Graduate Admissions
All applications for Penn Engineering graduate programs are submitted online.
Criteria for Candidates
Applicants for master's and doctoral programs must have obtained a bachelor's degree from an accredited school or university prior to intended matriculation date.
Applicants for Ph.D. programs who have not yet obtained a master's degree can be admitted directly into the Ph.D. program; they may obtain a MSE during their course of study.
Application Requirements:
- biographical information.
- a personal statement.
- two [2] official letters of recommendation: one must be from a faculty member who is familiar with the candidate's scholarly abilities (the only exception is the doctoral program in CIS for which applicants must submit three [3] letters of recommendation).
- one [1] official transcript in a sealed envelope of each university or college attended.
- non-refundable application fee of $80. This payment must be submitted with the online application.
- official score report for the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) - required by all programs. In addition to the GRE, all International Applicants must meet the TOEFL or IELTS requirement indicated below. The institution code to use for the GRE exam is 2888.
In addition, applicants whose native language is not English are required to satisfy our English language proficiency requirement by submitting:
- an official score report for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)*. The institution code for the TOEFL exam is 2888.
OR
- an official score report for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS)*.
* This requirement can be waived if the candidate has completed at least three (3) years of academic work on a full-time basis at a university-level institution in the United States or in a country in which English is recognized as the official language or where the medium of instruction is English.
Applications are evaluated as a whole portfolio and not on a single criterion. Thus, we do not adhere to strict minimums pertaining to test scores. Averages can be found in some university publications and media such as U.S. News & World Report and Peterson's.
Official Transcripts
All official transcripts associated with an application to a graduate program within the School of Engineering and Applied Science must be mailed to the following address:
University of Pennsylvania
School of Engineering and Applied Science
Graduate Admissions
111 Towne Building
220 S. 33rd St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6391
Admission Decisions
Completed MSE applications will be evaluated promptly by our faculty once the application cycle has ended. Admittance is based on an estimate of the applicant's ability to successfully complete our graduate program and on the compatibility of student interests with our programs and research. When an admissions decision is reached, the applicant will be notified directly through the online application system. Please note that admission decisions cannot be revealed over the telephone.
Applications received after the deadlines may be considered at the discretion of our faculty. Admission decisions are made shortly after each deadline, and late applicants will encounter decreasing opportunities to obtain admission.
Fellowship and assistantship awards are announced by the respective Chair of the Graduate Group for Ph.D. candidates. Information on the availability of financial aid for masters candidates may be obtained by contacting Student Financial Services at (215) 898-1988 or www.sfs.upenn.edu.
* Please note that acceptance of an offer of financial support (such as a graduate scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, or assistantship) for the next academic year by a prospective or enrolled graduate student completes an agreement that both student and graduate school expect to honor. For more information regarding this agreement, please click here.
For questions regarding Graduate Admissions, please read answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) or email gradstudies@seas.upenn.edu. Questions regarding application status can be emailed to engstats@seas.upenn.edu as well. We can be reached by phone at 215.898.4542.