The Grainger College of Engineering
Mechanical Science & Engineering

MS/PhD Admissions FAQs

You can find answers below to many frequently asked questions. If you still have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at mechse-grad@illinois.edu.

Explore even more FAQs about the Graduate College Application >>

Spring admissions deadline is October 1. Fall admissions deadline is December 1. All application materials must be submitted by the deadline in order to be reviewed. You can also find this information on our MS/PhD Admissions page.

Only the following students are eligible for an application fee waiver:

  • U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents with a 3.5 or higher GPA on a 4.0 scale
  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign MechSE undergraduate students with a 3.5 or higher GPA on a 4.0 scale
  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign MechSE MS students who are applying to a MechSE PhD program

Unfortunately, we are not offering international students an application fee waiver at this time. 

Due to the large number of applications we receive, we cannot review any application materials that are not formally submitted in the portal. 

Time frames will vary from cycle to cycle depending on application volume. Due to the large number of applications we receive, it is difficult for us to provide individual status updates. You should not continuously email our office asking for status updates. You can login to your application at any time to check your status. All admission decisions will be sent via email.

You must submit a new application and pay the application fee again. If you previously submitted letters of recommendation, you should be able to use the same reference letters and will have the option to select these when logging into your account.

Yes, however it is not encouraged to submit more than 3 letters of recommendation.

You can login to your application at any time to see if you are missing any materials. We highly encourage applicants to apply early and allow several weeks for official test scores to be received. Your application will not be considered complete until we receive official test scores. The admissions committee will not review any incomplete applications.

All applications meeting our program's minimum requirements are reviewed by the admissions committee. Reasons for denial can include several factors, including qualifications and available funding. Due to the large number of applications we receive, we are unable to provide individual feedback regarding the admission committees decision. All admission decisions are final.

CPT (Curricular Practical Training)

Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is for international graduate students.

Please see The Grainger College of Engineering published policy on CPT.

Students should submit the following information to MechSE GPO (mechse-grad@illinois.edu ) prior to submitting the online CPT request to ISSS:

  1. What course will you register for (599 Thesis Research or ENG 510)?
  • This depends on whether the thesis is directly related to your dissertation/thesis research, in which case you would register for 599 thesis research.   If it is not directly related to your dissertation/thesis research, then you would register for ENG 510.
  • If registering for 599, please provide a brief, detailed statement of what skills/knowledge the internship is providing that will assist you in your research and writing your dissertation.
  • If registering for ENG 510, Provide a statement explaining how the internship will assist you in future coursework and/or in future research
  1. Please see the Grainger CPT website
  2. What semester or semesters will the internship take place?
  3. How many hours per week will you work? (less than 20? 20? More than 20?)   ***No full-time (20 hours or more) CPT is allowed in the last semester without special approval from The Grainger College of Engineering.