UC Irvine vs UCSD: admit rates, GPA and how Taiwanese applicants choose
OfferLand users have reported 149 application results for UC Irvine and 190 for UCSD; 63 applicants applied to both. The table puts admit rates, admitted applicants’ scores, top fields and programs side by side.
Self-reported sample from OfferLand users, not official school data; figures based on fewer than 5 results are not shown. Data as of 2026-10-22.
Side by side
Admit rate = (admitted + enrolled) ÷ (admitted + enrolled + rejected); waitlisted and pending results are left out. Median GPA and TOEFL count each admitted applicant once. Figures based on fewer than 5 results are not shown.
| Metric | UC Irvine | UCSD |
|---|---|---|
| Country | United States | United States |
| QS ranking (2027) | #252 | #81 |
| US News ranking (2027) | #34 | #29 |
| Application results | 149 | 190 |
| Applicants | 137 | 179 |
| Admit rate | 69.8% | 61.6% |
| Median GPA (admitted) | 3.67 | 3.72 |
| Median TOEFL (admitted) | 99 | 102 |
| Most-reported fields | Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (77),Business Analytics (19),General Engineering (13),Materials Science (12) | Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (114),Materials Science (22),General Engineering (19),Data Science (12) |
Most-reported programs
Programs with at least 5 results, by number of results.
UC Irvine
| Program | Results | Admit rate |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Science (Master's) | 42 | 42.9% |
| Business Analytics (Master's) | 19 | 78.9% |
| Software Engineering (Master's) | 17 | 64.7% |
| Electrical and Computer Engineering (Master's) | 14 | 100.0% |
| Finance (Master's) | 12 | 100.0% |
UCSD
| Program | Results | Admit rate |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Science and Engineering (Master's) | 59 | 47.5% |
| Electrical and Computer Engineering (Master's) | 46 | 65.2% |
| Material Science and Engineering (Master's) | 22 | 86.4% |
| Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (Master's) | 11 | 72.7% |
| Data Science (Master's) | 9 | 33.3% |
Applicants to both schools
63 applicants reported results at both schools: 42 were admitted to UC Irvine, 27 to UCSD, and 23 to both.
Of those admitted to both who reported a final choice, 1 chose UC Irvine and 3 chose UCSD. A small sample; treat it as a hint only.
AI summary (from OfferLand data and posts on the site, 2026-10-21)
In results reported to OfferLand, UCI admits a larger share than UCSD (69.8% vs 61.6%), and its admits report a somewhat lower median GPA (3.67 vs 3.72) and TOEFL (99 vs 102). Of the 63 people who applied to both, UCI admitted 42 and UCSD only 27; among the 23 admitted to both, 4 reported a final choice, 3 for UCSD and 1 for UCI, which is a very small sample. Both schools' most reported programs are CS and EECS, with UCI adding business analytics and software engineering master's and UCSD adding materials science and data science.
- CS master's admit rates are close: UCI's CS MS admitted 42.9% of 42 reports and UCSD's CSE MS 47.5% of 59. The gap comes from other programs, such as UCI's business analytics MS at 78.9% and its ECE MS, where all 14 reports were admits.Source: data on this page
Written by AI from the data on this page and the cited posts and interview reports. It may contain mistakes and is neither official school information nor application advice; check the original posts and the schools’ own announcements.
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When citing these figures, please credit OfferLand. How the data is collected: About the data.