How to Apply for a Graduate Program with MAE

Master's and PhD Admission Requirements

To be considered for admission, applicants must meet minimum requirements and complete application by deadline.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s from accredited institution in mechanical or aerospace engineering, or closely related engineering discipline.
• Admission for closely related engineering disciplines will depend on remedial/prerequisite coursework needed
  • If prerequisites will take more than a semester to complete, application as a Second Bachelor's will be recommended to complete prerequisites.
  • If prerequisites will be 12 credits or less, admission may be conditional or on a non-matriculated status until all prerequisites are completed.
• Programming languages: well acquainted with FORTRAN, C, or MATLAB.
• Admissions GPA ≥ 3.30. Calculated using all grades* from semesters or quarters covering last 60 semester credits or 90 quarter credits.
  *Grade used for repeated courses will be average of the excluded (E) and included (I) grades.
• GRE scores are used by some faculty in choosing students and in funding decisions and are therefore strongly encouraged.
• International students have additional requirements.

Deadlines

Applications must be complete and all application materials received by the deadline dates.

• Fall semester - Last Day of February
• Spring semester - Last Day of August
• Domestic applications accepted after deadlines, but not considered for financial assistance.
• International applications accepted only at deadline dates.

Apply

Applications must be complete and all application materials received by the deadline dates.

• Apply online and complete all steps. Incomplete applications are not reviewed for admission.
• Email questions about your application status or the application process to graduateschool@usu.edu.

Admissions Decisions

• Completed applications are reviewed by the MAE Graduate Committee.
• Applicants will be emailed the committee’s admission decision.
• Admittance does not guarantee financial assistance (including assistantships or tuition awards and waivers).

Financial Assistance

• Research Assistantships are offered by faculty. Visit the Research page for a list of faculty by research area and links to their webpages where they advertise research assistantship positions.
• Preference is usually given to qualified PhD applicants with excellent grades, high GRE scores, and research experience matching faculty needs.
• Fellowships are another possible source of funding for graduate studies.
• To be eligible for Tuition awards and waivers you must be funded by a .5 FTE assistantship, have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0, and be enrolled full-time.
  • PhD students meeting the eligibility requirements will receive full tuition.
  • MS Plan A students meeting the eligibility requirements will receive a waiver of the non-resident portion of their tuition.

Questions?

• If your application is not yet complete, please email questions regarding the status of your application or the application process to joan.rudd@usu.edu.

Accelerated BS/MS or PhD

The program allows eligible USU Mechanical Engineering BS students to begin taking courses for a MS or PhD while completing the senior year. This makes it possible to complete a MS (Plan C) in as little as one year after finishing BS degree requirements.

Program benefits include:

• Two BS technical elective courses (6 credits max) count towards the MS or PhD degree.
• Enrolling in 6xxx courses during the BS senior year.
• Starting MS or PhD research projects during the BS senior year.
• Graduate research or project experience can lead to better career opportunities.
• MS or PhD graduates typically earn higher starting salaries compared to BS graduates.

How the program works

Juniors who have asked to be considered for the program are notified of their eligibility at the end of junior year. Eligible students who want to participate must complete the application for graduate admission before the end of the first semester of senior year. At the start of the final senior semester, students apply for BS graduation and choose two senior tech electives to count as graduate credits for the MS or PhD. The BS degree is awarded when all BS requirements are complete. Students may then take up to three years to complete the MS degree, and five years to complete a PhD, and during this time pay graduate tuition. Failure to complete the MS within three years and PhD within five years, will result in termination from the program and BS tech electives not counting as graduate credits. BS tech electives designated graduate credits are not transferable to other graduate programs.

Eligibility

• Overall GPA and admission GPA of 3.5 or above. The admission GPA is calculated using all grades* from semesters or quarters covering last 60. *The grade used for repeated courses will be the average of the excluded and included (I) grades.
  • Must maintain a GPA of 3.5 or above through graduation.
• Completed 90 credits of MECH BS degree requirements.

Admissions

Students who are notified they are eligible need to complete 1 - 3 (below) before the end of the first semester of senior year:

1. Apply online for admission to USU’s School of Graduate Studies.
   • Request admission for first semester (fall or spring) immediately following senior year.
   • USU BS/MS or PhD students do not need to submit letters of recommendation; enter 'USU MAE' for contact name and email.
   • Type Answer yes when asked if you are a Concurrent BS/graduate student applicant
2. During first semester of senior year, meet with the MAE Grad Advisor to complete a split form for the BS tech electives that will count as graduate credits, and to review MS or PhD program requirements.

Eligibility to Admissions Timeline