noteworthy faculty (2025)
24
distinguished professors
15
academy members
8
aaas fellows
7
chancellor's professors
5
endowed chairs
2
national medalists
research excellence (2024-25)
$7.63 million
extramural research funding received
experienced staff (2025)
13.5 years
average years of staff service in UC system
undergraduate and graduate degree programs
anthropology
(B.A., M.A., Ph.D.)
business economics
(B.A.)
chicano/latino studies
(B.A.)
cognitive sciences
(B.S., M.S., Ph.D.)
demographic & social
analysis (M.A.)
economics
(B.A., M.A., Ph.D.)
global studies
(M.A., Ph.D.)
international studies
(B.A.)
language science
(B.A., M.A., Ph.D.)
logic & philosophy
of science (M.A., Ph.D.)
political science
(B.A., M.A., Ph.D.)
psychology
(B.S.)
public policy
(M.P.P.)
quantitative economics
(B.A.)
sociology
(B.A., M.A., Ph.D.)
statistics/cognitive sciences
(M.S., Ph.D.)
outstanding undergrads
Students are the lifeblood of the university and nowhere on campus is that more true than in social sciences. The school is home to UCI’s largest undergraduate student population and hosts 6 of the campus’s top 25 most popular undergraduate majors:
- business economics
- economics
- international studies
- political science
- psychology
- sociology
The school also hosts award-winning programs including Deconstructing Diversity Initiative;
Diversity, Inclusion, and Racial Healing Ambassador Program; LeadHER; Mock Trial;
Summer Program in Research and Leadership; and UC Prime Pre-Health Pathways. With
generous funding from the Dean’s Leadership Society and Alumni Network, the school
also supports outstanding students in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program,
Summer Undergraduate Research Program, and UCDC.
school-sponsored student programs
soc sci student enrollment (2025)
5,430
undergraduate
12
master's
365
ph.d.
did you know?
21%
of all UCI undergrads have a major within the School of Social Sciences
-That means 1 out of every 5 Anteaters calls social sciences home!
25%
of UC Irvine's class of '25 are
social sciences alumni
zot! zot! zot!
a closer look at uci soc sci's fall undergraduate enrollment (2024)
37.7%
underrepresented minority students
31%
first-generation
72%
CA residents
19%
international students
60%
female students
38%
male students
gradute program excellence
Graduate education is thriving in social sciences. Reflecting the tripartite research, teaching, and service mission of the UC, our students and alumni can be found in leadership roles throughout academia, education, science, and society. All social sciences graduate programs are highly ranked. Of our U.S. News & World Report ranked programs, all four earned top 25 spots among public U.S. universities and top 50 rankings overall:
- Economics, 18th among public universities, 41st overall
- Political Science, 20th among public universities, 41st overall
- Psychology, 13th among public universities, 27th overall
- Sociology, 9th among public universities, 20th overall
The National Research Council and Center for a Public Anthropology ranked anthropology
8th, and the Philosophical Gourmet Report ranked nine in all subfields within logic
& philosophy of science in the top 5:
#1
in General Philosophy of Science
#1
in Philosophy of Physics
#1
in Philosophy of Social Science
#1
in Philosophy of Biology
#1
in History of Analytic Philosophy
#2
in Game Theory, Decision Theory, and Rational Choice
#2
in Philosophy of Mathematics
#3
in Epistemology (including Formal Epistemology)
#5
in Mathematical Logic
Our graduate students have an excellent track record of publishing in top journals and securing external research funding from prestigious organizations ranging from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health to the Russell Sage, Wenner-Gren, and Ford Foundations.
Upon completion of their Ph.D. programs, our alumni are widely sought by universities,
government organizations, and large corporations for academic and professional posts.
