PhD Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of California, Irvine

Programme overview

The PhD is tailored to the student's background and interests within Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering concentrations. Milestones are a preliminary examination, teaching requirement, original research, advancement to candidacy and a public dissertation defence. Part-time study is not permitted.

Faculty: The Henry Samueli School of Engineering | Department: Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | Duration: Normative time 5 years (4 with a prior MS); maximum 7 | Study mode: full-time | Location: Irvine, CA, United States

What you will study

Research areas include optical and solid-state devices, analog and mixed-signal IC design, signal processing, power electronics and control systems in EE, and computer architecture, embedded systems, VLSI, security and software engineering in CPE. Students complete four units of EECS 294.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

UC Irvine Graduate Division (all graduate programmes): bachelor's degree or equivalent from an accredited institution with minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. International applicants whose prior degree was not taught solely in English need TOEFL iBT 80 overall or IELTS 7 overall with no module below 6 (departments may set higher). GRE requirements are set by each programme; there is no minimum GRE score. Admission is decided by the Graduate Committee; the PhD preliminary exam must be passed within one academic year (with an MS) or two years.

Requirements published at program group level.

Domestic applicants: USD 13,722 a year (2026-27). Graduate tuition (resident rate) from the standard Graduate/Credential Student Fees schedule for state-supported graduate degree programmes; the page does not list programmes by name, so this is the standard graduate band. Tuition line only; excludes Stud Source

Graduate applications are submitted online through the UCI graduate application portal; the non-refundable application fee is $135 for U.S. citizens and lawful U.S. permanent residents and $155 for all other applicants. Deadlines are set by each programme. GRE is required by some programmes only; TOEFL or IELTS English proficiency is required of graduate applicants unless waived.

Apply through the official page: https://grad.uci.edu/admissions/

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