Students applying for admission to the program are required to meet the following criteria:

• Hold a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering or an equivalent degree in a related field from an accredited college or university. Exceptional students with an earned Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering may be considered for direct admission into the doctoral program. Please contact the program director.
• Have earned an overall GPA of at least 3.3 (B+) on a 4.0 scale in the Master of Science degree. Students with lower GPAs may be accepted on a provisional basis as described below.
• Provide official transcripts of all completed college work.
• Submit an online application for doctoral admission a minimum of two months before the beginning of the term in which the applicant expects to enroll.
• Submit three letters of recommendation.
• Submit a research statement describing subject(s) of interest.
• Non-native speakers of English must document English proficiency upon entry to the program (TOEFL minimum 450 or IELTS minimum 5.5). Students with TOEFL scores below 450 or IELTS below 5.5 will be directed to ESL coursework in addition to regular academic classes.

Students with a graduate GPA lower than 3.3 may be admitted on a provisional basis. They will be evaluated for continuation upon completion of nine credits of graduate coursework. This evaluation is conducted by the director of the PhD in Mechanical Engineering program, the chair of A. Leon Linton Department of Mechanical, Robotics, and Industrial Engineering, and the associate dean of graduate studies and research. The department chair will notify the student in writing of the outcome. If a student is not permitted to continue work toward the PhD in Mechanical Engineering, then they are expected to terminate their studies within the department. The student may petition the decision to the Doctoral Governance Committee of the College of Engineering within one week of receiving written notification. The decision of the Doctoral Governance Committee is final.

Students with an engineering master’s degree in a field other than mechanical engineering and who have a GPA of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale may be admitted on a provisional basis. The program director and program advisor(s) will define the prerequisite requirements.