Electrical Engineering PhD

University requirements for graduate admissions

• Submit an application via the online portal. Be sure to provide your full legal name and to capitalize the first letter of all proper nouns.
• Pay non-refundable $60 application fee (American Express, Discover, MasterCard or Visa) via the online portal. For Nursing applicants, the non-refundable application fee is $75.
• Statement of Purpose, minimum 300 words. Unless otherwise indicated in the program requirement details, indicate your graduate study objectives, research interests and experience, and business or industry experience if applicable. If you are applying for a teaching or research assistantship, include any special skills or experience that would assist us in making assistantship decisions.
• Resume
• Transcripts for all post-secondary institutions attended (regardless of whether a credential is earned or not). Unofficial transcripts are accepted for admissions application review, once enrolled a final official transcript is required.
• Many programs have specific recommendations/requirements, please see the additional program-specific requirements for more information.
• International students: official TOEFL, IELTS, Pearson PTE or Duolingo (if accepted by program) score. Unofficial scores are accepted for admissions application review, once enrolled official scores are required and must be sent by the testing agency (copies/scans not accepted). This is required of any applicant who did not earn a bachelor’s degree or higher degree from an accredited academic institution in the U.S. or accepted English-speaking country, see exemptions for more details. The Duolingo test is not accepted for the following programs: Art Education, Biology/Marine Biology, Luso-Afro-Brazilian Studies & Theory, Marine Science and Technology (MS, PSM, PhD), Nursing (MS, DNP, PhD), Portuguese Studies, Professional Writing and Communication, Psychology (ABA, Clinical, Research), and Public Policy.

Program-specific requirements

Candidates must submit the required application materials, university requirements and program-specific requirements, for consideration.

• Students possessing a master's degree and a strong academic background in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or similar disciplines are encouraged to apply.
• Students possessing a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or similar disciplines may apply for direct admission to the PhD program if the applicants have demonstrated strong scholastic competence and great potential for conducting independent scholarly research. 
• Admission to the program is competitive. In general, students must exceed minimum requirements to gain admission. However, students who do not meet minimum requirements—but who otherwise show evidence of strong academic, professional, or research ability—may be accepted upon approval of the ECE Graduate Committee.
• Applicants to the PhD program must have demonstrated superior scholastic achievement.

Requirements

• GRE score: unofficial scores are accepted for admissions application review, once enrolled the official score are required and must be sent by the testing agency (copies/scans not accepted). GRE scores for the general test are required except by those who are or are about to be graduates of the UMassD College of Engineering or who are or are about to receive an ECE graduate certificate.
• 1 letter of recommendation: from a person in the field of your academic major at the institution most recently attended or from a supervisor familiar with your recent job performance. BS/MS applicants are encouraged to include a recommendation from a department faculty member willing to advise their graduate research. Applicants will be required to provide the recommenders name and email address so we can contact the recommender for the letter of recommendation.

Program deadlines