Graduate Studies Information

Link to Graduate Application

To qualify for study in any of the graduate programs in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, a student generally must have earned an accredited baccalaureate degree in mechanical engineering. However, a student with good preparation in another engineering discipline or a related field, such as physics, may qualify by taking the appropriate prerequisite undergraduate courses. These courses are determined in a case-by-case basis by the Department's Graduate Admissions Committee/Director.

Regular Status

For admission to regular status, the student must have an undergraduate grade point average of at least B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale). For students whose undergraduate GPA is below 3.0, but no lower than 2.75 on a 4.0 scale, admission on probational status will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Graduate Record Examination scores are required.

Provisional Status

An applicant may be admitted as a provisional graduate student when either the quality or type of undergraduate preparation is deficient, i.e., the student's undergraduate grade-point average is below 2.75 on a 4.0 scale or the student has not met the prerequisite to do graduate work in the department or program to which he or she has applied.

After the equivalent of one semester of full-time study as a provisional graduate student, the department reviews his or her performance and recommends that the student be (1) transferred to regular status, (2) dropped from the Graduate School or (3) allowed to continue the equivalent of another semester as a provisional student. It is ordinarily expected that provisional status will not exceed two semesters. The transfer from provisional status is not automatic as it is in the case of probationary status.

Foreign Student English Proficiency

Following are the acceptable means of verifying English proficiency for purposes of admitting non-native speakers of English and/or international students to graduate studies. These guidelines also apply to U.S. citizens and permanent residents who are not native speakers of English; they are subject to change by official action of the appropriate governance bodies.

  1. Receipt of an official copy (not student's copy) of an applicant's English proficiency standardized test scores (e.g., TOEFL) achieved not more than two years prior to the semester of first enrollment.
  2. Graduation with a baccalaureate degree (or higher) earned in residence from an accredited English-medium U.S. college, university, or an institution of higher education or such an institution in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, an English-speaking province of Canada, or an English-speaking Caribbean country, with instruction conducted in English. Degrees earned online may not be used to verify English proficiency.

All foreign students who are not native speakers of English must be screened by the Applied English Center on arrival, regardless of their TOEFL or other test scores, and according to the Rules and Regulations of the Faculty Senate, such students must enroll in the English courses specified for them by the Applied English Center.

All graduate students in the School of Engineering who are required to take courses at the Applied English Center must complete that requirement within three semesters of their initial enrollment by passing the AEC's English Proficiency Examination. Failure to complete the English proficiency requirement within this time limit will result in dismissal from the graduate engineering program.

Required Application Documents

Before an application is submitted for review, all supplemental documents must have been received by the Department. A list of the documents for both International and Domestic students can be found below.

There is currently no minimum score requirement for the GRE exam. The score requirements for the TOEFL and IELTS exams can be found at graduate studies website.

International Applicants

  1. Online Application (follow the link at the top of the page)
  2. Application Fee (this is paid while you are completing the online application)
  3. Official TOEFL or IELTS Scores*
  4. Official GRE Scores*
  5. Proof of Graduation (if applicable)
  6. A copy of ONE (1) Official Transcript (from each institution of higher education attended)
  7. Three letters of Recommendation

*GRE, TOEFL, and IELTS scores must be sent directly to the department from the testing center. The university code is 6871. The department code is 1502.

The following documents are required only after a student has been admitted:

  • Financial Statement
  • ONE (1) Official Transcript sent directly from the applicant’s university to the University of Kansas**

**Official transcripts must be sent to the following mailing address prior to a student’s second semester of enrollment:

Department of Mechanical Engineering

1530 W. 15th St

3138 Learned Hall

Lawrence, KS 66045 USA

Domestic Applicants

  1. Online Application (follow the link at the top of the page)
  2. Application Fee (this is paid while you are completing the online application)
  3. Official GRE Scores
  4. A copy of ONE (1) Official Transcript (from each institution of higher education attended)
  5. Three Letters of Recommendation

The following document is required only after a student has been admitted:

  • ONE (1) Official Transcript sent directly from the applicants university to the University of Kansas**

Application Deadlines

Application Deadlines when applying for the Fall semester

  • Priority deadline for all students: December 15
  • This deadline (Dec. 15th) is for all applicants who wish to be considered for funding opportunities from the department.
  • Domestic students: June 1
  • International students: March 31

Application Deadlines when applying for the Summer semester

  • Domestic students: May 1
  • International students: March 15

Application Deadlines when applying for the Spring semester

  • Priority deadline for all students: September 30
  • This deadline (Sept. 30th) is for all applicants who wish to be considered for funding opportunities from the department.
  • Domestic students: November 1
  • International students: September 30