The UC Irvine interview format

UC Irvine School of Medicine's MD interview has two parts that most guides blur together: a recorded video assessment you complete on your own, and live interviews on Zoom. The AAMC's MSAR interview procedures report for the 2027 entering class describes "individual interviews with a faculty member and a medical student, held virtually," and says applicants "will also be invited to complete a standardized interview through KIRA talent." It lists invitations starting August 1, no regional interviews, and "all interviews are conducted virtually via zoom."

UCI's Application Criteria page says the school requires "a Kira Talent Video Assessment administered to assess six of the core competencies that our admissions committee believe are essential for success at our medical school," completed "asynchronously before the scheduled interview day."

Item	What UCI and the AAMC say
Live interviews	Two individual interviews: one with a faculty member, one with a current medical student
Video assessment	Kira Talent assessment of six core competencies, completed before the interview day
Virtual or in person	Virtual, via Zoom (AAMC MSAR)
Session size	About 40 applicants per interview session
Interview dates	Scheduled online; the school lists September through April on one page and August through April on another
Interview day	Short orientation, student panel, financial aid information and tours
Decisions	About two months after interview; first acceptances by November 1

What UCI doesn't publish: the six competencies the video assessment scores, the number or length of video prompts, or interview length. Its How to Apply page also lists "a filmed structured interview session" on the interview day. The MSAR entry places the standardized interview with Kira, and we couldn't confirm whether the two descriptions are the same step, so follow your invitation email for exactly what to record and when.

UCI's timeline

From the school's How to Apply page:

AMCAS deadline: November 1.
Secondary application: due 30 days after your invitation, no later than December 1. The fee is $120, waived for AAMC Fee Assistance Program recipients.
Interview invitations go out August through March, and interviews run August through April.
Decisions arrive about two months after your interview, October through May. First acceptances are issued by November 1, and waitlist decisions come in spring through summer.

The FAQ says about 3,500 applicants receive a secondary application and about 500 to 600 are interviewed. UCI gives no preference to California residents, and accepts DACA applicants. Special programs such as MSTP, PRIME-LC and PRIME-LEAD-ABC add interviews. We didn't find a Casper or other situational judgment test requirement on UCI's MD admissions pages.

What UCI looks for

UCI's Application Criteria page says the committee reviews "academic achievement, MCAT scores, extracurricular involvement and leadership experience," and gives "careful consideration" to applicants from disadvantaged social or economic backgrounds. It also says prospective students should have "leadership experience" and activities "that demonstrate a desire or sensitivity to working with people from diverse communities," and calls clinical exposure, research and community service "highly desirable."

The curriculum page says the MD program's objectives follow a framework described as "knowledgeable, skillful, altruistic, and dutiful," taught through the iTEACH curriculum (Technology-Enhanced, Activity-Coordinated, Humanistic), which includes simulation, ultrasound and clinical skills modules from early in the program. Those four words are a handy checklist for your own stories.

How to prepare

Treat the Kira assessment as the first interview. You can't rewind a live conversation, but you can prepare for a recorded one. Practice speaking to a camera, with a clear opening and a close, and no long pauses at the start.
Prepare for six competencies without knowing the list. Typical medical school competencies include communication, teamwork, ethics, resilience, service and reasoning. Since UCI doesn't name theirs, prepare one story for each and keep your answers structured: situation, action, result, reflection.
Prepare for the student interviewer too. One of your two live interviews is with a current medical student, so have two real questions ready that you couldn't answer from the website.
Connect to diverse communities with specifics. The school's criteria emphasize working with people from diverse communities. Describe the community, your role, and what you'd do differently now.
Prepare a "Why UCI?" that references the curriculum. Early simulation and ultrasound exposure, or the special programs if they apply to you, are verifiable details.

UC Irvine practice questions (written by us, not UCI)

UCI doesn't publish its video or live interview questions. These are ours, shaped around the competencies and values the school describes. Answer each in about 90 seconds to two minutes.

Tell me about a time you worked on a team where you disagreed with the direction. What did you do?
Describe a situation where you had to communicate something complex to someone without a science background.
Walk me through a time you showed compassion when it was inconvenient.
Describe a time you faced a setback and how you responded over the next few weeks.
Tell me about an ethical dilemma you faced. What did you weigh?
What experience have you had working with people from a background different from yours?
If you had to teach a classmate something you know well in two minutes, what would you teach and how?
Tell me about a leadership role where you weren't the person with the most experience.
Why UC Irvine, and what would you want to get out of simulation and clinical skills training in your first year?
What would you ask a current UCI student about daily life in the program?

For a wider set, see our medical school interview questions guide.

A drill for the video assessment and the live interviews

Pick three questions from the list and set a timer for 90 seconds. Record yourself answering each one without stopping to restart.
Watch with the sound off first. Are you looking at the lens? Are you sitting still? Then with sound, check that your first ten seconds state your answer directly.
Do one more take for each, cutting the weakest sentence.
For the live interviews, ask a friend to be the interviewer and have them ask one follow-up per answer, such as "What would you do differently?" or "How did the other person react?"
Repeat two days later with new questions.

If you don't have a practice partner, Confetto's AI mock interviews ask follow-up questions based on what you actually said and give rubric-based feedback afterward. The question bank has over 500 questions, and you can start with a 7-day free trial.

UC Irvine interview FAQ

Is the UC Irvine interview an MMI?

No. The AAMC MSAR entry lists individual interviews with a faculty member and a medical student, plus a standardized Kira Talent interview.

Is the UC Irvine interview virtual?

Yes. The AAMC MSAR entry says all interviews are conducted virtually via Zoom, and UCI says interviews are scheduled online.

What is the Kira Talent assessment?

It's a video assessment UCI uses to evaluate six core competencies, completed asynchronously before the scheduled interview day. UCI doesn't publish which six.

How many applicants does UCI interview?

About 500 to 600 of the applicants who receive a secondary application, according to UCI's Application Criteria page.

When will I hear back after interviewing?

UCI says decisions are communicated about two months after the interview.

Applying to other University of California schools? See our guides to the UCLA Geffen, UC San Diego and UC Riverside interviews, or our medical school interview prep page.

Sources: UCI Application Criteria and Process, How to Apply, Admissions FAQs, MD Programs Curriculum, AAMC MSAR interview procedures (2027).

Confetto isn't affiliated with the University of California, Irvine. Everything here about the school comes from its public admissions pages and the AAMC MSAR report, checked in October 2026. Formats can change between cycles, so go by your invitation email.