Prospective Graduate Students

BEE/MSEE or BCompE/MSEE Degree
This degree offers ECE Juniors with a GPA of 3.4 or better and 79 semester
credits, the opportunity to complete both a BEE and MSEE or a BCompE and
MSEE in five years. Both degrees will be granted, the BEE will precede the
MSEE. Students may elect to take either a Plan A or Plan C MSEE degree program. 
See BEE/MSEE and BCompE/MSEE 5-year Degree.
 
MSEE Degree
The MSEE degree can be earned via the Plan A: Thesis option or the Plan C: Course Work Only option. All master's
degree plans include a total of 30 semester credits. On average, a student completes the MSEE program within
two years after the award of the bachelor's degree. 

PhD Degree
The PhD degree requires a total of 40 semester credits and 24 thesis credits (if you enter with an MS degree, most
course credits from your MSEE degree will count toward PhD course credit requirements.) Minimum course
requirements include 6 credits from 8000-level courses (the most advanced graduate-level courses offered),
14 credits in electrical engineering, and 12 semester credits in the minor or supporting program. The remainder of
the course credits can be from electrical engineering or from the minor or related field. A minimum of 14 course work
credits must be taken at the University of Minnesota. On average, a student completes the PhD program within five or
six years after award of the bachelor's degree.       

The Application Process
Every applicant to our program must complete a Graduate School application and a Department application
A few days after you submit the Graduate School application, the department will e-mail you the link to the 
Department Application.

We consider applications for Fall semester only, except for people who are employed in Minnesota who we consider
throughout the year.

The deadline for applying for Fall semester is December 1.

The deadline for completing the Department Online Application is December 15.

You will receive an e-mail with a link to the department application after you have submitted the Graduate School
application. If you are unable to send all required documents by the deadline, submit the Department and Graduate
School applications by the December 1 and then send an e-mail Linda Jagerson to let her know when we can
expect the missing information. Students missing the deadline will be considered for admission, but after those
meeting the deadline.

We recommend that students apply for the highest degree they think they would like to receive from the Electrical
Engineering program. PhD candidates can complete an MS degree as part of their PhD degree.

Our admission decision is based on all aspects of your file. Your application will be judged based on:
     • Your academic record within the context of the rigor and reputation of where you received your undergraduate
       and graduate degrees
     • Statement of Purpose
     • Letters of recommendation
     • GRE test scores
     • Identity of a faculty adviser and your ‘fit’ within our program

If you have any questions about the application process, please contact Linda Jagerson, Assistant to the Director of
Graduate Studies, at jager001@umn.edu

The Department Application
As part of the online application you will complete a department application and we ask that you upload the following
PDF (not JPG) documents to the online application:
     1. Transcripts (Bachelors, Masters) in English and your Native language
     2. GRE General test
     3. TOEFL (International Students Only)
     4. Resume
     5. Publications - limit 3. If no publications, provide thesis, or project paper (this is optional)
     6. Statement of Purpose
          The statement of purpose, one to two pages in length, is an important part of your application.
          Please include the following information:
               • Please list your full name at the top of your statement of purpose.
               • Information contained in your statement of purpose should speak primarily to your education,
                 background, and “fit” for our program.
               • Briefly describe who you are, where you are from, and why you have chosen to apply to the
                 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota.
               • Describe your educational objectives. If you are applying for the MS program, tell us if you plan
                 on continuing on to the PhD.
               • Describe your undergraduate (and graduate, if you have a MS degree) education. If you are an
                 international applicant, provide information as to how your school is ranked in your country and
                 your grading system. If your degree is from China, tell us if your school a national “Key School.”
               • Describe your accomplishments, your research and teaching experiences, internships, and so on.
               • Describe your specific areas of interest in Electrical Engineering. If your interests are broad, state that.
               • If you are a PhD applicant, who you are interested in conducting research with? Why? (see faculty
                 research groups)
               • If you have fluctuating grades, low GRE scores, please explain.
               • Describe your career goals after the award of your degree.
 

Letters of Recommendation
The department requires three letters of recommendation from professors who are well acquainted with your
academic and research abilities and achievements. There is no required format for letters of recommendation.
If you have an M.S. degree, one of the three letters should come from your master's program adviser. Please
ask your recommenders to refer to you by your full name and to date their letters.

Letters of recommendation should be submitted on-line through the Graduate School on-line application 
http://www.grad.umn.edu/application.html system. Recommenders can be contacted through the on-line 
system and their letter submission can be tracked.

