FAQs
- What are the application requirements?
- How can I get application forms?
- Is there an application form for financial assistantship?
- What are the application deadlines?
- What should be in a personal letter?
- What is the application process?
- Is a computing degree required for admission?
- Are GREs required? What is the required score?
- What are the Institution and Department Codes for GRE and TOEFL reporting?
- I have no formal Computer Science and Engineering training and wish to apply to the graduate program.
- I'm in another (civil, environmental, mechanical) engineering program and want to switch to your graduate program and start taking courses.
- I've been using computers and writing programs as part of my job or degree program. Am I ready to take CSE graduate courses?
- I'm working full-time, have an undergraduate degree in (CS, CSE, CE,...) and want to pursue a part time M.S./Ph.D. degree. Is that possible at UConn?
- I'm working full-time, have no formal training in Computer Science and Engineering, and want to work on my M.S. degree in CSE.
Q: What are the application requirements?
Answer: To apply, students should submit the main application, financial aid forms, transcripts, personal letters, and letters of reference to the University of Connecticut Graduate School. More details can be found on our How to Apply page
Q: How can I get application forms?
Answer: There is an online application that can be downloaded here 
;
otherwise, there is an
application request form for students who are applying from an address
within the United States and a separate one for those who are
currently at an address outside the United States.
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Q: Is there an application form for financial assistantship?
Answer: No, the main application includes a question on page 2 that should be filled if financial assistantship is required. There is more information about financial assistantships in Graduate Financial Assistance.
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Q: What are the application deadlines?
- International students applying in fall: applications should be
received by February 1 in order to process the acceptance by
April 1; in spring: applications should be received
by July 1 in order to process the acceptance by September 1.
- US applicants applying in fall: applications should be received by June 1; in spring: applications should be received by November 1.
Q: What should be in a personal letter?
Answer: The personal letter should contain why the student wants to pursue graduate studies and the background of the student. It is also important that the student indicate at least two areas of interest. The areas of research interest for each faculty member are available on the faculty web pages.
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Q: What is the application process?
Answer: The process is in multiple steps. The UConn Graduate School determines the minimum qualifications based on degrees, transcripts, grades, etc. Once the application is complete, the CSE Graduate Program Committee reviews each prospective student's folder. If acceptance is recommended, the folder is made available to CSE faculty based on student's indicated area of interest. A student must be accepted by faculty member to gain admission to either our M.S. or Ph.D. programs.
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Q: Is a computing degree required for admission?
Answer: A computer science, computer engineering, computer science & engineering, or a computer and information sciences degree, or equivalent experience is required. While a specific degree in computing is not required for admission, applicants without a degree in computing are at a disadvantage as compared to more qualified applicants.
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Q: Are GREs required? What is the required score?
Answer: GREs are required for all applicants. GRE scores are split in three categories: verbal, quantitative and written. The minimum scores for admission into the Master's program is 500 for the verbal, 750 (or 85th percentile) for the quantitative and 4 for the written (on a scale from 2 to 6). Ph.D. applicants are expected to clearly exceed the minima above. Only the general test is required, but the subject test can be used as another factor to assess potential, particularly from those applicants that have no formal computing background. For the Fall 2004 semester, the enrolling class of new MS and Ph.D. students had averages of: 527 for the verbal, 757 for the quantitiative, and 4.3 for the written portions of the GRE exam.
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Q:What are the Institution and Department Codes for GRE and TOEFL reporting?
Answer: For the GRE: UConn's institution code is: 3915. The department code is: 0402. For the TOEFL: UConn's institution code is: 3915. The department code is: 78. The country code is: 592.
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Q: I have no formal Computer Science and Engineering training and wish to apply to the graduate program.
Answer: The minimum requirements in CSE that are needed to assess the applicant's potential are CSE110, 111, 207, 230, 241, 244, 258, and 259. Please see the web page* for complete descriptions of these courses. You will also need to have a significant undergraduate background in mathematics to succeed in our graduate program.
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Q: I'm in another (civil, environmental, mechanical) engineering program and want to switch to your graduate program and start taking courses.
Answer: Unless you have had formal undergraduate training in computing (or equivalent experience), you are not prepared to take graduate courses. See the prior question for the relevant courses that you should consider taking.
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Q: I've been using computers and writing programs as part of my job or degree program. Am I ready to take CSE graduate courses?
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Answer: Unless you have formal training, you will be at a significant disadvantage in our program.
Q: I'm working full-time, have an undergraduate degree in (CS, CSE, CE,...) and want to pursue a part time M.S./Ph.D. degree. Is that possible at UConn?
Answer: Yes - we have a number of students pursue and complete part-time M.S. and doctoral programs in CSE at UConn. Every semester, we try to offer at least one CSE graduate course in the late afternoon (starting at 3:30) or early evening on a twice weekly basis. In semesters where that does not occur, the students can take independent studies (CSE320) or project-based courses (CSE367) after consultation with their advisors.
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Q: I'm working full-time, have no formal training in Computer Science and Engineering, and want to work on my M.S. degree in CSE.
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Answer: If you need prerequisites and are working full-time, perhaps our program is not suited to you, since all of our undergraduate courses are offered during the 8am-5pm period. We suggest other programs that are in Connecticut that are set up to transition students. Both the University of New Haven and Rensselaer at Hartford (affiliated with RPI) have M.S. programs that are targeted to students working full time.
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For other questions contact the CSE Department.
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