Welcome to the University of California, Irvine Student Health Insurance Plan (UC SHIP)

The University of California requires all registered students to have health insurance as a non-academic condition of enrollment. To assist students in meeting this requirement, the University provides the UC Student Health Insurance Plan (UC SHIP).

UC SHIP is a comprehensive health insurance plan that includes medical, mental health, dental, vision and pharmacy benefits. The plan features year-round, world-wide coverage utilizing the Anthem Blue Cross Prudent Buyer PPO network. The Student Health Center and UC SHIP offers peace of mind for both parents and students in providing convenient, affordable coverage for services on campus and in the UC Irvine community.

All full and part-time undergraduate and graduate students are automatically enrolled in UC SHIP once registration fees are assessed. Note that the acronyms "GSHIP" and "USHIP", wherever they appear, pertain to the graduate student plan and the undergraduate student plan respectively. The UC SHIP fees appear on the student’s campus billing or “ZOT” account and they are segregated into three components: 1) ADMIN fee; 2) PREMIUM fee; and 3) BROKER FEE.

For students enrolled in UC SHIP, the Student Health Center (SHC) is their primary care provider. Primary care providers and specialists at the Student Health Center will administer treatment and/or, if necessary, they will generate a referral for the student to receive additional services in the community or be seen by a specialist in the community if those services are not offered at SHC. The UC SHIP plan requires that students must first obtain a referral authorization from a Student Health Center primary care provider BEFORE seeking treatment from a non-SHC provider in the community. If a referral authorization is not obtained in advance, then the claim will be denied. Exceptions to the referral requirements can be found in the How to use SHIP section and on the Summary of Benefits information below for each plan.

Students can choose to keep UC SHIP, or waive enrollment (online) if they have other health insurance coverage that meets the waiver criteria established by the University of California. (See Waiving SHIP) Once granted, the waiver is in effect for the current term and the remainder of the academic year. A new waiver request must be submitted at the beginning of each academic year.