Graduate Program Admissions FAQs

MS and PhD applications require a personal statement, resume/CV, transcripts from all prior universities, official TOEFL/IELTS scores, 3 Letters of Recommendation and a $70 application fee.

We do not require and do not accept GRE scores as part of our application process. 

If you are an international applicant, we do require official TOEFL/IELTS scores as part of your application.  

If you received your B.S. or M.S. in an English medium of instruction, then you do not need to submit TOEFL/IELTS scores. However, please check to see if your TOEFL/IELTS scores are automatically waived within the application portal. If they are not, then please reach out to ecegradprogram@soe.rutgers.edu after you submit your application, and we will waive the requirement. 

No, international transcripts do not require a WES evaluation.  

Yes, unofficial transcripts are submitted as part of the application process, and official transcripts are not part of the application process. Official transcripts are only submitted by accepted students, and these are submitted to Rutgers OneStop, not the department.  

No, applicants do not need to submit official transcripts as part of their application. Only unofficial transcripts are required. Official transcripts are only submitted by accepted students, and these are submitted to Rutgers OneStop, not the department. 

No, Rutgers University does not process merit-based application fee waivers.  

If you are an international student, please complete this form to contact Graduate Admissions about a need-based application fee waiver. https://grad.admissions.rutgers.edu/Contact/ The department cannot process application fee waivers. 

If you are a domestic student, please reach out to the Big Ten Free App program to apply to have your application fee waived. Please see the eligibility criteria here https://btaa.org/resources-for/students/freeapp/eligibility. The link to apply for the FreeApp Program is on the SGS DEI webpage, and can also be found here.  

Yes, the program welcomes applicants from related fields such as Physics, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, and other non-ECE Engineering and Technology disciplines. However, it is essential that application materials demonstrate the applicant’s readiness and competence for the rigor of the program.  

The ECE graduate program does not offer pre-screening of applicants prior to the application process. To begin the formal application procedure, please visit the Rutgers Graduate Admissions Website. 

Students should complete their PhD degrees in about 5-6 years with a max of 7 years. 

A MS degree is 30 credits, so it takes most full-time students around 4 semesters to complete the degree.  

Yes, students do not need a master’s degree to apply to the PhD program.  

You do not need to secure an advisor to apply to the program, but you will need to find an advisor within two years of starting the program. Therefore, we recommend that after researching our faculty's’ research on Google Scholar, we encourage you to network with faculty whose research you are interested in via email to discuss your research interests, their research, if they are taking on new PhD students and to inquire about potential funding opportunities. 

Although you do not need to secure an advisor to apply, all GA and TA funding opportunities are associated with a student’s advisors. GA and TA positions are not distributed to incoming students by the department. Therefore, if you are looking to have your PhD funding, please work to secure an advisor as you apply for the PhD program. 

Through networking! If a student is interested in research, we encourage them to inquire about faculty member's labs and research, especially those who are teaching their courses. These relationships can result in a research opportunity that can be utilized for their thesis.  Applicants do not apply to the MS program with thesis. They decide to do a thesis and find an advisor throughout the degree. 

No, students do not need a faculty advisor for the non-thesis MS program. The ECE Graduate Director, Professor Waheed Bajwa will be your academic advisor. His email is ecegraddirector@soe.rutgers.edu.  

We do not offer need-based financial aid. However, for the PhD program, we provide merit-based Graduate Assistantships (GA), Teaching Assistantships (TA), and Fellowships. These positions offer a generous annual stipend, tuition remission, and healthcare. All PhD applicants are automatically considered for these opportunities, including GA positions, which are exclusively managed by individual faculty members. Faculty members can also recommend students for GA and TA support directly to the department, and PhD applicants are encouraged to reach out to advisors whose research aligns with their interests, as faculty recommendations play a key role in TA and GA assignments.

For MS students, funding opportunities prior to joining the program are extremely limited, but all MS applicants are automatically considered for the funding available to them. If you receive a funding offer, it will be included in your admissions decision. However, if funding is not provided at the time of admission, the likelihood of receiving a funding offer later is very low, and we encourage MS students to consider their financial plans carefully before committing to join our program.

The MS program has 7 specializations, and the PhD program has 10 Specializations. Each specialization has unique course requirements. Please see the Graduate Student Handbook for the courses in each specialization.

Once you submit your application, you cannot change your specialization within the application portal. However, if you are accepted and enroll in the Graduate Program, you will have the chance to change your specialization at New Student Check In with the department.