University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California, United States · Established 1919
Official website ↗Total Students
49,013
Student:Faculty
19:1
Setting
Urban
Overview
UCLA is a public research university in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, five miles from the Pacific Ocean, on a 419-acre campus at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains. Founded in 1919 as the Southern Branch of the University of California, UCLA is now the most applied-to university in the United States by volume, drawing roughly 145,000 first-year applications for a class of under 14,000. Like UC Berkeley, UCLA does not use the Common Application: undergraduates apply through the University of California's own UC Application and answer four of eight Personal Insight Questions instead of a single personal essay, and UCLA has been a test-blind campus (SAT/ACT not considered) since 2020 under systemwide UC policy. UCLA is organized into the College of Letters and Science and 11 professional schools, with particular strength in Film, Television, and Theater (the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television is one of the most competitive film programs in the world), the Anderson School of Management, Engineering, Psychology, and Political Science; UCLA also fields one of the most decorated athletics programs in NCAA history, with more national championships than any other university. Its Westwood location places students minutes from Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and the entertainment and technology industries clustered across the Los Angeles Westside. For prospective IELTS or TOEFL candidates, UCLA sets a published minimum of TOEFL iBT 87 or IELTS Academic 7.0 for admission eligibility, but strongly recommends TOEFL 100+ or IELTS 7.5+ specifically to avoid a mandatory English as a Second Language Placement Examination (ESLPE) that admitted students below that higher bar must sit upon arrival — an unusual two-tier structure prospective applicants should plan around rather than treating the bare minimum as a safe target.
Rankings
US News National Universities
#17 (2026)
US News National Universities · Top Public Schools
#2 (2026)
Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings · Overall (Global)
#18 (2026)
Admissions, Requirements & Costs
Requirements, deadlines, and test-score cutoffs differ significantly between undergraduate and graduate/Master's programs — shown separately below.
Undergraduate
Acceptance Rate
9.4%
Application Fee
$95
Documents required: UC Application (not the Common Application), Four of eight Personal Insight Questions (350 words each), Official secondary school transcripts showing UC-required 'A-G' coursework, TOEFL iBT (87+) or IELTS Academic (7.0+) scores for applicants who don't qualify for a waiver, Proof of financial support / Non-immigrant Information Form, required only after admission, No letters of recommendation are required or accepted for most applicants (unlike most private US universities)
| Term | Deadline | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | November 30 | Regular Decision |
Test Scores
IELTS Minimum
7 (Gabble rec. 7.5)
TOEFL Minimum
87 (4.5 new scale) · Gabble rec. 100 (5 new scale)
IELTS notes: Minimum overall band score is 7.0. Admitted students scoring below 7.5 overall must take UCLA's own English as a Second Language Placement Examination (ESLPE) upon arrival, so 7.5+ is the more useful practical target for applicants who want to avoid mandatory placement testing.
TOEFL notes: Minimum overall score is 87 (for tests taken before ETS's January 2026 rescale). Admitted students scoring below 100 overall must take UCLA's ESLPE upon arrival, so 100+ is the more useful practical target.
TOEFL scores shown as: legacy 0–120 scale (new 1.0–6.0 CEFR-aligned scale, effective Jan 2026).
Accepted tests: IELTS Academic, TOEFL iBT
Waiver: Applicants are generally exempt if they have completed at least three years of secondary or postsecondary education at an institution where English is the sole language of instruction, or hold citizenship in a UC-recognized English-speaking country; UCLA applies UC systemwide waiver policy.
Tuition (Intl.)
$55,700
Tuition (Domestic)
$16,430
Living Expenses/yr
$29,070
Total Cost of Attendance
$84,770
Scholarships
UCLA Regents Scholarship
A named honorary award; the accompanying financial award varies and for most recipients is modest relative to the sticker cost of attendance
UCLA's most prestigious undergraduate scholarship, awarded to entering first-year students with outstanding academic achievement; recipients also gain access to a dedicated support community and priority academic advising.
Eligibility: Automatic consideration for all admitted first-year applicants through the standard UC Application; no separate application required
Department- and donor-funded international scholarships
Varies considerably by award; typically a partial contribution rather than a full-cost scholarship
A rotating set of smaller, donor-funded scholarships administered by individual UCLA schools and departments, generally awarded to continuing rather than incoming students.
Eligibility: Varies by award; most require current UCLA enrollment and a separate application through the relevant department
Popular Programs
Gabble Prep Insights
Where applicants lose points: Writing carries the most concentrated weight, since the UC Application replaces one long personal essay with four 350-word Personal Insight Question responses and accepts no letters of recommendation, meaning UCLA's holistic reviewers form their entire impression of an applicant's voice from those short written pieces alone.
Because UCLA's bare admission minimum (TOEFL 87 / IELTS 7.0) sits meaningfully below the practical target needed to avoid mandatory ESLPE placement testing after enrollment (TOEFL 100 / IELTS 7.5), applicants often clear the admission floor but then face an unplanned English course load in their first term if they didn't prepare past the minimum.
