Program and admission FAQs

PhD and MSECE applications are submitted through the University of Minnesota Graduate Application portal. 

Application requirements for the MSECE program

Application requirements for PhD program

• Note: the application system is a centralized system for all University of Minnesota Twin Cities graduate programs. ECE applicants only need to submit the materials listed in the links above. The application system will mention other materials, but those are not relevant for our applicants.

MSECE: Priority deadline is January 1 for fall admission and final deadline is March 1. The deadline for spring admission is October 1. 

PhD: Our priority deadline is December 1 for admission for the next fall semester. The priority deadline of December 1 means applications submitted by December 1 can be considered for additional fellowships (nominations will be determined by our department in early December).

We do accept applications through March 1. Applications submitted after December 1 will be considered for full funding which include RA or TA positions. No additional materials need to be submitted for funding consideration. 

The deadline for spring admission is October 1. We try to make admission decisions by November 15th, but be aware, if you will need to get a visa, it can take additional time for our decisions to go out.  

Program requirements for the MSECE can be completed fully online for the Plan C coursework only option.  Those who intend to take all or some of their courses online, apply for the graduate program as if they were coming to campus, we don’t have a separate application.  

The U of MN has an educational office, UNITE, within the College of Science & Engineering that provides a means to take courses from academic departments in the College online. UNITE offers courses only to students located within the United States. UNITE "piggybacks" on existing on-campus courses, which are taught in UNITE-enhanced classrooms by departmental faculty.  The ECE department tries to have the UNITE option for most of the 5xxx level courses that we offer, but not all of them. We also try to offer 1-2 8xxx level courses each semester.  Other CSE department offerings will vary depending on what they chose to offer through UNITE. Students who complete the online program complete the same coursework as students attending on-campus. UNITE records the live classes so remote students can attend class sessions live, or they can view the recording available right after the class session ends. Exams can be completed remotely, oftentimes using a proctor. 

Some MS ECE students will take all of their courses through UNITE if they are working in industry full-time. Students are allowed to complete some courses in-person and some online via UNITE. For PhD students, it is expected that you will be a full-time student on campus due to your research responsibilities.  Some PhD students will take a class or two while progressing in their program through UNITE, but the majority of their classes will be taken on campus. 

Students must be in the US when taking courses online. International students must take at least 3 credits on campus, so you are not able to take all of your classes in a semester online.

MSECE applicants do not need to contact faculty before applying. We will start all accepted students in our Plan C, coursework only option.  If you choose to change to the Plan A, thesis option, you will need to reach out to a faculty member that you are interested in working with to discuss your plan and they will have to agree to advise you.  This process is typically done when a student has been on campus for at least a semester to make the connection with the faculty.

PhD applicants are not required to contact faculty before applying, but it is recommended. Funding from faculty advisors is a significant factor in our admissions process. You can review ECE research areas to find out more about individual faculty research interests and expertise. 

PhD applicants can use a published paper as their writing sample or a paper from previous coursework. If submitting a paper with multiple authors, please add a page at the beginning of your document specifying which sections were your responsibility.

Once the application is submitted you will not be able to make changes. If you need to update a document, please send it to the ECE Graduate Program ([email protected]) to replace or add documents in your application.

No, you do not need to update the application with your new transcript after you have submitted your application. Admitted students will be required to submit final transcripts once your degree has been cleared at your current university. This process will need to be completed before you are able to register for the following semester from which you have been admitted. 

The Graduate School offers more information about transferring your transcripts.

GRE scores are not required for admission. In the review of your application, if you do not have a GRE score, it will not count against you.

No, please wait for the admissions office to process your submitted documents. It can take up to 6 weeks for submitted scores to be processed and added to application materials.

If there are issues with LOR uploads, your recommender can send a copy of the letter to the ECE Graduate Program ([email protected]).  Make sure they add your name and what program you are applying to, do not send us a copy of the letter yourself. We will get the LOR uploaded to your application.

LORs can not be submitted through Interfolio.

• Applicants can view English language exam information for the University of Minnesota at the Graduate School's English Language Proficiency site.
• It is fine if your scores are not attached to your application when you submit; the Graduate School will attach your official scores but they can take 6+ weeks to process.
• Our department can review your materials without those official scores. We understand the process can be delayed due to our processing time.
• If your scores were sent to the University more than 6 weeks ago but you are still not seeing the official scores on your application, please contact [email protected] to request that the admissions office verify if they have received your scores.
• Applicants are often concerned that their application will not be reviewed if they have an English exam score under the minimum scores outlined by the University. This is not the case; we review applications even if some of the English exam scores are lower than the stated requirement. If an applicant is admitted with a lower score than the University requirement, they can complete an additional assessment when they arrive on campus. Based on the results of this assessment, they may be asked to take an English course during their first semester.
• If you have English exam scores that are current now but will expire by the start of the semester you are applying for admittance, you do not need to worry about that at this time. We can review your application with expired scores. If you are admitted you will need to provide the Graduate School with current scores before they can send out the official admit letter.  We will reach out to you if updated scores are needed.

We do not have a minimum GPA requirement. Admitted students typically have a GPA of 3.4 and above, but we give each application a thorough review - academic performance, test scores, letters of recommendation, research experience, etc. are all considered when determining an applicant’s ability to succeed in our program. 

Once in our programs, MS students must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA and PhD students must maintain at least a 3.3 GPA.

