Computer Science Admission Requirements of Top USA Schools
This Data was collected in September 2005.
USN Rank 1
Carnegie Mellon University – HCII
Degrees
Masters and Ph.D.
GRE and other admission requirements
“the average GRE score (which includes analytical, verbal and quantitative) of those admitted students last year was 2008″
The GRE subject test is optional for those applicants to the PhD programs in Computer Science, Computational and Statistical Learning, Computation Organizations and Society, Robotics, and Neural Basis of Cognition. Recommendations for programs are as follows:
Applicants to HCI with an emphasis in human science must take a subject test from the area that best matches their background. (For example, HCI applicants with a psychology background should take the psychology subject test.) HCI applicants with a design emphasis are not required to submit a subject test.
The Language and Information Technologies program recommends that applicants submit a subject test.
The Software Engineering program highly recommends, but does not require, a subject test.
The Computation, Organizations and Society program allows students in the management area to substitute the GMAT scores for the GRE scores.
Deadline
There is no spring admission.
The doctoral deadline is December 15 for entry in the following fall semester. The recommendations are due by January 3. The application and recommendation deadline for the Masters programs in the Robotics Institute and the Language and Technologies Institute is January 3.
Finance Opportunities
There are no additional financial aid forms.
PhD students will receive financial support (tuition, fees, monthly stipend) from a variety of sources, including CMU research assistantships, outside fellowships, and government grants.
Professor Contact or Research at CMU
You should feel free to contact professors with very specific questions about their research. However, we do request that you not ask to be accepted by a particular faculty member as a student, since under our admissions system individual faculty members do not make admissions decisions
USN Rank 1
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Degrees
Masters and Ph.D.
GRE and other admission requirements
We expect an applicant to have earned a Bachelor’s degree by the time he/she registers in EECS, and possess a very strong background in math, physics, computer science, or engineering. Admission is extremely competitive.
Application Deadline
The EECS department accepts applications for September only, and the deadline for applying is December 15.
Financial Opportunities
Most EECS graduate students are supported by RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIPS or TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS. An application for an assistantship is included in the application package.
Professor Contact or Research at MIT
USN Rank 1
Stanford University – CS
Degrees
Masters and Ph.D.
GRE and other admission requirements
“While there is no minimum requirement for GRE scores, a strong application
would include percentiles in the high 90s for the Ph.D. program and scores
in the 90th percentile for the MS program”
Application Deadline
No Spring Admission.
Fall deadline December 1
Finance Opportunities
The Computer Science Department DOES NOT offer financial support for MS students so you should not plan on attending Stanford if such support is essential to you
All incoming Ph.D. students are supported by teaching and/or research assistantships, but are strongly encouraged to apply for outside fellowships as well
Professor Contact or ResearchatStanford
USN Rank 1
University of California –Berkeley
Degrees
Masters and Ph.D.
GRE and other admission requirements
”Most successful applicants last year had GPAs above 3.7 and GRE quantitative scores above 90%. Most successful Computer Science applicants took the GRE Computer Science Subject test and scored above 90%. For Fall 2005 we had 2500 applications for 100 slots.”
Application Deadline
No spring intake.
Fall - December 15. Supporting data, such as transcripts, recommendation letters, and GRE and TOEFL scores, should arrive no later than January 9.
Finance Opportunities
We provide financial support for virtually all of our graduate students for the duration of their studies. During the most recent academic year, approximately one-quarter were supported by fellowships, slightly more than half were supported by research assistantships, and roughly one-quarter were supported by teaching assistantships.
Professor Contact or Research at Berkeley
USN Rank 5
University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign – CS
Degrees
Masters and Ph.D.
GRE and other admission requirements
“The median grade point average (GPA) is 3.6/4.0 and the average general GRE
score is 1400/1600 (verbal and quantitative sections) and 5.5/6.0
(analytical writing section) for those recommended for admission.”
Applicants to the Ph.D. program are strongly encouraged to submit a score for the GRE (Subject/Advanced) Computer Science Test.
All applicants whose native language is not English are required to take the TSE, regardless of US citizenship or permanent residency, for financial aid consideration. A passing score of 50/60 is required to be awarded a Teaching Assistantship (TA)
Application Deadline
Summer Session or Fall Semester: December 1
Spring Semester: September 1
Finance Opportunities
Professor Contact or Research@Uiuc
USN Rank 6
Cornell University
Degrees
M.Eng. and Ph.D.
GRE and other admission requirements for Ph.D.
