Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering

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Graduate Program

Application Guide and Admissions Requirements

Students applying to the Department of Mechanical Engineering Graduate Program will submit their online application via the CSU Graduate School web page, along with a $60 non-refundable application fee for domestic students or $70 fee for international students. 

The information below will help guide you through the process with details specific to our department.

Application Deadlines

The application deadlines listed for the Department of Mechanical Engineering override all deadlines published by any other CSU website or publication.

Master of Engineering Program Deadlines

Fall Admission: July 1

Spring Admission: November 1

Master of Science and Ph.D. Program Deadlines

Fall Admission: January 15
Full consideration will be given to applicants who have submitted all documents by January 15. Applications received after January 15 will be considered only on a space-available basis.

Spring Admission: August 1
Full consideration will be given to applicants who have submitted all documents by August 1.

Accelerated Master’s Program (AMP) Program Deadlines

Application to AMP Program: Summer after your junior year or no later than October 1 of your senior year.

After you have been admitted to the AMP program, you must complete the standard application to the Graduate School by the below dates:
Fall Admission: January 15
Spring Admission: August 1 

Application Materials

  • Professional Resume or Curriculum Vitae
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Letters of Recommendation (3)
  • Official Original Transcripts
  • Answers to program questions in the online application

For documents that cannot be submitted through the application system, request that the documents be sent to the Office of Admissions:

Graduate Admissions
Colorado State University – Office of Admissions
1062 Campus Delivery
Fort Collins, CO 80523-1062

View Application Status

Click here to view your application status.

View at any time to ensure your application is complete or to check on updates. 

Letters of Recommendation

Three professional recommendations are required. They must be uploaded directly to the online application system from the recommending party. Recommendations should be from individuals who can accurately evaluate your skills as a student, engineer, scientist, and/or researcher.

Official Original Transcripts

One official original transcript from each college or university attended should be sent to Graduate Admissions in the Office of Admissions and must include all previous undergraduate and graduate work. Transcripts are not required from current CSU students. International students are required to provide official English translations of all transcripts, diplomas, and graduation certificates in addition to the originals.

International applicants will also need to obtain the appropriate immigration documents. Once you are admitted, you’ll receive emails with instructions on this process.  You can also learn about the process on the International Student and Scholar Services website.

See the ‘Requirements’ section below for information on verifying English proficiency.

Admissions Requirements

Criteria

The admissions decision is based on a comprehensive assessment of the applicant’s academic potential and the following criteria:

  • The applicant’s undergraduate education and record (and graduate education and record, if applicable)
  • Prior engineering experience including senior project and thesis or experience in academic, laboratory or industrial settings
  • Research interests and the degree to which these research interests match the research activities of the mechanical engineering faculty
  • Depending on academic background, students without a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering may be required to take additional courses
  • Students intending to pursue a combined B.S./Master’s in Mechanical Engineering should visit the Accelerated Master’s Program (AMP) page for more information

Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, or engineering-related field
  • GPA
    • M.S. and M.E.: 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or First Class Standing
    • Ph.D.: 3.25 on a 4.0 scale or First Class standing
  • Calculus 1, 2, 3
  • Ordinary Differential Equations
  • Physics 1, 2 (calculus based)

International applicants must meet English proficiency requirements as determined by the Colorado State University Graduate School here

U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and international students may submit English proficiency scores directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions at Colorado State University, 1062 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1062. The institution code is 4075. Photocopies will not be accepted.

Graduate Admissions will notify applicants by email when the web applications are received and inform them at that time if items are missing. Applicants are encouraged to mail documents using companies with online tracking systems to verify receipt of documents.

Frequently Asked Questions

Thank you for your interest in mechanical engineering graduate programs at Colorado State University!

Information about our admissions requirements and criteria, as well as application materials and deadlines, can all be found in the sections above on this page.

For information about funding, see this link.