We do not pre-screen transcripts, test scores or resumes to determine an applicant’s chances of admission. The committee needs to see the entire application package in order to determine your suitability for our program and accurately compare you to our other applicants.

Yes, students who meet the minimum degree requirements with a strong technical background in engineering, physics, or mathematics are welcome to apply. A bachelor's degree in electrical engineering is not strictly required.

There are no specific prerequisite courses required for admission. However, we advise prospective applicants to review the ECE Graduate Handbook and the ECE Course Catalog to evaluate what prerequisites are needed for graduate-level courses in your area(s) of interest.

No, a master’s degree is not required to apply for the PhD program. Only a bachelor’s degree is required.

Students are admitted in both fall and spring semesters for the MSECE, and the PhD programs. For details and exceptions, please check the relevant How to Apply page for the MSECE program and the PhD program.

PhD students are automatically considered for funding based on their overall application. After a PhD student is admitted, they will receive an email with the specifics of their financial award offer. This offer will typically be an RA or TA/RA/Fellowship combination.

We are not able to provide financial offers to MSECE students with their admittance. MS students must be prepared to pay for tuition without funding from our department. There are some opportunities for MS students to apply to TA or RA openings, but priority for these positions go to PhD students. Many of our MS students are able to get summer internships that help to cover the cost of tuition. International students must be here for two full semesters before they can apply for off campus jobs. If you are starting in spring, then you wouldn’t be eligible to work off campus until the following spring.

The ECE Graduate Handbook has more information about job opportunities in our department, other U of MN campus employment and resources for off campus opportunities.

We can't provide you with exact costs of the program due to changes in tuition/fees that the University makes each year and the time it takes each student to finish their program. 

Tuition and fees for the upcoming year are usually set by the Board of Regents near the end of June and posted by mid July.

You can check the Onestop financial tab to see what those new rates will be when they are posted. 

Here is the link to where you will find more details about that information  - 

Housing costs will vary depending on your location and if you have roommates.  Here is a link to housing resources.  

We do not offer fee waivers for the application process. 

The PhD typically takes three to four years if you have a relevant master's degree. If you enter the program directly with a relevant undergraduate degree, it usually takes four to five years. The University’s policy states that students have a maximum time limit of 8 calendar years to complete a doctoral program.

The master’s degree program can be typically completed in a year and a half to two years, although time to completion might be slightly longer for students pursuing the degree part-time. The University’s policy states that students have a maximum of 5 calendar years to complete a master’s program.

Our MS students do have the opportunity to transition into the PhD program.   This usually happens when a student makes a connection with a faculty and they offer the student an opportunity to work in their research lab, as well as offering them funding to pursue the PhD program. It is not required that you are in the MS Plan A program for this to happen, students finishing the MS Plan C program have transitioned into the PhD program.

The Master’s Plan A track requires students to complete 20 coursework credits, 10 thesis credits, and complete a thesis. Upon completing the thesis and with approval of the committee reviewers, the student must complete a thesis defense

The Master’s Plan C track requires students to complete 30 coursework credits and there is no thesis component. 

You can see the specific program requirements in our ECE Handbook.

Students admitted into our MSECE program start in Plan C.  If you want to switch over to Plan A, you will need to get a faculty to agree to work with you.  The Graduate Program Coordinator will help you make the switch.  If you are thinking about completing Plan A, it is best to make the decision and start contacting faculty by the end of your first academic year. 

The MSECE is offered fully online for the Plan C coursework only option. Students can complete the online MSECE anywhere in the US. Students outside the US are not eligible for the fully online program.

Students who complete the online program complete the same coursework as students attending on-campus. Our courses are streamed online through the UNITE Distributed Learning office within our college. UNITE records the live classes so remote students can attend class sessions live, or they can view the recording available right after the class session ends. Exams can be completed remotely using a proctor. 

Students who plan to complete their degree on the University campus can utilize UNITE coursework as well. Students are allowed to complete some courses in-person and some online via UNITE.

Yes, international students can hold internships after they have completed at least one academic year (two semesters) of full-time study at the University of Minnesota. This is called Curricular Practical Training (CPT). ECE students are allowed to hold a full-time internship during a fall or spring semester once while completing their degree. You will find more information on CPT in the ECE graduate student handbook.

All applicants will receive an email notification when there is a decision ready to view within the University’s application system. 

PhD decisions are sent between January and April. Besides the U of MN general notification of admittance, you will also be sent an offer of funding letter from the department. All “admit” decisions for PhD applications will go out before any “deny” decisions are sent.  If you have not heard any word by the March, you can contact the faculty who you are interested in working with and see if they are still conducting any interviews.  We do not have a committee that evaluates PhD applications, these are done individually by faculty and reviewed by the DGS. Decisions are based on faculty needs in their research area and funding they have available. 

MSECE decisions are sent between February and April. MS decisions will be sent out as the committee reviews and makes their decisions. 

No, not automatically. If applicants are not admitted for the PhD, they can reach out to the Graduate Advisor to ask that their application be changed to the MSECE.

Admitted MSECE and PhD students are able to defer their admission; students will need to check in with the ECE Graduate Program by email about their deferral plans. PhD students can defer admission, but funding offers are not guaranteed to be valid for future semesters. This is unique for each student and their funding package. Admitted PhD students should talk with both their faculty advisor and the graduate advisor if they are considering a deferral. 

MS ECE students can usually defer up to one calendar year.  Beyond that, you will need to reapply and your application will be reviewed again.  It is not guaranteed that you will be accepted if you need to reapply.