The department requires that all applicants to the doctoral program take the GRE general test and the GRE subject test. It is preferred that applicants take the GRE subject test in the area of Computer Science, but we will also consider scores in Mathematics or Engineering. If your scores are more than three years old, you should retake the GREs
Application Deadline
Ph.D. Fall -January 1.Spring –October 1
M.Eng. Fall - February 1.Spring - October 1
International students are encouraged to apply early
Finance Opportunities
Most M.Eng. students are self-funded or have obtained their own corporate support. Cornell does not offer any tuition waivers. Applicants who submit a complete application by the above deadlines will be considered for fellowships. Applicants should consider submitting extra letters of recommendation to improve fellowship chances. The Department also awards a few part time (paid) teaching assistantships in which students perform various duties that aid faculty in the teaching of Cornell CS courses. Students are not guaranteed TA positions, nor are they required to work as a TA. If you wish to be considered for a TA position, please indicate so in your application, as well as any pertinent experience you have.
All Ph.D. students in Computer Science are fully supported as long as they remain in good academic standing. Support from Cornell includes tuition and stipend. Support is available in the form of teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and fellowships.
Professor Contact or Research at Cornell
USN Rank 7
University of Texas, Austin – CS
Degrees
Masters and Ph.D.
GRE and other admission requirements
For the Ph.D. program, the average scores of recent successful applicants have been: GRE: 650 verbal, 790 quantitative, 5.0 analytical. TOEFL: 655 paper/283 computer version. CS Subject Test (AGRE): 820.
For the Masters program, the average scores of recent successful applicants to this program have been: GRE: 615 verbal, 780 quantitative. 5.0 analytical. TOEFL: 644 paper/273 computer version. CS Subject Test (AGRE): 780. The average undergraduate GPA has been 3.76 (on a 4.0 scale).
Admission to the graduate program is very competitive. For example, for fall 2004, 460 students applied to the Ph.D. program and 75 were accepted; 197 students applied to the Masters program and 48 were accepted.
Application Deadline
Applications are accepted for the Fall and Spring semesters only
Fall January 2 and Spring September 1
Finance Opportunities
Successful applicants to the Ph.D. program for fall semesters will be considered for doctoral fellowships. The doctoral fellowship provides four years of support, contingent on satisfactory progress. This support consists of a fellowship the first year, followed by a commitment to provide either a teaching assistantship or a research assistantship the second, third and fourth years. Most students find a research supervisor during the second or third year and may be supported as research assistants. However, teaching assistantships are always available for doctoral fellowship students.
Research assistantships normally are appointed on a semester basis. Research assistantships are under the purview of the individual professors and are generally made after the student has been enrolled for at least 1-2 semesters.
Teaching Assistantships Appointments to teaching assistantships are normally for 2 semesters: September-May. Offers of teaching assistantships are generally made at the time of admission by the admissions committee. New International TAs must satisfy an oral English Assessment conducted by the University. The Test of Spoken English cannot substitute for this assessment.
Professor Contact or Research at Utexas
USN Rank 7
University of Washington – CS
Degrees offered
Masters and Ph.D.
GRE and other admission requirements
“The average GPA for the incoming students in Autumn 2003 was 3.68. The
average GRE scores for incoming students in Autumn 2002 were: Verbal
(including foreign students): 641 (85%), Quantitative: 776 (88%). The
average Subject Test score in Computer Science for Autumn 2003 incoming
students was 797 (76%).”
We offer admission to between 10% and 15% of those who apply to our full-time graduate program.
All International students must submit TOEFL and TSE scores.
Application Deadline
No Spring Admission
Deadline to apply for admission each
Autumn Quarter is December 15 for U.S. applicants.
For international applications it is November 1.
All applications materials must be received by this date.
Finance Opportunities
All students who are admitted to our program are awarded an assistantship (teaching or research). Under the assistantship, in exchange for 20 hours of work per week, the student receives:
Tuition waiver (except for $140.00 per quarter in fees, which the student pays)
Monthly stipend of approximately $1800.00
Health Insurance (100% of premium for student, 50% of premium for dependents)
Currently, this funding is guaranteed for 3 years. Funding after the initial 3 years is available, and is contingent on satisfactory academic progress and availability of funds.
Professor Contact or Research at Washington
USN Rank 9
Princeton University – CS
Degrees offered
M.Eng. and Ph.D.
GRE and other admission requirements
We strongly recommend that the GRE subject test be taken if possible. The test should be taken in the field of your undergraduate major. If no subject GRE is given in your field, you will not be expected to submit a score.
Application Deadline
Admission to Princeton is for the fall semester only
December 1, 2005 for applicants living outside North America; and December 31, 2005 for applicants within North America. All materials should reach the University by the deadline dates.
Finance Opportunities
We do not provide any financial aid for students enrolling in the Master of Engineering program.Financial support for Ph.D. candidates consists of University and corporate fellowships, Assistantships in Research (ARs) and in Teaching (AIs).
