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Admissions and Applications

Application Information

Thank you for your interest in graduate study in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. Browse our Web site for information about our ME and IE degree programs, people and research activities. If you need more information and assistance, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. John Gardner, Student Information Officer, at jgardner@me.umn.edu; 612-625-2009.


The Department of Mechanical Engineering offers M.S. (plan A or B) and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering. Students planning to work toward the Ph.D. may apply to the M.S. program and earn a Master's degree on the way to earning the Ph.D, or may apply directly to the Ph.D. program. For more information about the degree programs, please refer to the ME Graduate Student Handbook.

The Department offers admission to the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering programs for the Fall and Spring semesters. The deadline for Fall semester admission is December 15 of the previous year. Only applications received by December 15 will be considered for financial support. Applications received after December 15 will be reviewed for space available admission. The deadline for Spring semester admission is October 15 of the previous year. Applications received after October 15 will not be considered for Spring semester admission.

We work with the Graduate School regarding your admission. You must return the Graduate School Application for Admission directly to the Graduate School. It is required that you also provide the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Mechanical Engineering with a photocopy of your application materials to expedite the admissions process. The application, plus all required documentation, is our method of evaluation. The University of Minnesota and the faculty members of the Mechanical Engineering Department cannot evaluate your record without an application. Please do not send copies of theses, term papers, essays, or publications unless specifically requested, as we cannot keep these on file.

We base admissions primarily on your undergraduate academic record, your GRE scores, [TOEFL scores (for International students)], personal statement and letters of recommendation. As a guideline we prefer an undergraduate grade point average of at least 3.0 or equivalent. Occasionally, we will accept transfer students from other institutions or other University programs and apply the same admission criteria as for those who first apply to our program.

Application Procedures

You are to use the Graduate School on-line application for admission. It is to be filled out and returned directly to the Graduate School. Please follow the instructions carefully.

The Graduate School will send you an e-mail when your application is complete. This is your notification that the Graduate School has sent your file to the Department of Mechanical Engineering for consideration. But, please note again that photocopies of your application materials must be sent to the ME department to expedite the evaluation process.

Letters of Recommendation

For the doctoral program, the department requires three letters of recommendation from professors who are well acquainted with your academic and research abilities and achievements. There is no required format for letters of recommendation. If you have an M.S. degree, one of the three letters should come from your master's program adviser. Please ask your recommenders to refer to you by your *full name* and to date their letters. Letters are not required for the master's of science programs, but they are *strongly recommended* and are required to be considered for assistantships and fellowships. (Original recommendation letters become the property of the Mechanical Engineering Department and cannot be released under any circumstances.)

Preferentially, letters of recommendation should be submitted on-line through the Graduate School on-line application <http://www.grad.umn.edu/application.html> system. Recommenders can be contacted through the on-line system and their letter submission can be tracked. Alternatively, letters can also be sent by regular mail to:

Mr. John K. Gardner
Department of Mechanical Engineering
1100 Mechanical Engineering
111 Church St. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455-0111
USA

Please do not send letters of recommendation to the Graduate School.

Personal Statement

The personal statement is an important part of your application. It should be approximately one page in length. There is no specific format, but in general the statement should address your reasons for wanting to pursue an MS or PhD in ME or IE, what your particular interests are (or, if your interests are broad, state that), and your longer-range career plans, as appropriate.

At the end of your statement please list your desired areas of study (up to three), from the following list, in order of preference. Note that you must apply to the program in either Mechanical Engineering or Industrial Engineering.

Mechanical Engineering

Biomechanical Engineering and Medical Device Design
Computational Fluid and Solid Mechanics
Design and New Product Realization
Energy Conversion Systems
Environmental Engineering and Aerosol Science
Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow
Intelligent Transportation Systems
Manufacturing
Micro- and Nanomanufacturing
Nanoparticle Science and Engineering
Plasma Science and Engineering
System Dynamics and Controls

Industrial Engineering

Production, Inventory, and Distribution Systems
Operations Research
Engineering Management
Decision Support Systems

Test Scores

The GRE general test is required for admission consideration. The institutional code is 6874, the departmental code is 1502. We generally like to see scores that are at least 80th percentile for the quantitative and analytical tests, and at least 70th percentile for the verbal test.

For all students applying from the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Korea, the Department of Mechanical Engineering will not accept computer based scores of the GRE taken from 2002-2003.

If your undergraduate institution is outside the United States, you may be required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and submit the results along with your application for admission.

International Students are required to take the TOEFL examination in addition to the GRE. The minimum acceptable TOEFL score is 600. If you have questions regarding the TOEFL, contact the Graduate School (612-625-9364). Non-native English speaking applicants who wish to be considered for Teaching Assistantships are strongly encouraged to take the Test of Spoken English (TSE) in his/her home country and to submit the results to the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. A passing score of 55 qualifies students to be considered for a Teaching Assistantship.