International Students

All incoming international first-year students are required to complete two components of orientation: Online Orientation and In-Person Orientation.

If you are an incoming international transfer student, please visit the Transfer Orientation Page to learn more about your orientation requirements.

If you are the parent/family member of an incoming international student, please visit the Parent/Family Page to learn more about Parent/Family Orientation. Please note, there is no Parent/Family Orientation Program during ISPOP.

  • Online Orientation showcases many opportunities and resources available to you at UCI and helps prepare you for in-person orientation.
  • Online orientation should be completed before you attend in-person orientation. There is no live component to online orientation, so you can work on Online Orientation whenever you like.
    • There are no consequences if you do not complete Orientation Orientation before your In-Person Orientation. However, it is very helpful to have the information provided in Online Orientation before attending in-person.
  • You do not have to do anything to sign up for Online Orientation. On June 20th at 4:00 PM, you will get an email to your UCI email letting you know that Online Orientation is available, and it will include instructions on how to access the Online Orientation platform.
  • On September 12th at 4:00 PM, we will be launching the last Online Orientation Module called “Getting Ready for Fall.” Please do your best to complete this prior to the start of Fall Quarter, which begins on September 25th.

We recommend that incoming international first-year students attend the International Student Parent Orientation Program (ISPOP), which specifically includes resources and workshops for international students

  • ISPOP takes place at the very end of summer, so students living abroad do not have to travel internationally during the summer for the 2-day orientation.
  • ISPOP is for international students only, so it is a great opportunity to meet fellow international students.
  • Since ISPOP takes place right before Fall Quarter starts, academic advising and course enrollment cannot take place during ISPOP. Instead, academic advising and course enrollment will take place virtually over the summer.
  • You must make a reservation for ISPOP. You are not automatically placed in ISPOP, and you must have a reservation in order to attend an in-person orientation.
  • You can only make an ISPOP reservation during your reservation window. Starting on May 18th, you will be able to check when your reservation window opens, and you will be receiving an email from the Orientation Team on that day letting you know how to check your reservation window. Once your window opens, it will remain open for 24 hours. All reservation windows will reopen on June 9th at 4:00 PM, so if you missed your initial window, you will be able to make a reservation starting on that date.

If you prefer, incoming international first-year students are welcome to make a reservation at any SPOP 1-10. Please visit the First Year Orientation page for more information.

The ISPOP experience will be different for those who will be living on-campus during the school year and those who will be living off campus during the school year. Please refer to the information about in-person orientation that will apply to you based on where you will be living during the school year:

  • In-person orientation is a 2-day, 1-night overnight program that takes place on campus. You will be moving into your academic year room assignment on Day 1 of ISPOP, and that is where you will be staying overnight for ISPOP.
  • In-person orientation is a 2-day orientation program, but students living off-campus will not be staying overnight on-campus.
  • ISPOP is still a 2-day experience for international students living-off campus, and you will be expected to attend both days of ISPOP.
  • We will not be providing overnight accommodations if you are living off-campus and attending ISPOP. If you will not have your academic-year housing arranged by then, you will be responsible for finding your own overnight arrangements to be able to attend ISPOP. We recommend refer to this list of local hotels.
  • You will also be responsible for getting to and from campus on time both days of ISPOP yourself. We do not provide any transportation to or from campus.

Living On-Campus: The orientation fee for ISPOP for students who will be living on-campus and moving in on Day 1 of ISPOP is $375, which includes the overnight accommodations for the one night of ISPOP, 4 meals, online orientation, and all programming and staffing needs for in-person orientation.

Living Off-Campus: The orientation fee for ISPOP for students who are living off-campus and are not staying overnight at ISPOP is $255, which includes 4 meals, online orientation, and all programming and staffing needs for in-person orientation.

All students are billed for orientation on their Fall Bill in their Zot Account. No payment information is collected during the student reservation process, and no students pay for orientation before or during ISPOP. A “SPOP Fee” will appear on your Fall ZotBill as a seperate line item, since this fee is separate and not covered by any other student fees. All students are responsible for paying for their orientation fee when it is billed to their ZotAccount.