Graduate Studies

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS (Deadline Date Jan. 12, 2009)

Admission typically requires a B.S. and/or an M.S. degree in some branch of engineering, the physical sciences, or mathematics. A minimum GPA of 3.2 (on a 4.0 scale) is required for admission.

Application Fee

All applicants are required to submit a completed Graduate Admission Application, which is done on-line and must pay the application fee by credit card.  Your application will not be reviewed if there is not a fee.

The non-refundable application fee schedule is as follows:

  • $70.00 for US Citizens and Permanent Resident Applicants
  • $90.00 for International Applicants.

All Applicants are required to take the GRE General Test (the subject test is not required for the Materials Science and Engineering Program). Applicants should arrange to take the exam as early as possible to insure the timely receipt of the exam results. Tests scores are mailed four to six weeks after the exam is administered. Applications may be obtained from the Educational Testing Services. The program will accept computer based scores for both GRE and TOEFL. Three recommendation letters are also required.

Educational Testing Services
Graduate Record Examinations Educational Testing Services
PO Box 6000
Princeton NJ 08541-6000
http://www.gre.org		 Computerized Test Information:(800) 627-4276 or (609) 771-7670
(609) 951-6505

All Applicants are required to submit OFFICIAL SCORES along with all other supplemental material. Institution Code: 4836 Department Code: 1403

TOEFL Test
  • ETS is instituting the new TOEFL iBT test starting in September 2005. The Internet-based test (iBT) will include a speaking component. Information on this test is available at http://www.ets.org/toefl/
  • There are three versions of the TOEFL test that may be submitted. The Graduate Admissions minimum acceptable score for each test is: 1. 80 for the Internet-based test (iBT); 2. 213 for the Computer-based test (CBT); 3. 550 for the Paper-based test (PBT).
International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
  • Starting with the Fall 2006 application, Graduate Admissions will accept the IELTS test as proof of the English language ability. Information about this test is available at http://www.ielts.org/

  • The Graduate Admissions minimum acceptable score for IELTS is 7.

Arrangement for taking the TOEFL may be made through the nearest United States Embassy or by writing to ETS:

Box 899
Princeton NJ 08541 or by consulting the web at http://www.toefl.com

International applicants whose native language is not English are required to take the TOEFL and obtain a score of 550 if taking the paper and 213 if computer based. Institution Code: 4836 Department Code: 69

Official transcripts from all universities attended (English translations must accompany official transcripts written in other languages), a statement of purpose, three (3) letters of recommendation, a resume and any copies of papers that have been published all must be sent to the graduate program at:

Materials Science and Engineering
Engineering BLDG 2 Room 170
9500 Gilman Drive MC 0418
La Jolla CA 92093 0418

All material must be in the graduate office on or before the deadline date in order for the application to be reviewed. If material is missing from your file it will be considered incomplete. It is your responsibility to make sure all materials have arrived on a timely manner to the correct address. The coordinator will notify you only once that something is missing.

After the formal deadline of Jan. 12, 2009, Materials Science and Engineering Program applications for Fall 2009 will be considered on an individual basis if funding and positions are still available. Please contact the program for Winter and Spring deadline dates.

Applicants are judged competitively. Based on the candidate’s background, qualifications and goals, admission to the program is in one of two categories: M.S. or Ph.D.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT:
 The Program tries to support most full-time graduate students at the Ph.D. level. Financial support is available in the form of fellowships, teaching assistantships and research assistantships. The availability of research assistantship is decided by a matching of mutual interests between the students and the faculty members, as well as the research funding availability of each faculty member. Awarding of financial support is very competitive, and stipends average up to ~$22,000.00 for the academic year, plus tuition and fees. Funds for International students are extremely limited and the selection process is highly competitive.

The Program does not generally offer financial support to students pursuing the M.S. level degree All students are encouraged to seek information on how to fund their education from other sources.

Fellowship Opportunities at UCSD and from outside sources

All Applicants:
On-line Application. The on-line application is now available.