Figures above use UCLA's official 2026-27 nonresident undergraduate figures: $16,430 in-state tuition and fees, plus $39,270 Nonresident Supplemental Tuition, for a combined $55,700 nonresident tuition figure; the nonresident on-campus cost of attendance is $84,770, implying roughly $29,070/year in living/personal expenses (room, board, books, transportation, health insurance), used here as livingExpensesPerYear. UCLA does not publish a current, precise total international-student headcount or percentage across its whole student body in a single official source as of this writing (only that international students made up 9% of the entering Fall 2025 first-year class specifically), so internationalStudents/internationalPercentage are left null rather than estimated. The 9.4% acceptance rate is UCLA's own published Fall 2025 first-year figure (13,659 admitted of 145,085 applicants) and does not represent a separately published international-only rate.
Recommended prep timeline: 10 weeks
Graduate (Master's & PhD)
Application Fee
$155
Documents required: Statement of Purpose, Official transcripts from all previously attended institutions, Three letters of recommendation, CV/resume, TOEFL iBT or IELTS scores for applicants who don't qualify for a waiver (Graduate Division minimum; individual departments may require higher), GRE or GMAT scores, only where a specific department or professional program (e.g. Anderson MBA) requires it
| Term | Deadline | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Department-specific, generally clustering in December for Fall entry | Regular Decision |
Test Scores
IELTS Minimum
7 (Gabble rec. 7)
TOEFL Minimum
87 (4.5 new scale) · Gabble rec. 87 (4.5 new scale)
IELTS notes: UCLA Graduate Division's published minimum is 7.0 overall IELTS Academic; individual departments and professional schools may set a higher bar.
TOEFL notes: UCLA Graduate Division's published minimum is 87 overall TOEFL iBT (for tests taken before ETS's January 2026 rescale); individual departments and professional schools may set a higher bar.
TOEFL scores shown as: legacy 0–120 scale (new 1.0–6.0 CEFR-aligned scale, effective Jan 2026).
Accepted tests: IELTS Academic, TOEFL iBT
Waiver: Applicants who hold a bachelor's or advanced degree from an institution where English is the sole language of instruction are generally exempt from the Graduate Division's English-test requirement; some departments apply narrower or additional criteria.
Scholarships
Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) / Teaching Assistant (TA) appointments
Varies by department and appointment type; typically covers tuition/fees plus a living stipend for the academic year
The dominant form of PhD funding at UCLA: most PhD students are funded through a mix of fellowships, teaching assistantships, and research appointments, which typically cover tuition, the Nonresident Supplemental Tuition, and a living stipend.
Eligibility: Offered selectively by individual departments as part of a PhD admission offer; generally not available to most terminal master's students
Graduate Division and departmental fellowships
Varies considerably by fellowship
A range of named, donor- and endowment-funded fellowships administered by individual departments and UCLA's Graduate Division, awarded competitively to incoming and continuing graduate students.
Eligibility: Varies by fellowship; most require nomination or automatic consideration through the standard graduate application, assessed by the department
Popular Programs
Gabble Prep Insights
Where applicants lose points: Writing is generally the toughest section for graduate applicants, since a focused, well-argued Statement of Purpose is scrutinized closely across UCLA's competitive graduate programs and demands the kind of sustained academic argument a bare-minimum English test score does not guarantee.
Applicants to quantitative programs (engineering, sciences, most PhD tracks) tend to clear Reading and Listening comfortably but sometimes underprepare Writing and Speaking for research-proposal and seminar-style academic discussion; applicants to Film, Television and Theater and other portfolio-heavy programs face an additional layer of creative-work evaluation alongside the standard English-proficiency bar.
UCLA does not publish one consolidated, university-wide graduate tuition and cost-of-attendance figure comparable to its official undergraduate budget page — tuition varies by department (academic PhD/master's programs use the UC Graduate Academic fee schedule, while professional programs like the Anderson MBA, Law, and Medicine set their own, considerably higher tuition) and this dataset was not able to confirm one single representative figure with the same confidence as the undergraduate numbers, so all graduate cost fields are left null rather than estimated; check your specific program's page directly. GRE/GMAT: most UCLA PhD and academic master's programs do not require the GRE; GMAT or GRE is required for the Anderson MBA and some other professional master's programs. UCLA does not publish one official aggregate graduate acceptance rate (admission is decided independently by each department and professional school), so that field is left null.
