University of California schools and International Students

[jungThug]

Hello all, I'm an international student hoping to apply to a bunch of UC schools for their English PhD program. My speciality would be in race and capitalism in 20th century / contemporary lit. However, I've heard conflicting rumors about the kinds of funding offered by these schools to international students. Some people say that they don't give international students any funding, unless you are doing STEM, others say that sometimes the richer UC's (i.e. Berkeley, LA, and Irvine) give funding to international students. I've also heard that the biggest reason why international students don't get money is because they can't apply for California residency, which increases costs tremendously for the department. 

Does anybody in this forum know if there are any funded international students getting an English PhD in any UC school? I don't want their names, I would just like to know if they exist and (if possible) which UC they're in, which would give me some reassurance that international students can get funded. 

Have any of y'all heard versions of these rumors that international students aren't given money from the University of California?

[ExponentialDecay]

Afaik all UCs give funding to all admitted students (my hesitation is unrelated to international status - I'm just not sure if the lower-ranked UCs are fully funded or not). However, your visa status will have an effect on your competitiveness for admission, since it's true that international students cost more to all public universities, not just the UCs. Overall, I would recommend you focus your apps on privates, even if you are a very strong applicant, because attending a public could have an impact on your eligibility for funding or work at that institution down the road, not just when you apply

[unræd]

I'm at Berkeley. All students admitted to the English program are funded, including international students. There are two in my cohort of thirteen; I know of at least one in the incoming cohort of nine. Hope that helps!

Edited August 3, 2016 by unræd

[TakeruK]

As others said, the fraction of international students at public schools is a lot lower than private schools. For example, across the UC campuses, about 10% of grad students are international but at my private school, we are currently at around 45% international students (this is a bit high compared to other schools though, many other private schools have a ratio around 20%-30% instead).

There is variation across fields but I'd just like to put one more piece of advice that is generally true across many fields. It's true that applying as an international student at any public school will pose extra challenges, but it is especially challenging for some schools specifically that receive a higher than average number of international applicants. I have heard that the UC schools are in this category, especially the more well known UC campuses.

[Beals]

jungThug, I too am particularly worried about this!  I know someone (Canadian) who was accepted to UCSB for a STEM program, and was not offered any funding.  

From what I've heard, TakeruK's answer is most likely true- UC schools will fund internationals, but not many.  While other schools might have enough funding for 7 internationals, the UCs only have enough funding for 2 (arbitrary numbers, but those are the ones I'm telling myself). 

I tried to find only private schools to apply to, but it looks like I'll be applying to Berkeley, UC Irvine, and UT Austin, despite my funding concerns. 

[jungThug]

Thanks for the replies folks! I think I might apply to just a couple UC schools, as opposed to most of them, and I'll add more private schools in my list as well. 

[TakeruK]

6 hours ago, jungThug said:

Thanks for the replies folks! I think I might apply to just a couple UC schools, as opposed to most of them, and I'll add more private schools in my list as well. 

If you have the time and money for the applications, you can consider adding the private schools on top of the UC schools. 

I say this because I don't think difficulty of getting into a school (or winning an award, or getting a job) should be the main reason you don't apply for something that you want. Sure it's going to be hard, but you are definitely not getting in if you don't apply.

It would not be wise to only apply to UC schools as an international student though. But unless you have a strict limit on the number of applications you can send in, don't cut out a UC school just because it's harder for international students. It may not be a good idea to apply to "most of them" because maybe not all of them are good fits but don't limit yourself because you are an international student. 

[poliscar]

I know of a few successful & happy Canadians at Berkeley!

[jungThug]

22 hours ago, TakeruK said:

If you have the time and money for the applications, you can consider adding the private schools on top of the UC schools. 

 

Unfortunately, I only have the money to apply to 8 schools (maybe 10, if I can save enough by then). And honestly the departments where I perceive myself to have the best "fit" are UC Berkeley, LA, and Irvine. I wanted to apply to more UC schools to be closer to my significant other, who is going to be working in Cali for the foreseeable future. I'm definitely applying to Stanford as well, and maybe USC's American Studies program. Aside from these two, are there any other private schools in Cali that I've overlooked? 

Thanks for all the suggestions and feedback! I wish I had discovered this forum when I was applying to MA programs. 

[TakeruK]

1 hour ago, jungThug said:

Unfortunately, I only have the money to apply to 8 schools (maybe 10, if I can save enough by then). And honestly the departments where I perceive myself to have the best "fit" are UC Berkeley, LA, and Irvine. I wanted to apply to more UC schools to be closer to my significant other, who is going to be working in Cali for the foreseeable future. I'm definitely applying to Stanford as well, and maybe USC's American Studies program. Aside from these two, are there any other private schools in Cali that I've overlooked? 

Thanks for all the suggestions and feedback! I wish I had discovered this forum when I was applying to MA programs. 

8-10 schools is a good number  

I don't know about your field so I don't know which schools are good fits for your interests (or even which schools offer good programs). I can think of one more private University with graduate programs in the humanities and it's Claremont Graduate University. Maybe others in your field here can help though!

[ExponentialDecay]

2 hours ago, TakeruK said:

8-10 schools is a good number  

I don't know about your field so I don't know which schools are good fits for your interests (or even which schools offer good programs). I can think of one more private University with graduate programs in the humanities and it's Claremont Graduate University. Maybe others in your field here can help though!

CGU doesn't fund their students. Abort abort abort.

[Beals]

23 hours ago, poliscar said:

I know of a few successful & happy Canadians at Berkeley!

Good to hear!!

[TakeruK]

11 hours ago, ExponentialDecay said:

CGU doesn't fund their students. Abort abort abort.

Oops!