As students prepare for the upcoming 2026-2027 academic year at UC Irvine, those working towards computer science (CS), business information management (BIM) and psychological science (PSCI) degrees should be aware of upcoming changes in curricula. The reasons for these changes were not publicized by UC Irvine, but such changes across different departments will affect both students and staff.
Some requirements will either be replaced by different classes or removed, including the class INF 101 under informatics (In4matx); this class will no longer be offered, and students will instead take CS 141 under computer science. The class will also no longer be an essential prerequisite. Some classes will be the same, but will be offered under a different name — most of the classes previously labeled as INF will now be labeled as SWE, standing for software engineering. Some INF classes will be replaced by either SWE or CS, such as INF 141 being replaced by either SWE 141 or CS 121.
One of the more significant changes to the computer science department is the removal of degree specialization requirements. Instead, computer science students will have a flexible core requirement. The requirements will also be expanded to include four more upper-division courses, which students should account for.
There are also extensive changes in the business information management curriculum. MGMT 1 is added as a lower division requirement, and ICS 6D is removed as one. Other changes affect the economic sequence requirement, offerings for upper division core classes and the required amount of upper division electives. These electives will now include both School of Business and School of Information and Computer Sciences courses.
A change is coming for students with F-1 visas: students graduating in Fall 2026 or later can apply for STEM OPT to gain an additional 24 months of work authorization. This is an opportunity for international students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, math and business information management. Students wanting more information can attend biweekly sessions at the International Center, and can also view a presentation of application requirements online. Students graduating in Fall 2026 or later can submit a Degreeworks form to apply starting in November of this year.
Psychological sciences will also see a significant change: the removal of PSCI 11A, 11B, and 11C, a fundamentals series for the psychological science degree. These courses will be replaced by introduction courses PSY 21 and PSY 22, but students that have already completed the 11A-11C series may still apply these credits towards their degree. Students should check with a counselor to see if the classes they have completed for the series can be counted towards the new introductory courses. Requiring two instead of three introductory classes doesn’t mean students are completing less classes for their degree — new psychology majors will have to take an additional upper division course.
The changes detailed here are not the extensive list of curriculum changes, and students should check their school’s website for their major, along with checking their Degreeworks to ensure they’re still on track.
Nicole Funsch is a News Intern for the summer 2026 quarter. They can be reached at nfunsch@uci.edu.
Edited by Konstantin Diatlov and Geneses Navarro.
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