Admission Requirements and Financial Assistance:

General Policy:  When seeking admission to the graduate program applicants must satisfy all entrance requirements of the Graduate School at UMBC.  Applications are not processed until all documents and fees are received.  All applicants must submit official transcripts, three letters of recommendation, statement of purpose, Graduate Record Examination (GRE General Test) scores, and, for foreign students, scores for the TOEFL. 

Minimum requirements for admission to the graduate program in electrical engineering are a B.S. degree from an ABET accredited undergraduate program in computer or electrical engineering, with a GPA of "B+" or higher; individuals whose records indicate strong potential for successful pursuit of the M.S. or Ph.D. degree objectives, and who have similar undergraduate preparation with strong academic records in computer science, mathematics, physics, or other areas of engineering or science are encouraged to apply (B.S. degrees in engineering technology are not considered equivalent to the B.S. degree in engineering or B.A. degree in the sciences). Students whose degrees are not in electrical or computer engineering will generally  be required to take courses to make up deficiencies in their backgrounds.

Students may apply for admission to either the M.S. or Ph.D. program. However, admission to the Ph.D. program is highly selective and only the student with an exceptional background will be accepted. Financial Aid will be preferentially given to the Ph.D. students. New students will be assigned an academic advisor who can provide advice on choice of courses, degree requirements, and other important matters during the first year. By the end of the first year, M.S. and Ph.D. students should seek a faculty member to serve as research advisor for their M.S. thesis or Ph.D. dissertation research.

Application deadlines are specified by the Graduate School:

 

U.S. citizens and U.S.-educated permanent residents:

          Fall semester - June 1

          Spring semester - November 1

 

    International students and permanent residents who are attending or have attended a foreign school:

          Fall semester - January 1

          Spring semester - June 1 of the prior academic year.


The application review process will begin by February 1 for admission in the Fall semester, and by October 1, for admission in the following Spring semester. It is the policy of the Department to admit students based solely on their academic and research performance.

Financial Assistance:  Financial aid is available on a competitive basis to a limited number of qualified graduate students in the form of graduate teaching assistantships (TAs), and graduate research assistantships (RAs).  Preference for TAs is given to first year Ph.D. applicants, and to those students whose academic background (and work experience) best matches the anticipated TA duties. Graduate RAs are often available to students actively engaged in funded research of the faculty, and are awarded and renewed subject to availability of funds and satisfactory research progress.  Students are encouraged to also apply directly to nationally awarded fellowship programs for financial support.

Application Forms