The University of Texas at Austin
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Applying to the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Program is a two-step process. You may work on both steps of the application simultaneously. Please begin the Apply Texas Application and proceed with the other requirements in any order. What matters most is that everything is in by the deadline.
The following materials are required to be submitted through GIAC, the Graduate & International Admissions Center:
Apply Texas Application (Application to the University)
Three (3) letters of recommendation. When you complete the References portion of the Apply Texas online application for admission, you will give the names and email addresses of those you have asked to write recommendations on your behalf. GIAC will send an e-mail message to the address you provide and ask your recommender to visit a web site where they can complete a questionnaire and type a letter or cut and paste one in the space provided. Be sure that the email address is current and accurate. Our committee prefers that at least two (2) of your recommenders be from academia. *If you prefer, your recommenders can send your letter via email as a PDF attachment to Jessica Miller instead of submitting it online. DO NOT SEND PAPER COPIES OF LETTERS TO GIAC OR TO THE DEPARTMENT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
You will be asked to inform us if you are going to waive the right to view your letters after they are submitted. Please indicate this by answering the associated question on the application for admission.
Your recommender will be informed if you have not waived your right to view his/her letter of recommendation. If you make a mistake on the email address or if you need to replace one recommender with another please contact Marla Boye.
Application fee ($50 for US students; $75 for International students). Forms of payment: Visa/MasterCard online or check/money order by postal mail.
GRE & TOEFL scores (Sent by E.T.S.; Photocopies are NOT accepted). Please use the University code 6882. There is no department code required.
Official transcripts of previous academic work (Photocopies NOT accepted).
All materials not requiring online submission, such as transcripts and application fees, can be mailed to:
Graduate and International Admissions
The University of Texas at Austin
P.O. Box 7608
Austin, Texas 78713-7608
The Department can neither forward application materials to GIAC nor
waive the application fee under any circumstances.
The following materials are required to complete your application to the Mechanical Engineering Program or the Operations Research & Industrial Engineering Program:
We only accept online submissions.
Resume or similar document containing a summary or listing of relevant job experience, awards and education. Please email your resume as a PDF attachment to Jessica Miller. Make sure to title your document with your full name and EID if you have it. Example: DOE, JOHN (EID HERE) RESUME.pdf.
Please do NOT send your published papers, certificates, awards or anything other than the above listed items to the Department. We cannot recommend an admission decision until GIAC and the Department have received ALL of your application materials. There are no exceptions to this rule.
We communicate with applicants exclusively through e-mail. Please keep a current and active account at ALL times. Also, please be aware that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), prohibits us from revealing any information about a student's records to ANYONE other than the student (including family members).
SPRING: All application materials must be received by OCTOBER 1st.
SUMMER/FALL: All application materials must be received by DECEMBER 15th.
The deadlines above are for priority consideration of financial support. The Mechanical Engineering Program functions on a rolling admissions basis. If all your materials are received within two months of the priority funding deadline, your application will be considered for admission though you may not be eligible for funding.
NOTE: You must start your Apply Texas Application no later than the priority deadline to be considered for a particular semester.
You will electronically submit your Resume and Supplemental Application directly to the Department. Once the Graduate and International Admissions Center (GIAC) receives all your application materials (application fee, official transcripts, GRE/TOEFL scores, letters of recommendation, and Apply Texas application), they will forward your file to us.
Our Graduate Admissions Committee will then review your entire application. There are no interviews in our application process and there are no set committee review meetings. Applications are being reviewed on an on-going basis. Once the committee has made a recommendation on admission, it will be passed to the Graduate Adviser for a final decision. GIAC will send you a letter via postal mail to inform you of the admission decision.
Your application is considered only for the semester in which you applied. If you would like to be considered for another semesters, you will need to apply again for those semesters. This will require another application fee.
The whole process can take up to several months. We ask that you understand the long application process allows us to spend the time necessary to review each application file carefully. We strive to give each applicant the careful consideration he or she deserves. There is no firm deadline for admissions notification. However, we do process applications as quickly as possible.
Given the number of applications we receive, we regret that we cannot verify receipt of materials or application status by telephone or e-mail. Such inquiries, given the anxiety-producing nature of admissions, are natural, yet significantly slow down the admissions process while only helping a few people. We ask that you understand that this policy allows us to spend more time reviewing each file, and is not intended to create an impersonal impression.
You can check the online status check page through GIAC, but note anything you sent to the department will not show up there. You can look over these listed items and decide if you sent them in or not. Everything is essentially online and comes immediately so there is no guess work as to whether it was delivered by post.
To GIAC:The Application Fee is $50 for US students; $75 for International students. This may change without notice. Be sure to consult GIAC for the current application fee structure. The application fee cannot be waived under any circumstances. The Department does not charge any additional fees.
GRE scores are good for 5 years. We do not accept the GMAT. Non-native English speakers must score at least 550 (paper-based), 213 (computer-based) or 79 (iBT) on the TOEFL. TOEFL scores are good for 2 years. Unless you graduated from a U.S. high school or a U.S. college/university for your undergraduate degree, you MUST take the TOEFL. There are NO exceptions to this requirement. IELTS can be used instead of the TOEFL, but you must notify the ME Department of this when you begin the application process. The average GRE scores for recently-admitted students are 550 (V), 770/780 (Q), and 4.5 (AW). The average GPA of recently-admitted students is 3.62/4.0 in upper-division or graduate work.
The standardized test scores, along with GPA, prior institutions attended, experience (resume), letters of recommendation and statement of purpose are equally considered during review of your application.
Every admitted student is considered for financial support through fellowships and/or through RA/TA (Research Assistant/Teaching Assistant) positions. However, admission to our graduate program does not guarantee that you will receive an offer of financial support.
Up to 6 hours of transferred graduate course work may be considered towards your program of work once you have been accepted and are attending the program, subject to the approval of the Department and the University.
You may NOT defer your application, admission or enrollment. If you are admitted and cannot attend in the semester for which you applied, you must re-apply. Because the applicants and the positions available change each semester, we cannot guarantee your admission for a later semester.