Admission to Graduate School in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering accepts students from a wide range of STEM disciplines. All application materials must be submitted by the deadline. Late applications will not be accepted. Please be sure to read all the application requirements below and upload all documents to your ApplyYourself online application PRIOR to submitting your application. DO NOT send paper copies, they will not be accepted or included.

The department offers M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in both metallurgical engineering and materials science & engineering. You should indicate your preference for faculty advisors in your online application via ApplyYourself.  See our faculty page for information on faculty research interests.  We welcome you to select faculty outside of our department based on your research interests. Many faculty from other departments are interested in advising students pursuing degrees in metallurgical engineering and materials science & engineering. You should explore the faculty lists for other potential departments including but not limited to chemistry, physics, biology, chemical engineering, and mechanical engineering.

Application Deadlines

Semester Domestic Application Deadline  International Application Deadline
Fall January 15 January 15
Spring October 1 October 1

Student applications are given priority consideration when submitted by the dates listed above. Applications submitted after these dates will be considered based on available positions.

The University of Utah is switching its graduate application system from ApplyYourself to Slate, effective August 1, 2023.

Application FeeDomestic ApplicationsInternational ApplicationsBS/MS ApplicationsCheck Application StatusStep for After AdmissionTuition Benefit Program

Application Fee:

Materials Science & Engineering Application Fees

Degree Type Domestic International
Masters Degree $55 $65
Ph.D. Degree* $55 $65
*-Highly qualified students may petition for an application fee waiver.

Metallurgical Engineering Application Fees

Degree Type Domestic International
Masters Degree $55 $65
Ph.D. Degree* $55 $65
*-Highly qualified students may petition for an application fee waiver.

Request Ph.D. Application Fee Waiver

To submit a request for a Ph.D. application fee waiver, please click the link below.

Fee Waiver Request

Application Requirements:

  • Application Fee
  • Personal Statement
  • Resume or Curriculum Vitae
  • Three Letters of Recommendation
  • GRE Score (Not required, but highly recommended by department)

All applicants must meet the University of Utah Graduate School admission standard, for more details about each individual applications requirements, please review the information below.

Please make sure you include the following on your application:
• Area of Emphasis
• Professor you wish to work with

Application Requirements:

  • Application Fee
  • Personal Statement
  • Resume or Curriculum Vitae
  • Three Letters of Recommendation
  • TOEFL/IELTS Score
  • GRE Score (Not required, but highly recommended by department)

All applicants must meet the University of Utah Graduate School admission standard, for more details about each individual applications requirements, please review the information below.

Please make sure you include the following on your application:
• Area of Emphasis
• Professor you wish to work with

BS/MS Application Deadline: January 15th

Only full time domestic students currently enrolled in Major Status in the Materials Science and Engineering program can be admitted to the combined BS/MS Program. International students are not eligible for the BS/MS degree.

Application Requirements:
  • Application Fee
  • Personal Statement
  • Resume or Curriculum Vitae
  • Three Letters of Recommendation

All applicants must meet the University of Utah Graduate School admission standard, for more details about each individual applications requirements, please review the information below.


Domestic Applications

Review what materials have been received by logging back into the ApplyYourself application with your PIN and password. If an item isn’t listed on the application home screen, then it has not been uploaded or received yet.

Processing
  1. The Admissions Office will evaluate your transcripts for completeness. Once the Admissions Office has deemed the application complete, it will forward the application to the department. Please allow 2 months for Admissions Office processing.
  2. Once the department receives your completed application from the Admissions Office, we will begin the review process.
  3. Applicants will be notified no later than April 15th.


International Applications

Review what materials have been received by logging back into the ApplyYourself application with your PIN and password. If an item isn’t listed on the application home screen, then it has not been uploaded or received yet.

Processing
  1. The Admissions Office will evaluate your transcripts for completeness. Once the Admissions Office has deemed the application complete, it will forward the application to the department. Please allow 2 months for Admissions Office processing.
  2. Once the department receives your completed application from the Admissions Office, we will begin the review process.
  3. Applicants will be notified no later than April 15th.


Domestic Students

Congratulations on your admission to the University of Utah. The department will send paperwork to the Admissions Office to declare the decision. The Admissions Office will verify that you meet admissions standards. If you do, Admission will send you an official acceptance letter via surface mail. There are a few things you will need to do to get ready to become a Ute.

