Admissions Requirements

The department receives hundreds of applications each year for 15-20 openings. An incoming class of PhD students is typically 50% international and 50% domestic.

Admissions decisions are based on:

• Undergraduate and/or graduate record (including GPA/Class rank, reputation of previous school)
• Letters of recommendation
• Statement of purpose
• Research experience
• NOTE: GRE scores are no longer required.

Each candidate is evaluated individually by a departmental faculty committee that has the authority to make admissions recommendations to the Graduate School. Admission is based on the complete application package.

• Excelling in other areas can make up for a somewhat low GPA.
• Research experience is also a factor in admission.
• Work experience is considered but is less important than previous research experience.
• Decisions may be subject to research openings at a particular time.
• Typically only highly ranked international students from top chemical engineering departments in a given country are offered admission.

Academic Criteria

We do not have a minimum GPA requirement, however, most applicants who are offered admission have GPAs above 3.5. For admitted PhD students with financial aid, the average undergraduate GPA is 3.8. International students must have a TOEFL score of 250/100/7.0 or higher. Learn more about TOEFL requirements.

Previous Degrees

• BS Degree in Chemical engineering (or equivalent)
• Engineering degree other than chemical: Students with engineering degrees in other disciplines typically take 2-3 core undergraduate classes (ChE 330, ChE 341, ChE 342, ChE 344) in addition to those required for MS or PhD degree. Our core undergraduate classes include thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer, fluids, and reaction engineering.
• MS in Chemical engineering from another institution: May not apply to masters program.