For M.S. and Ph.D. applicants: It is not required that applicants have secured a faculty advisor prior to submitting their application materials. However, it is helpful for you to identify a few faculty whose research interests align with your own. We only admit M.S. and Ph.D. students when we have a faculty match – that is, when faculty have the resources (time, funding, etc.) to admit another advisee. As such, it is strongly encouraged that you contact faculty members that perform research in your interest area to determine if your skills and interests match their needs in their programs.

You can find a list of our faculty here.

We recommend you reach out to faculty with whom you are interested in working to see if they are admitting new advisees. You can find a list of our faculty and their research projects here.

Our M.S. and Ph.D. students are supported by graduate teaching assistantships (GTA) and graduate research assistantships (GRA). The financial support provided typically includes full coverage of tuition along with a monthly stipend.  Your application to the mechanical engineering graduate program serves as your application for teaching/research assistantships for your first academic year. To increase your chances of obtaining a GTA or GRA, it is strongly encouraged that you contact faculty members that perform research in your interest area to determine if your skills and interests match their needs in their research programs.

Typically, we do not provide GTA or GRA funding to students seeking a Master of Engineering (coursework only) degree. These students are generally self-funded. You might consider consulting the Financial Resources page for the Graduate School.

Information about our application deadlines and materials can be found in the sections above on this page.

Information about our graduate admissions criteria and requirements can be found in the sections above on this page.

Our Graduate Education Committee considers applications holistically. For example, a lower GPA can be outweighed by excellent letters of recommendation and research experience. Therefore, we cannot comment on individual parts of an application to determine admissibility.

For M.S. and Ph.D. applicants: Yes, our department is able to preliminarily review graduate applications with unofficial transcripts. The Graduate School considers applications incomplete without official transcripts, therefore if you are referred for admission, you will be required to submit official transcripts for Graduate School review.

For M.E. applicants: Official transcripts are required for application review. Unofficial transcripts will only be reviewed to verify prerequisites.

The GRE is no longer required by our department for admissions. Students who did take the GRE and have strong test scores may upload their test scores as supplemental materials to their application. Doing so may help strengthen your overall application package if your application may have weak areas.

The English proficiency requirement is established by the CSU Graduate School, not by our department. For their most up-to-date guidelines, visit this page

First, visit this page to see if you are eligible for one of the fee waivers offered by the CSU Graduate School. 

If you do not qualify for one of those waivers, we have a limited number of fee waivers available for Ph.D. applicants who submit a full application package minus the fee (unofficial transcripts are considered complete). Email engr-me_graduate@mail.colostate.edu once you meet these criteria to see if there is still an application fee waiver available.

Yes, if your application has not already been considered for the current term. You will receive an email from the application system that contains a link which will allow you to update your application.

Sure! You will receive an email from the application system that contains a link which will allow you to update your application.

While we cannot speak to whether you would be referred for admission without reviewing a complete application, we can illuminate some pieces of our application review process. The GPA cutoff for admission to the Graduate School is 3.0 in the last degree earned. When we receive a M.E. application with a GPA just below a 3.0, the applicant would need to take 6 credits of 500-level courses as a non-degree seeking (non-admitted) student. If the applicant is able to demonstrate their ability to earn a B or better in these courses, the department will provide a letter of support for the student’s admission to the Graduate School. The Graduate School makes the final decision about whether an applicant is admitted. If admitted, and provided the applicant completed 6 credits that met graduate program requirements, the 6 credits could count towards their graduate program.

The Graduate School English proficiency score recommendations allow for students with lower scores to be admitted conditionally. A review of your full application materials is needed to provide you further guidance.

We generally do not advise applicants to apply for admission past the deadlines. For international students, it becomes even more difficult to approve applications after the deadline unless you already reside in the U.S. or are over six months from the desired start date of your program. This is due to the length of time that it takes to review applications, pair applications with faculty who have available spots in their research groups, approve applications through the Graduate School, and go through the visa process. Reviewing applications after the deadline is also unfair to the students who submitted their materials on time.

Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State University is about using our knowledge of materials, energy, and health to solve society’s global engineering challenges.

Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State University is about using our knowledge of materials, energy, and health to solve society’s global engineering challenges.

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