Make sure that you complete the steps below:

  1. Mail Official Transcripts to Admissions Office. University of Utah graduates (B.S. or B.A.) are not required to submit University of Utah official transcripts
    Do NOT mail transcripts to the department


International Students

Congratulations on your admission to the University of Utah. The department will send paperwork to the Admissions Office to declare the decision. The Admissions Office will verify that you meet admissions standards. If you do, Admission will send you an official acceptance letter via surface mail.

There are a few things you will need to do to get ready to become a Ute. Make sure that you complete each of the steps found here.

Students are admitted into the MSE PhD program based on a faculty’s capacity to provide a funded Research Assistantship (RA). This position makes you eligible for the Tuition Benefit Program (TBP) that covers the cost of tuition, provides subsidized health insurance, and a stipend of around $23,000 a year. You can find more information about the TBP by clicking here.

For information on the Graduate Subsidized Health Insurance Program, please click here.

The Graduate School minimum requirements for admissions are:
  • A bachelor’s degree from a regionally-accredited college/university,
  • At least a 3.00 or higher undergraduate weighted mean GPA. If the undergraduate GPA is below 3.00, a GPA will be calculated on the last 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours) of the undergraduate work for admission consideration.
The University of Utah is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination and equal opportunity in all programs, activities and employment. Moreover, students may not be denied admission to graduate work solely because they obtained a prior degree at the University of Utah.
A personal statement should be a brief (1-2 pages) paper describing the kind of professional and academic studies you hope to undertake in the program and your goals for the degree.
Three (3) Letters of Recommendation are required for an application to be complete and must be submitted online. On the ApplyYourself application there is a section for applicants to enter the names and email addresses of our recommends. They will receive an email with a username and password which will allow them to upload their letters to the application. Academic Letters of Recommendation are preferred.
Unofficial transcripts may be uploaded in the ApplyYourself System. If admitted to the University of Utah, official transcripts will be required and need to be sent to the Admissions Office, not the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. For more information on this, please see the "Steps for After Admitted" tab.
The GRE score must be current (taken within the last 5 years) for it to be accepted. The Department requires applicants GRE score to be a minimum combined score of 300 on the quantitative and verbal sections; and a minimum score of 3.0 on the writing section. Register for the General GRE at www.ets.org. General GRE Test Scores must be submitted to the University of Utah directly from Educational Testing Services (ETS). Send scores using Institution Code 4853 (U Utah). Photocopies, student copies, and screen shots will not be accepted NOTE: Allow two months for scoring, mailing, and processing. For example, we recommend taking your tests in October in order to meet the January application deadline.
The Department requires international applicants to meet the following language proficiency requirements:
  • TOEFL: minimum score of 80 (Internet-based test) or 550 (paper-based test)
  • IELTS: An overall minimum band score of 6.5
All test dates must be within two years of admission for scores to be valid. There are no exception made for applicants who score below the minmum required score. 
Register for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) at www.ets.org or International English Language Testing Service (IELTS) at www.ielts.org TOEFL Test Scores must be submitted to the University Admissions Office directly from Educational Testing Services (ETS). Send scores to the Admissions Office (Institution Code 4853). Photocopies, student copies, and screen shots will not be accepted. TOEFL results must be less than two years old at the time of admission NOTE: Allow two months for scoring, mailing, and processing. We recommend taking your tests in September in order to meet the December application and funding deadline.
English proficiency may be demonstrated by graduate applicants in one of the following ways:
  • An associate, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree from a regionally-accredited U.S. college or university completed within two years of admittance
  • A bachelor’s degree or higher completed within the last two years from an officially-recognized college or university in one of the following countries:Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland)
The following applicants do not need to submit proof of English proficiency:
  • Native speakers of English who are citizens of Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland)
  • Continuing students currently enrolled at the University of Utah and moving from one degree level to another, or one program to another (with a break of no more than two years between the 'change' from one degree level/program to the next)
If an applicant does not meet one of the standards outlined above, but feels their professional and/or educational experience merits English proficiency, please contact iao@sa.utah.edu for information on filing a Petition for English Proficiency.