The Graduate School Application
     • All letters of recommendation must be submitted online as part of the Graduate Application process.
     • Do not complete the Statement of Purpose portion of the Graduate School Application. You will submit the
       Statement of Purpose with the Department Application.

The Graduate Record Examinations® (GRE®) General Test measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning,
and critical thinking and analytical writing skills that have been acquired over a long period of time and that are
not related to any specific field of study.

     • All students who have received their degree outside of the United States,
       must submit GRE General Test scores.
     • All students who have received their degree from a University in the United States 
       must submit GRE General Test scores with the following exception:
                 >BEE and BCompE, University of Minnesota students, who have a GPA of
                   3.4 or greater do not need to submit GRE scores.
    • BEE and BCompE, University of Minnesota students who have a GPA less than 3.4
      must submit GRE General Test scores.
    • Part-time students applying to our program, who have not received a BEE or
      BCompE degree from the University of Minnesota with a GPA of 3.4 or better,
      must submit GRE General Test scores.
 

The institution code for the University of Minnesota is 6874. Listing the institution code will allow us to access your
scores directly from the Educational Testing Service (ETS). If you didn’t list the institution code for the University of
Minnesota, we will accept copies of your GRE scores for review of your application for admission to our program.
If you accept admission to our program we will require you to submit official scores.

The GRE department code for Electrical Engineering is 1203.

Please note: if you are applying from the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Korea,we will not
accept GRE computer based test scores taken between years 2002-2003.

GRE scores are just one factor we consider when viewing your application for admission and financial assistance.
A high GRE score will not automatically admit you to our program, nor will a very low GRE score automatically
cause your application to be rejected.

Average applicant GRE scores based on data for the past five years:
Verbal                    541
Quantitative            781
Analytical Writing    4.3

The Electrical Engineering program does not state a minimum GRE score in any category.  

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)

     • The TOEFL Institution Code for the University of Minnesota is 6874.

     •The TOEFL Department Code for the Electrical Engineering Graduate Program at the
       University of Minnesota is 66.    
 

The TOEFL, MELAB, or IELTS is required of all international applicants whose native language is not English,
regardless of U.S. Citizenship status, except those who will have completed 24 quarter credits/16 semester
credits (within the past 24 months) in residence as a full-time student at a recognized institution of higher
learning in the United States, or other English-speaking country, before entering the University of Minnesota.
This requirement will not be waived.

http://www.grad.umn.edu/prospective_students/Application_Information/TOEFL.html

International Students who wish to be considered for Teaching Assistantships are strongly encouraged to
take the Test of Spoken English (TSE) in his/her home country and to submit the results as part of the
department online application.
 
Financial Support
Highly competitive fellowships and teaching and research assistantships are available through the
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Offers are generally for the academic year and
in some instances include summer support.  Priority for support is given to PhD applicants. Top PhD
applicants to our program will be nominated for a Graduate School Fellowship, a university-wide
fellowship competition. 

Your application file is also available to faculty members for consideration for Research Assistant
positions.  Faculty will contact applicants directly with questions and information about their research
group.

We also encourage applicants to apply for external fellowships:
• Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Fellowships
     Application Deadline: October 30, 2009
• Ford Predoctoral Fellowships for Minorities
     Application Deadline: November 2, 2009
• National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program
     Application Deadline: November 12, 2009
• GEM Fellowship Program
     National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science, Inc.
     Application Deadline: November 15, 2009
• Department of Energy, Graduate Fellowship Program
     Application Deadline: November 30, 2009
• The Symantec Research Labs Graduate Fellowship
     Application Deadline: December 2009
• Science, Mathematics & Research for Transformation Defense Scholarship for Service Program (SMART)
     Application Deadline: December 15, 2009.
• National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowships 
     Application Deadline: January 4, 2010
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security Graduate Fellowships
     The 2010 competition cycle will be announced in late October or early November of 2009
     (Last year’s deadline was January 6, 2009)
• American Association of University Women (AAUW) Educational Foundation
     Application Deadline: January 10, 2010
• AT&T Labs Fellowship Program for Under-Represented Minorities and Women
     Application Deadline: January 31, 2010
• Semiconductor Research Corporation Graduate Fellowship Program (GFP)
     Application Deadline: February 15, 2010
• Other Funding Opportunities (list provided by the Graduate School)