How to Apply

**Please note, we are NOT accepting applications for Fall 2024 admission.**

To apply to the M.F.A. program in Directing, a completed application and application fee ($135 for U.S. Citizens and lawful U.S. Permanent Residents, and $155 for all other applicants) is required. The application fee must be submitted online (checks will not be accepted). All graduate applications are submitted electronically and must be supported by appropriate academic transcripts from each college/university attended, three letters of recommendation, and resume. Unofficial transcripts must be submitted online with the graduate application. Official transcripts must be provided only after a candidate has been accepted by the program and formally admitted to the university. All letters of recommendation must be submitted online. Directing resumes should be uploaded to the electronic application.

Submission of the Statement of Purpose is mandatory. Submission of the Personal History Statement is optional. The Department of Drama has no word/character minimum or maximum length requirements for these statements.

Please be sure to specify on the online application your "Specific Area of Interest" as Directing.

For Directing applicants, the GRE exam is not required. After we have received and processed your M.F.A. application, application fee, and directing resume, our directing faculty will contact you, if you meet their initial criteria, regarding the city and time of your audition/interview. If you move after you submit your application, it is important that you notify our office with your new address and phone number. The deadline for submission of letters of recommendations is February 1st. Only persons who have submitted applications, application fees, and directing resumes can be assigned an audition/interview time.

Please be sure to contact the Drama Office if you haven't heard back from us by mid January, if you are going to U/RTA auditions/interviews.

For those international applicants that are required to successfully complete an English langauge proficiency exam (TOEFL or IELTS) to be considered for admission, please know that:

The TOEFL is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS).

  • Please select institution code 4859 to have your official score sent to UCI. No department code is needed.
  • We only accept scores submitted electronically by ETS.
  • Test results that are two years old or older are not acceptable.
  • We do not accept MyBest scores; you must submit all individual test scores.
  • Results of institutional (non-ETS) administrations of the TOEFL are not acceptable.
  • We will accept the TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition test.  The same minimum score applies.
  • We do NOT accept the TOEFL ITP Plus test for China or the TOEFL Essentials test.
  • For more information, please visit their website at www.ets.org/toefl

TOEFL Score Requirements for Admission Consideration:
An overall minimum score of 80.

As an alternative to the TOEFL, you may submit scores from the Academic Modules of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

  • We only accept scores submitted electronically by the IELTS test center. No paper Test Report Forms will be accepted.
  • Test results that are two years old or older are not acceptable.
  • We will accept the IELTS Indicator test.  The same minimum score applies.
  • An institutional code is NOT required. Please contact the test center directly where you took the IELTS test and request that your test scores be sent electronically using the IELTS system. All IELTS test centers worldwide are able to send scores electronically to our institution. 
  • For more information, please visit their website at www.ielts.org.

IELTS Score Requirements for Admission Consideration:
An overall minimum score of 7 for admission, with a score of no less than 6 on any individual module.

Find out more:

          :: Apply Electronically
          :: Graduate Division website
          :: Graduate Housing
          :: Financial Aid
          :: Information for International Applicants
          :: Application Fee Waivers