Admission Requirements

Students possessing a bachelor's or master's degree and a strong academic background in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or similar disciplines are encouraged to apply for admission to the master's or doctoral programs.  Applicants for a certificate, MS or PhD program must submit the required application materials to the Graduate Office.  In addition,

• Transcripts should show class rank if available. For the MS and PhD programs, three letters of recommendation should be submitted from persons in the field of the applicant's academic major at the institution most recently attended or be from supervisors familiar with the applicant's recent job performance.  For PhD applicants, the recommendations must also address the student's ability to conduct independent scholarly research.  Certificate applicants do not need to provide letters of recommendation.  BS/MS applicants are encouraged to include a recommendation from a department faculty member willing to advise their graduate research.

• For all programs, the personal essay should be from 300 to 600 words in length. This essay should indicate your graduate study objectives, research interests and experience, undergraduate and graduate experience, and business or industry experience if applicable.  If you are also applying for a teaching or research assistantship, include any special skills or experience that would assist us in our decision on the assistantship award.

• Graduate Record Examination scores for the General Test must be submitted by MS and PhD degree seeking applicants, except by those who are or are about to be graduates of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth College of Engineering or who are or are about to be recipients of an ECE graduate certificate.

• Foreign students' scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) should be 550 minimum for admission and 600 minimum to be eligible for a teaching assistantship (213/250 for TOEFL computer-based scores or 80/100 for internet-based scores). Scores on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) should be 6.5 minimum for admission and 7.0 minimum to be eligible for a teaching assistantship.  Admission to the MS and PhD programs is competitive.  In general, students must exceed the minimum requirements stated below to gain admission.  However, all students who do not meet these minimum requirements, but who otherwise show evidence of strong academic, professional, or research ability, may be accepted upon approval of the ECE Graduate Committee.

• The applicant must possess a minimum of a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or related field of engineering, science or mathematics, from a college or university of recognized standing. Applicants with backgrounds different than those for the option to which they are applying may be admitted with additional course requirements needed to meet program prerequisites.

• Applicants to the MS program must have demonstrated scholastic competence. Typically, MS applicants with an undergraduate cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 grading scale for all engineering, math and physics courses will be considered.  Applicants to the PhD program must have demonstrated superior scholastic achievement.

• In addition to exceeding the minimum MS program requirements, PhD applicants must also demonstrate a potential for conducting independent scholarly research. Recommendations are very important in the evaluation of research potential and should, therefor, specifically address teh subject of research potential. Master's theses or undergraduate projects are also considered in the evaluation of research potential.