Professor Contact or Research at Princeton
USN Rank 10
California Institute of Technology
Degrees offered
Students are admitted only with the Ph.D. as the degree objective
GRE and other admission requirements
GRE scores are required, with a subject test of the student’s choice strongly recommended
Application Deadline
Applications are accepted once a year. The deadline is January 1st.
Finance Opportunities
In general, students offered admission to graduate study at Caltech are simultaneously offered a package of financial support that pays all tuition charges and provides them with a stipend. Financial support for graduate students comes in the form of fellowships, research assistantships, teaching assistantship, or some combination of fellowship and assistantship support
Professor Contact or Research@Caltech
USN Rank 10
University of Wisconsin, Madison – CS
Degrees offered
Masters and Ph.D.
GRE and other admission requirements
“most of the students we admit are in the 85th percentile or higher on each
of the sections of the GRE General Test (Analytical Writing, Quantitative,
and Verbal), and have a GPA of 3.5 or higher (on a 4.0 scale).”
We require the Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical Writing tests. We do not require a Subject test
Application Deadline
Applications for graduate study in the Department, whether for an M.S. or Ph.D. degree, are evaluated only once per year, for admission starting in the Fall semester each year.
December 31 is Fall application deadline.
Finance Opportunities
Approximately 200 students are enrolled in our graduate program. Approximately 90% of these students are financially supported within the Department as either Fellows, Research Assistants, or Teaching Assistants
Professor Contact or Research at Wisc
USN Rank 12
Georgia Institute of Technology – CC
Degrees offered
Masters and Ph.D.
GRE and other admission requirements
“Accepted applicant scores have averaged 80% on the quantitative and
analytical sections for the M.S. program. The desirable minimum GPA is
3.0/4.0. “
The CS GRE test is required for all applications to graduate programs in the College of Computing unless the specific program rules list exceptions
Application Deadline
Admittance Terms - Fall only.
Application Deadlines
MSCS: March 1
Ph.D.: December 15
Finance Opportunities
The College is unable to offer financial aid to all graduate students. A small number of Master’s students do have the chance to act as Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) and Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs).
Professor Contact or Research@Gatech
USN Rank 12
University of Maryland - College Park – CS
Degrees offered
Masters and Ph.D.
GRE and other admission requirements
“The minimum acceptable score for the General GRE is 1850 for international
students and 1950 for U.S. students.”
Undergraduate grade point averages are generally 3.5/4.0 or above.
Both GPA and GRE scores of students admitted in recent years have been much higher than the minimum required.
Application Deadline
Deadline for applications and all supporting material due at Graduate School and Computer Science Department December 15. Spring admissions only for University of Maryland students.
Finance Opportunities
Both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees are offered, and almost all full-time students receive financial aid in the form of assistantships, fellowships, and grants
Professor Contact or Research at Umd
USN Rank 14
Brown University
Degrees offered
Masters and Ph.D.
GRE and other admission requirements
“The GPA is not the only criterion. Grades in computer science and related disciplines (e.g., math) count more than grades in other areas. Also, we take into account the fact that at some very competitive schools it is very difficult to achieve a high GPA.
While we do not require General and Subject GRE test scores, however the tests provide an additional objective form of evaluation that is often helpful in determining an applicant’s abilities.
Recommendation letters must give a detailed, factual, and candid evaluation of the applicant’s capabilities. Rankings and comparisons with other students are very useful. Ask your recommender to follow these guidelines.
Research experience, although not required, can boost your chances of admission considerably. If you have worked on a research project, please tell us about it and ask at least one of your recommenders to comment on it. If your work is part of a joint project, the recommender should indicate your specific contribution to the project. Include abstracts or reprints of any papers you have published in journals or presented at conferences.
Application Deadline
To maximize flexibility, we have a rolling deadline. This means we accept students until we have filled the available slots. We will begin reviewing applications in the middle of January and stop on July 15. Because the number of spaces is small
Finance Opportunities
We do not offer funding to ScM students. You will need to apply to external sources of support
We admit all PhD students (including international students) with financial support.
Professor Contact or Research at Brown
USN Rank 14
University of California-Los Angeles
Degrees offered
Masters and Ph.D
GRE and other admission requirements
”We expect at least a 3.3 GPA (on a 4.00 scale) in the junior and senior years, and at least 3.5 in any graduate study. These averages are considered the minimum requirements; the actual standard for admission is set by the current pool of applicants, and is generally much higher—GRE scores on the General (Aptitude) test are required for admission to both the M.S. and Ph.D. programs.”
Application Deadline
Fall only. Deadline - December 15th
Finance Opportunities
Support based on merit is available in the form of fellowships, traineeships, teaching assistantships, and graduate student researcher positions. These awards are open to all students–U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and international students–who have demonstrated high academic achievement.
