GRADUATE: Admission Requirements

At the Masters level, an applicant will meet the minimum admission requirements for full graduate standing if all of the following are satisfied:

• Overall grade point average (GPA) is at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale from an accredited institution
• Undergraduate major is in a technical area which satisfies the prerequisites for graduate coursework in MAE (if you do not hold a BS degree in ME or AE , see below)
• Three satisfactory letters of recommendation are submitted
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are competitive
• An international Masters applicant must have a competitive TOEFL score (NCSU minimum is 213)

If you are interested in the academic standards for entry into the Accelerated BS/MS programs in Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering , click here (pdf) .

At the Doctorate level, an applicant will meet the minimum admission requirements for full graduate standing if all of the following are satisfied:

• Grade point average (GPA) in the applicant's Masters program is at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale  from an accredited institution
• Three satisfactory letters of recommendation are submitted, with one letter coming from the applicant's Masters Degree advisor
• A record of independent research or project work has been demonstrated
• Performance in the Masters oral examination was satisfactory
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are competitive
• An international Ph.D. applicant must have a competitive TOEFL score (NCSU minimum is 213)

Additional Admission Standards for Non-Majors Seeking the Master's Degree

Applicants need not have completed a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering (BSME or BSAE, respectively) in order to pursue an MSME or MSAE degree. However, requirements must still be satisfied for undergraduate courses that are prerequisites to graduate-level engineering courses. Those prerequisites are a function of an applicant's MS degree area-of-interest and the courses taken in his/her undergraduate or continuing education program.  For example, physics majors already may have completed courses equivalent to Engineering Statics, Engineering Dynamics and Thermodynamics and thus would not need to re-take those courses.

Provisional admission into the Graduate program may be granted while the student completes all needed 400-level courses, with full status generally conferred upon satisfactory completion of the remedial coursework.  Note that University regulations prohibit a graduate student from holding an assistantship or fellowship while on provisional status.

Applicants cannot be admitted into the Graduate program until all of the necessary 300-level undergraduate prerequisite courses (or equivalents) have been satisfactorily completed.