Recommended prep timeline: 10 weeks
Programs Offered
BA in Film and Television
Undergraduate · 4 yr
BA in Business Economics
Undergraduate · 4 yr
BA in Political Science
Undergraduate · 4 yr
BS in Computer Science
Undergraduate · 4 yr
MBA
Masters · 2 yr
MFA in Film, Television and Digital Media
Masters · 3 yr
Master of Public Health
Masters · 2 yr
PhD (various departments)
PhD · 5 yr
Campus Life
UCLA's 419-acre Westwood campus sits five miles from the Pacific Ocean at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains, with more than 1,200 registered student organizations spanning academic, cultural, political, and hobby interests. UCLA Bruins athletics has won more NCAA national championships than any other university in history, and its move to the Big Ten Conference (alongside fellow former Pac-12 member USC) has reshaped its athletics conference landscape since 2024. UCLA's location on Los Angeles's Westside places students minutes from Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and the entertainment industry, and its School of Theater, Film and Television gives students unusually direct access to Hollywood's film and media industry.
Notable clubs: Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC), UCLA's undergraduate student government, Daily Bruin, UCLA's independent student newspaper, UCLA Marching Band and Spirit Squad, Bruin Consulting and other pre-professional societies, Over 1,200 registered student organizations
Outcomes
Undergraduate
Graduate
Notable Alumni
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — NBA Hall of Famer and one of basketball's greatest players; led UCLA to three consecutive NCAA championships
Vinton Cerf — 'Father of the Internet' and co-designer of the TCP/IP protocols; conducted graduate studies at UCLA
Francis Ford Coppola — Academy Award-winning director of The Godfather; earned an MFA at UCLA's film school
Ralph Bunche — First person of color to win the Nobel Peace Prize (1950); earned his BA at UCLA
William Sharpe — Nobel laureate economist (1990) and creator of the Sharpe ratio; earned his BA, MA, and PhD at UCLA
Visa Interview Prep
UCLA's Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars issues Form I-20 to admitted students once financial documentation is submitted, which the student then uses to pay the SEVIS I-901 fee and schedule the F-1 visa interview at a US embassy or consulate. Unlike the UK's Student visa route, the US F-1 process centers on an in-person consular interview assessing genuine student intent and non-immigrant intent, alongside financial and academic documentation; UCLA recommends starting this process as soon as the I-20 is issued given known visa-appointment backlogs in some countries.
- Clarity on the specific program of study and why UCLA specifically
- Demonstrating strong ties and credible intent to return home after studies
- Financial sufficiency and clear documentation of funding sources for the full program length
- Consistency between prior academic background and the chosen field of study
FAQs
What TOEFL or IELTS score do I need to apply to UCLA as an undergraduate?Undergrad
UCLA's published minimum is TOEFL iBT 87 or IELTS Academic 7.0 for admission eligibility. However, admitted students scoring below TOEFL 100 or IELTS 7.5 must take UCLA's own English as a Second Language Placement Examination (ESLPE) upon arrival, so applicants aiming to avoid mandatory placement testing should target the higher scores rather than the bare minimum.
Does UCLA use the Common Application?Undergrad
No. Like all UC campuses, UCLA uses the University of California's own UC Application. Applicants answer four of eight Personal Insight Questions (350 words each) instead of one long essay, and the standard UC application does not require or accept letters of recommendation from most applicants.
Do I need to submit SAT or ACT scores to apply to UCLA?Undergrad
No. The University of California system has been test-blind (SAT/ACT scores are not considered, even if submitted) since 2020, and this remains the policy for the current admissions cycle, with any reinstatement considered unlikely before the Class of 2028 or 2029.
Will I need to attend a visa interview to study at UCLA?
Yes. As a US institution, UCLA issues an F-1 Form I-20 through its Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars, and admitted international students must attend an in-person interview at a US embassy or consulate as part of the standard F-1 visa process.
Does UCLA offer need-based financial aid to international students?
Not in the way well-endowed private universities like Harvard do. UCLA does not have a large-scale need-based institutional aid program for international undergraduates; most funding for international students comes from the Regents Scholarship (merit-based, open to all admitted students), outside scholarships, or family resources. Graduate funding is typically tied to Graduate Student Researcher/Teaching Assistant appointments and departmental fellowships rather than need-based aid.
Is the GRE or GMAT required for UCLA graduate programs?Grad
It depends on the program. Most UCLA PhD programs and academic master's programs do not require the GRE. GMAT or GRE is required for professional programs such as the Anderson MBA — always check your specific program's current policy.
How competitive is UCLA for international applicants?
Very. UCLA's own published Fall 2025 figures show an overall 9.4% acceptance rate (13,659 admitted of 145,085 applicants), among the lowest of any US public university and roughly on par with several Ivy League schools, though UCLA does not publish a separate international-only rate.
How many weeks should I spend preparing for IELTS or TOEFL before applying to UCLA?
A realistic window is 8-10 weeks. Because UCLA's admission minimum (TOEFL 87 / IELTS 7.0) is noticeably lower than the score needed to avoid mandatory ESLPE placement testing after enrollment (TOEFL 100 / IELTS 7.5), applicants should prepare well past the bare minimum if they want to start UCLA without an extra required English course.