Professor Contact or Research at ucla
USN Rank 14
University of Michigan- Ann Arbor – CSE
Degrees offered
Masters and Ph.D.
GRE and other admission requirements
A GPA of at least 3.5/4.0 for the undergraduate degree.
A Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General total score of at least 2000 (out of a possible 2400); new test scoring of at least 1300 and 4.5 (analytical).
Application Deadline
We admit students for the Fall Term only.
Applications received and complete with all supporting documents from international students by December 15 and domestic students by January 5 will be considered for departmental financial assistance.
Applications received and complete with all supporting documents from both international and domestic students by March 1 will be considered for admission only.
Finance Opportunities
We have a very strong applicant pool and normally students who receive funding have very high GPAs and strong GRE scores. We prefer applicants with at least a 3.7 GPA and GREs over 2000. However, we do not make a decision based purely on numbers but do evaluate each student on individual merit. Careful attention is paid to student background, experiences, statement of purpose and letters or recommendation in reaching funding decisions.
Professor Contact or Research at umich
USN Rank 17
Rice University – CS
Degrees offered
Masters and Ph.D.
GRE and other admission requirements
“Typical GRE scores for admitted applicants are in the 90-99th percentile on
the quantitative and analytical portions of the GRE for those applying to
the Ph.D. program and in the 80-89th percentile for the MCS program. CGPA
scores range from 3.5-4.0 based on a 4.0 scale… The minimum score required
on the general GRE is 70 percent in the analytical and quantitative
sections. However, this is a minimum requirement, and applicants who are
offered admission generally have much higher scores.”
Although the Test of Spoken English (TSE) is not required of non-native English speakers, it is strongly recommended. Special consideration is given to applicants providing this score
Application Deadline
Program Deadlines
Ph.D. Program Early Application December 1.Regular Application December 15.
MCS Program
Regular Application February 3. Spring Application October 15
Spring admissions into this program are not guaranteed.
Finance Opportunities
All doctoral students at Rice are fully supported by graduate fellowships or research assistantships. Students who gain external support receive an additional internal supplement.
Professor Contact or Research at rice
USN Rank 17
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - CS
Degrees offered
Masters and Ph.D.
GRE and other admission requirements
“High scores on all three parts of the General Aptitude Test of the Graduate
Record Examination are also recommended: a minimum of 80th percentile on the
verbal section, 90th percentile on the quantitative section, and 90th
percentile on the analytical section or a minimum of 5 on the analytical
writing section… The median credentials for the 35 first-year students who
began our program in fall 2003: are Quantitative GRE: 90th percentile,
Verbal GRE: 83rd percentile, (86th with non-native speakers excluded),
Analytical GRE: 90th percentile, GPA (undergraduate): 3.6/4.0″
Application Deadline
Applications for fall admission, complete with a personal statement, all transcripts, and recommendations, should be received by the Graduate School no later than January 1. To ensure meeting that deadline, applicants are encouraged to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) no later than December 1. Early submission of applications is encouraged. International applicants should consider completing their applications earlier to allow time for processing financial and visa documents.
Finance Opportunities
Most of our students are supported by assistantships and fellowships. Applicants for assistantships are automatically considered for all available fellowships.
Full-time summer employment on a research project is normally available to students who would like to receive support
Professor Contact or Research at unc
USN Rank 17
University of Pennsylvania – CIS
Degrees offered
Masters and Ph.D.
GRE and other admission requirements
“Fall 2004 MSE admissions statistics … Candidates admitted to the MSE
program: Average GRE: V 560 / Q 770 / A 720 / AW 5.0″
Application Deadline
There is no Spring Admission
Deadline for Ph.D. students - December 15.
For domestic students applying to the MSE & MCIT programs - June 1
For candidates overseas applying to the MSE & MCIT programs - May 1
For all domestic and foreign students applying to the CGGT program - July 1
Finance Opportunities
Departmental financial aid is available only for doctoral students; generally, funded doctoral students receive payment of tuition and fees, a stipend for living expenses, and payment of University of Pennsylvania Student Health Insurance.
There is no departmental funding available for MSE, MCIT, or CGGT students. There are no RA positions available in the department; only research fellow positions for doctoral students. Teaching assistant duties are generally met by doctoral students participating in a Teaching Practicum.
Professor Contact or Research at upenn
USN Rank 20
Columbia University – CS
Degrees offered
Masters and Ph.D.
GRE and other admission requirements
” GPA of at least 3.3 is required. Most successful applicants have a GPA of 3.5 or higher. Most students admitted have earned scores in excess of 650 for the Analytical and Quantitative parts.”
For Ph.D.-As a reference, however, the average GRE scores for the entering class of Fall 2003 were Verbal: 598, Quantitative: 774, and Analytical: 748, while the average TOEFL score was 277.