To name but a few recent placements:
- Harvard London School of Economics
- Michigan
- Northwestern
- Notre Dame
- Princeton Rutgers
- UCLA
- University of Wisconsin
- U.S. Census Bureau
- U.S. Department of the Treasury
- Mind Research Network
- Amazon
public impact (2025)
True to our motto, social sciences’ outreach efforts chart a bold and boundaryless course. From programs that are exposing students from underrepresented backgrounds to university, graduate-level and STEM opportunities to educational partnerships serving veterans and individuals who are incarcerated, community collaborations spanning more than 50 zip codes across California and the country, and public-facing event series tackling topics from racism to the future of democracy, we are creating positive change.
Our faculty consistently share their expertise as active voices in media, providing
expert perspective on topics including inflation, women’s rights, AI, voting, digital
worlds, child welfare, money, sleep, and more. Annually, our people and programs appear
in more than 400 news stories spanning hundreds of media outlets including the The New York Times, MSN, Los Angeles Times, US News & World Report, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Marketplace, NBC News, CalMatters, NPR, The Guardian, ABC News, CNN, USA Today, National Geographic, and more.
total soc sci alumni (2024)
64,063
*includes living degreed and non-degreed social sciences alumni through June 2024
commencement - number updated annually following certification of June graduates
American Academy of Arts & Sciences
David Easton, 1962*
R. Duncan Luce, 1966*
Harry Eckstein, 1970*
Jack Peltason, 1981*
George Sperling, 1992
David Malament, 1992
A. Kimball Romney, 1994*
Brian Skyrms, 1994
Penelope Maddy, 1998
Bernard Grofman, 2001
Donald Saari, 2004
Vicki Ruiz, 2012
Ruben Rumbaut, 2015
Jeff Barrett, 2022
Leo Chavez, 2023
National Academy of Sciences
R. Duncan Luce, 1972*
George Sperling, 1985
A. Kimball Romney, 1995*
Brian Skyrms, 1999
Donald Saari, 2001
Barbara Dosher, 2011
National Academy of Education
Ruben Rumbaut, 2013
National Medal of Science
Duncan Luce, 2003*
National Humanities Medal
Vicki Ruiz, 2014
American Association for
the Advancement of Science
Donald Saari, 2000
Brian Skyrms, 2004
Tom Boellstorff, 2016
Bill Maurer, 2016
Carter Butts, 2018
Leo Chavez, 2018
David Neumark, 2019
Gregory Hickok, 2023
UCI Endowed Chairs
Etel Solingen, 2013
Thomas T. and Elizabeth C. Tierney Chair in Global Peace and Conflict Studies
Stergios Skaperdas, 2013
Clifford S. Heinz Chair
Zygmunt Pizlo, 2018
Falmagne Endowed Chair in Mathematical Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
Jeffrey Rouder, 2018
Falmagne Endowed Chair in Mathematical Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
Anneeth Hundle, 2019
Presidential Chair in Social Sciences to Advance Sikh Studies
Distinguished Professors
Harry Eckstein, 1980*
David Easton, 1982*
R. Duncan Luce, 1988*
Kim Romney *
George Sperling, 1992
Brian Skyrms, 1997 (Philosophy) | 1999 (LPS)
David Malament, 1999
Donald Saari, 2000
Penelope Maddy, 2007
David Snow, 2011
Barbara Dosher, 2012
Vicki Ruiz, 2013
Frank D. Bean, 2015
Ruben Rumbaut, 2015
Jan Brueckner, 2018
Leo Chavez, 2018
David Theo Goldberg, 2018
Bernard Grofman, 2018
George Marcus, 2018
Kristen Monroe, 2018
David Neumark, 2018
Etel Solingen, 2018
Judith Treas, 2018
Edward Telles, 2020
Gregory Hickok, 2022
Eve Darian-Smith, 2024
Jeffrey Barrett, 2025
Wang Feng, 2025
Chancellor's Professors
Nina Bandelj
Carter Butts
Simon Huttegger
Cailin O'Connor
Francesca Polletta
Charles Ragin
James Owen Weatherall
* deceased
Last updated: September 30, 2025