Frequently Asked Questions for Applicants From High School to UC Irvine

This information is for prospective first years coming from high school. Qualifying students include students who are: seniors in high school, or recent high school graduates, or in a dual-enrollment program while in high school, or in a middle college program while in high school. If you are coming to UC Irvine post-community college and/or considered a transfer student by UC Irvine Admissions, please go to FAQs for Transfer Students for more information.

Do I need to apply to join the Campuswide Honors Collegium?
Admission to the Campuswide Honors Collegium for incoming first years is by invitation. No additional application beyond the UC Irvine Admissions Application is necessary. Selection for incoming first years is based on your UC Irvine application. All students are automatically considered for CHC.

How will I know if I am invited to join the Campuswide Honors Collegium?
Incoming first years who are invited to join the CHC are informed in the spring. Along with the UC Irvine admission decision, selection for Campuswide Honors will be indicated in your UC Irvine Applicant Portal.

How do I maintain my eligibility for the Campuswide Honors Collegium?
Your invitation to join Campuswide Honors is conditional upon admission to UC Irvine and upon fulfillment of the UC Entry Level Writing Requirement before you begin classes in the fall. If invited to CHC, you must also accept or decline your UCI invitation by filling out a short form in the honors tab of your UC Irvine Applicant Portal after you submit your Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) to UC Irvine. This form is due at the UC Irvine SIR deadline for high school student applicants.

What are the academic course requirements for the CHC?
As a Campuswide Honors student, you will take courses with your class cohort that are designed to engage you in a broad range of subjects built to excite and engage you in the honors curriculum. ALL CHC students take courses in the CHC and engage in research as part of their CHC requirements.

The Campuswide Honors curriculum is taught by world-class faculty who are passionate about teaching honors students. Many of the courses are team-taught and interdisciplinary, exposing students to new ideas, issues, and methods of inquiry. Campuswide Honors courses offer the opportunity to learn and collaborate with UC Irvine faculty and other highly motivated students. All courses in the Campuswide Honors core sequences fulfill parts of UC Irvine’s General Education Requirement that all UCI students are required to complete. Campuswide Honors students take a minimum of one honors course per quarter until they have completed the curriculum.

To read more about CHC academic requirements, go to the curriculum page of the CHC website http://honors.uci.edu/academics/curriculum/. As a UC Irvine incoming student, you will attend Summer Orientation where you will receive more information about course requirements in your major and in the CHC, and register for fall quarter classes.

How do Advanced Placement (AP) credits count for CHC students?
AP coursework and test scores are not prerequisites to any of the CHC classes. CHC students do not need to have taken AP classes to be successful in CHC coursework. However the CHC faculty have determined that high school AP courses are not equivalent to the CHC’s specially designed honors courses, and AP credit cannot be used to exempt students from CHC courses.

AP credit is useful in a number of ways at UCI, from possibly fulfilling major requirements to earning elective units and more as explained in the UCI catalogue. AP classes are also great preparation for the rigors of college coursework.

I plan to complete a middle college program, taking both high school and community college courses. What will my CHC courses requirements be?
Learning through specially designed CHC courses with a cohort of other honors students is one of the greatest benefits of being a CHC student. ALL CHC students take between three and nine CHC courses, and engage in at least two quarters of research culminating in an honors thesis or project. For students who have their IGETC or lower division writing completion certified from community college as part of a middle college program, CHC curricular requirements may be adjusted on a case-by-case basis during Summer Orientation advising.

I have questions about what courses I will be taking next year. How do I get them answered?
We understand your excitement about starting to plan for your classes at UC Irvine! Incoming students are advised during the summer at Summer Orientation, starting in July. At that time, you will learn more about CHC curricular requirements and major requirements, and register for fall quarter classes. We are unable to provide advisement regarding UC Irvine enrollment prior to July. Watch your email for more information on summer advising.

What if I am not invited to join the Campuswide Honors, and would like to join?
If you are not invited to Campuswide Honors as an incoming first year, consider applying to the program once you have become a UC Irvine student. In order to be eligible to apply, you must have completed at least one quarter at UC Irvine as a full-time student (a minimum of 12 units taken for a grade) with a GPA of 3.5 or better, and have completed the UC Entry Level Writing Requirement. Many students enter Campuswide Honors through this application process. See the Campuswide Honors Admissions page for further information.

Does your program have scholarships?
At UC Irvine, merit scholarships (including the Regents’ Scholarship) and financial aid are handled by the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.

Go back to the Campuswide Honors Prospective Students page