Program Cost
The total cost of the program is approximately $19,256 (for domestic students) and $20,663 (for international students). The cost includes a program fee of $8,000 (which covers administrative costs of the program, as well as reimbursement for conference travel, a career center alumni membership for UC alum, poster printing for conferences, and event expenses - including meals at career panels and welcome/celebration dinners) and course fees of $11,256 (for domestic students) and $12,663 (for international students). [$445 per unit for a total of 32 or 36 units]. The program fee is due in early August, and the individual course fees are due before the end of Week 2 of each quarter.
Domestic students will pay anywhere from $9,407 ($8,000 program fee + $1,407 for one, 4-unit course) up to $13,628 ($8,000 program fee + $5,628 for four, 4-unit courses) for their first quarter of study (depending upon how many units they enroll in), and they will then pay anywhere from $1,407 to $5,628 for each of the subsequent quarters (again, depending upon how many units they enroll in for that particular quarter). International students (who will always take 12 units per quarter) will pay $12,221 ($8,000 program fee + $4,221 for three, 4-unit courses) for their first quarter of study and then will pay $4,221 per quarter for each of the remaining two quarters.
Please note that the cost per unit/course is subject to change each year by the Office of Continuing Education. For example, in August 2023, the cost of a 4-unit course was raised from $1,277 to $1,341, and in August 2024, the cost of a 4-unit course was raised from $1,341 to $1,407.
Financial Aid
Because our post-bacc program is a certificate program (and not a degree-granting program), state and federal financial aid is not available for our program. However, private financing/loans is available through preferred UC lenders: https://ce.uci.edu/student-resources/concurrent-enrollment/financial-assistance
Diversity Fellowship
A limited number of partial fellowships may be available to students who meet the UC definition of diversity, which includes individuals who are underrepresented in higher education with respect to race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, language, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, and geographic region. For more information on the UC definition of diversity, visit: http://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/governance/policies/4400.html. If you would like to be considered for one of these fellowships, please include a brief diversity statement (in a separate document; recommended length 250-500 words) in your application, in which you indicate why you believe you would be a good candidate for this fellowship. In this statement, you may wish to comment on any specific circumstances about your background (e.g., special achievements, obstacles, and/or interruptions to your schooling that you overcame to complete your education to date), and you may wish to include how these experiences, your research interests, and/or your career objectives contribute to the University’s goal of diversity.
Division of Continuing Education Scholarship
The UCI Division of Continuing Education offers a limited number of scholarships (up to $800) to post-bacc students (and other students enrolled in certificate programs through the Division of Continuing Education). You can read more information about this scholarship here: https://ce.uci.edu/student-resources/registration-costs/dce-scholarships
Veterans Benefits
Effective August 2017, the UCI Post-Baccalaureate Program in Psychological Science is a VA approved program! Students who would like to use their Chapter 35: Dependents Educational Assistance benefit or their Chapter 33: Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits may do so with our program.
Please note that although Chapter 35 and GI Bill benefits are available with our program, the Cal-Vet College Fee Waiver is not. The UCI Post-Baccalaureate Program in Psychological Science (formerly named "the UCI Post-Baccalaureate Program in Psychology & Social Behavior") is self-supporting. Under California law and University of California Policy, Cal-Vet College Fee Waiver benefits cannot be used towards UCI Division of Continuing Education programs or self-supporting UC programs. The Cal-Vet College Fee Waiver applies only to system-wide tuition and fees charged for state supported UC programs. Please visit the California Department of Veterans Affairs website for more information about the Cal-Vet Waiver: https://www.calvet.ca.gov/veteran-services-benefits/education.
Please contact Ms. Marlita Harris (Director of Student Affairs and Associate Registrar for the Division of Continuing Education) at marlitah@uci.edu if you have additional questions about veterans benefits.
529 Savings Plan
If you have a 529 Savings Plan, the post-bacc program is an eligible program for this plan. To use your 529 Savings to pay for your program fee and/or course fees, you would simply need to provide your bank to make a check to the following address: University of California - Irvine, Division of Continuing Education, Attn: Student Affairs & Student Services, 510 E. Peltason Dr., Irvine, CA 92697. The UCI Federal four-digit school code is 001314 - Branch 98. [Brank 00 is the UCI main campus and should not be used). Please ask your bank to include your name, the program name (Post Bacc Psych Sci), and your DCE Student ID# (which you will receive if you join the program).
Segal Americorps Education Award
If you earned a Segal Education Award by completing an Americorps program (such as City Year or Teach for America), you may use this award to help pay for the cost of the post-bacc program.
Deferring Existing Student Loans while in our Program
For those of you interested in deferring your existing student loans while in post-bacc program, please note that UCI Continuing Education does not automatically report your enrollment to the National Student Clearinghouse. However, to defer your existing student loan payments, you may request a letter from the UCI Continuing Education Records Office to verify your enrollment at the start of the program. If you need a deferment letter for each quarter, UCI Continuing Education can do that as well. The letter explains that UCI Continuing Education does not receive Title IV aid but does provide the start/end dates of registration, the total units and your status (full time, part time, etc.) The lender will review the document and make their decision to defer your loans. If your lender has a form to defer loans, please forward that to UCI Continuing Education as well (they will verify that their letter provides all the information required on the form).
Housing
Post-bacc students are not eligible for on-campus housing; however, we do have several suggestions of places you can look for housing and/or roommates:
- The UCI Off Campus Housing website (https://offcampus.housing.uci.edu/)
- The University Hills website (https://uhills.org/marketplace/) - select the "sabbatical housing listings" category. You can also put your name on a waiting list for housing here: https://icha.uci.edu/housing-request/. (In the "Job Title" section, you should write, "Post-Baccalaureate Research Assistant").
- Irvine Company apartments website (https://www.irvinecompanyapartments.com/locations/orange-county.html)
- Craigslist (http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/)
- Apartments.com (http://www.apartments.com/irvine-ca/)
- The Apartment Guide (http://www.apartmentguide.com/apartments/California/Irvine/)
- The Apartment List (https://www.apartmentlist.com/ca/irvine).
- The UCI Subreddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/UCI/)
- American Campus Communities Student Housing (https://www.americancampus.com/student-apartments/ca/irvine) - if you apply for housing here, you should apply as a graduate student, but make note in your application that you are actually an incoming post-bacc student
- The Irvine Apartments Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/irvinesubleases)
Also, if you join the program, we can help connect you with other post-bacc students who may also be looking for a place to live, in the event that you wish to search for an apartment/house together.