Completing the Application Process

• Application Fee

  The nonrefundable application fee must be paid online by credit card (VISA or MasterCard) prior to submission of your application. Please note that regardless of circumstances or application outcome, this fee is not refundable.

  $120.00 for U.S. citizens and Permanent Residents
  $140.00 for international/non-immigrant applicants

  Application Fee Waiver

  UCR students enrolled in the BS+MS Program can currently request an application waiver from the department office.

  A limited amount of fee waivers for financial hardship are available for qualified applicants who are a U.S. citizen or current Permanent Resident. Please visit https://graduate.ucr.edu/fee-waivers for more detail. Fee waiver is not available for international students. 

   

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• Transcripts of Academic Record

  Requirement: GPA equivalent to 3.0 or higher.

  All hard copies of official transcripts should be mailed to:
  ME GSAO c/o Grad Adviser 
  Mechanical Engineering Dept., UCR
  3401 Watkins Drive
  Riverside, CA, 92507, USA

  E-Transcripts can be sent to paul@engr.ucr.edu  

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  Domestic Applicant

  It is very important that all transcripts be sent directly to the Mechanical Engineering graduate program.   If they are sent to any other office, the review of your application will be delayed. You must submit one official copy of transcripts from ALL academic institutions you have attended since high school (secondary school). There are two ways to do this:

  Have official copies of your transcripts sent directly from the Registrar of the academic institution
  Request official copies and send them yourself in the original sealed University envelopes. DO NOT OPEN THEM.
  Records submitted for review may not be borrowed, photocopied, returned to you or sent elsewhere.

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  International Applicants

  It is very important that all transcripts be sent directly to the Mechanical Engineering graduate program.   If they are sent to any other office, the review of your application will be delayed. Applicants are required to submit an official copy of transcripts and degree certificates that are in the original language accompanied by certified English translations from each academic institution attended after secondary school.  Specially prepared English versions are not acceptable in place of documents issued in the original language. If translations are not available from the institution itself, they may be prepared by government or official translators. For translations to be acceptable, they must bear the stamp or seal of the issuing institution or governmental agency and the original signature of the translator. They must be complete and exact word-for-word translations of the original documents, not interpretations. Grades must not be converted to a US scale. These records should be sent directly from the Registrars Office of the academic institutions you have attended to the Mechanical Engineering graduate program.  If this service is not available, applicants may also request official signed copies and send them in the institutions' original sealed envelopes. Official records are original documents issued by the institution which bear the actual signature of the registrar in ink and the seal of the issuing institution. Notarized documents are not acceptable.

  Records submitted for review may not be borrowed, photocopied, returned to you or sent elsewhere.

• Graduate Record Exam

  M.S. Application Requirement: GRE is not required to apply to the ME M.S. program.

  Ph.D. Application Requirement: GRE is not required to apply to the ME Ph.D. program.

   

   

• Verification of English Proficiency

  Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)

  All applicants whose first language is not English and who have not earned an advanced degree at an institution where English is the exclusive language of instruction must submit scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). This exam is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and offered in nearly every country abroad. This exam must be taken within two years of the time you intend to enroll at UCR. The minimum acceptable scores are: 550 for the written exam; 213 for the computer-based exam, and 80 for the internet-based exam (iBT). Dates and information for TOEFL may be obtained by consulting or by calling 1-877-863-3546. Keep in mind that it may take up to two weeks for test scores to reach us from ETS.

  Be sure to list the institution code for UCR as R4839.

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  International English Language Testing System (IELTS)

  UCR will accept scores from the Academic Modules of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) which is jointly managed by the British Council, IDP:IELTS Australia and the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. The exam must be taken within two years of the time you intend to enroll at UCR. The minimum acceptable score is an overall band score of 7 with no individual section score less than 6. Please request an official Test Report Form (TRF) of your IELTS. Remember to order the TRF from the test center where you took the test and ask the administrator to send the official TRF to:

  Graduate Admissions Office
  Graduate Division
  University Office Building
  University of California, Riverside
  Riverside, CA 92521  USA

  For more information about registering for this exam or to locate the office of any test center, consult the IELTS website.

• Letters of Recommendation

  Three letters of recommendation are required in support of your applications for admission. At least two of these letters should be requested from professors in your major subject.  If you are currently enrolled in or have completed a graduate degree, a letter of recommendation is required from your program or thesis advisor in that program. Applicants are not permitted to inspect letters of recommendation in their UCR application files. If you are admitted to UCR and enroll, you may then have access to your letters of recommendation unless you previously waived the right of access on the form.

  Applicants must enter their three recommenders profile and contact information directly into the electronic application.  Recommenders will be notified by email and provided instructions about how to submit a letter online.  All letters of recommendation must be received electronically so they are attached to the appropriate applicant file for review. Hard copy Letters of Recommendation are not accepted.