Admission into the Ph.D. program is competitive.
All academic and scholarly achievements (e.g., GPA, GRE, TOEFL, advanced degrees,
and scholarly publications, reference letters) are employed in the evaluation process. The typical BS applicant to the PhD program will have done some major project as an undergrad, and the typical MS applicant to the PhD program will have some research background.
An application package is considered in its entirety (there are no minimum cutoffs),
but typical admission requirements include:
- GRE: 1200 on the quantitative plus verbal (Q+V) Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
- TOEFL: for foreign students, 610 (paper exam) or 253 (computer exam) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
- GPA: grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) overall (or for the last 60 hours; preferably higher in computer science courses)
- a clear statement of study plan, including specific graduate study objectives, discussion of research experience, and areas of research interest (limited to one or two); and
- a strong academic background in computer science and mathematics, including certain prerequisites.
If one of the areas of your application is particularly strong, it might offset a weakness in one of the other areas. Admission is based upon consideration of all of your strengths and weaknesses.
Note: pre-evaluation of students before formal application is not available, since the application is considered as a whole by the entire admissions committee. Please do not request the graduate program director or other faculty members for such an evaluation.
We regularly have many positions open for full financial assistance, both due to graduating students and new research grants. All graduate applications are automatically considered for financial assistance.
Note: Faculty (including the graduate program director) should not be contacted to inquire about available financial assistance or a student's potential for admission. However, it is fine to contact them to discuss research interests.
