Graduate program and admissions FAQs

Please check our graduate admissions page for important dates and deadlines. 

While we are not equipped to provide informal evaluation of credentials for potential applicants, the most competitive applicants will have strong grades in undergraduate coursework (particularly in engineering and math courses), three good letters of recommendation (at least two from the most recent educational institution attended), some undergraduate research experience (for Ph.D. applicants), and for non-native English speakers, strong TOEFL/IELTS/Duolingo scores.

Learn more about our programs and the admissions process.

CMU’s Fellowship and Scholarship Office and the outside scholarship databases are helpful resources. There is not funding available from the department for master's students. CMU also provides information about Graduate Financial Aid.

All of our Ph.D. students receive funding in the form of tuition support and a stipend for living expenses. There is no separate application needed to apply for financial support.

The admissions committee reviews each application as a whole, taking into consideration all parts of the application. For that reason, we do not have a minimum GPA requirement.

The minimum required Duolingo English test score is 105 total. The minimum subscore guidelines are: Literacy 105, Comprehension 115, Production 70, Conversation 95.

The minimum required TOEFL score is 84 total. The minimum subscore guidelines are: Reading 22, Listening 22, Speaking 18, Writing 22.

The minimum required IELTS band score is 6.5. The minimum subscore guidelines are: Reading 6.5, Listening 6.5, Speaking 6, Writing 6.

We do not offer waivers for English Language Proficiency exams, even if students completed their undergraduate degree in the US. If you are an applicant whose native language (language spoken from birth) is not English, proof of English Language Proficiency is required. We accept the TOEFL, IELTS, and Duolingo English Test.

Your application status page will be updated when we receive your official test scores and other application material. Applications are expected to be complete, including all supporting materials, by the deadline. Please work with your references to ensure timely submission of support letters.

You can track your status using your application status page.

We are not currently accepting GRE scores for our graduate program applications.

Yes, we accept graduate applications for both fall and spring for our master's and Ph.D. programs. Most of our graduate students do start in the fall semester. For the Ph.D. program, we likely will not know until the fall if we plan to admit students for spring. If we do not admit Ph.D. students for spring, you do have the option to roll your application over to the following fall semester.

• ETS Report Codes (TOEFL): Institution Code - 2074, Dept. Code - 64
• Please send Duolingo scores to: Carnegie Mellon University - College of Engineering.
• Please deliver IELTS scores to:

Carnegie Mellon University/College of Engineering
431 Hamerschlag Drive
Ansys Hall, Suite 250
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

You can learn more about our graduate programs on the Graduate Education page of our website. You can also fill out this inquiry form to be added to our mailing list and learn more about our programs.

Most students work with their faculty research advisor on their independent research project during the summer semester, which allows them to finish the degree in less than 18 months.

Please see the College of Engineering current cost of attendance.

We do not offer teaching assistant (TA) or paid research assistant (RA) positions to our master’s students. Our MS students are required to complete a research project for academic credit, so doing research for pay, in addition to academic credit, is not an option.