As the Social Science Honors Program (SSHP) aims to create a quality experience for UCI students aiming to refine their scholarship, it is critical that students have access to resources and information that will facilitate the complete growth of a competitive scholar graduating with a UC degree. Specifically, SSHP fosters an environment that motivates Social Science students to pursue quality research by addressing social problems and community concerns. Specifically, the program supports action research and encourages students to be critical thinkers and analytical scholars through both qualitative and quantitative research.
As students strive to be top scholars and advocates for specific communities, the goal of achieving graduate school admissions or more research opportunities may arise. To assist students in their quest toward the next step in education, the SSHP director shares an educational blueprint to expand your academic training and portfolio. The educational blueprint includes: (1) the five educational pillars, (2) the role of a good mentor and fostering a strong mentorship relationship, (3) graduate school preparation (personal statement file and application process). It is highly encouraged that you print each of these briefs for review and familiarization given their content and value.
Take time to review the column on graduate school and the short tips to gain entrance. Visit the Social Sciences Academic Resource Center (SBSG 1232) to attend a workshop addressing graduate school. Consider enrolling in the Graduate School for the 21st Century course offered through the Social Sciences.
As the SSHP program provides an extraordinary experience in conducting research in your area of interest, it is critical for undergraduates to develop a research agenda as they consider graduate education. Given such, one program is not enough for research training. The Research Programs section highlights various other (on- and off-campus) programs that will provide you funding to support your research. Moreover, these programs help you further refine your research skills while occasionally opening graduate school opportunities across the nation. Explore the various links highlighting on- (e.g., UROP, SAEP, SURP) and off-campus research opportunities (e.g., CIC) to identify the program that will best facilitate your further educational goals.
Graduate School
As the Social Science Honors Program (SSHP) strives to equip students with research skills, its primary goal is to ensure students have a comprehensive educational experience at the University of California Irvine. In developing the program to offer a series of quality experiences for Social Science majors, a key component to its mission is to encourage students to consider and apply to graduate school.
Graduate school is too often a stage in higher education that many students dismiss because they do not think they have the proper training to be a competitive applicant. SSHP teaches students the various components to create a strong academic portfolio to ensure success in the graduate school application process.
In preparation for such an essential stage of your career, FSSP has outlined various experiences you must pursue to ensure your readiness for a graduate education. These components include:
- Achieving the Five Educational Pillars
- Finding a Mentor
- Taking the Proper Entrance Exams
- Writing a Strong Personal Statement
- Develop a Vita
- Creating a Graduate School Binder
Research Programs
The Social Science Honors Program (SSHP) is a program to assist students in developing a strong academic portfolio for their post-baccalaureate pursuits. In creating an opportunity to ensure students maximize their learning opportunities through SSHP, the Program Director presents various opportunities throughout the year for students to engage in research. Specifically, throughout the academic year, the program calendar includes various visits by multiple research program facilitators to discuss year-round and summer research opportunities. The panels, workshops and general lecturers outside the classroom complement the SSHP experience and provide student scholars with various opportunities to learn about research, its practice, and benefits.
To facilitate scholarship and research understanding, FSSP works with various programs across campus and outside of UCI to expose students to research and the research process. Additional research programs that complement and parallel, FSSP’s mission and goals include:
Funding Your Projects
Summer Research
- Summer Academic Enrichment Program (SAEP)
- Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP)
- Committee on Institutional Consortium (CIC-SROP)
These programs will help Social Science Honor Program students to extend their research experiences beyond the SSHP while maximizing their learning process outside of UCI and the classroom.