Admission

Application Process

The application process is centralized at the university and requires the steps described below:

  1. Apply Online at Cal State Apply (Applications for Spring 2024 will be open August 1, 2023 - October 15, 2023).
  2. Submit official academic records/transcripts to the Admissions Office within three weeks of university application submission.
  • Effective with the Fall 2021 application cycle, unofficial academic transcripts must be uploaded as part of the Cal State Apply application. Please plan to have them readily available at the time of university admission application submission. For Fall admission, transcripts should include coursework completed through the preceding fall term (usually ending in December). For Spring admission, transcripts should include coursework completed through the preceding summer term (usually ending in August).
  • Be aware: If you are a current (or former) Cal State LA student, the Cal State LA transcript does not need to be submitted to the Admissions Office.
  • If you have studied at an institution outside of the US, you will need to have your foreign academic work evaluated by the International Education Research Foundation (IERF) or World Education Services (WES) for securing admission into the program.
    • IERF - Visit https://apply.ierf.org/ to create an online application requesting the "Detailed Report". The foreign evaluation fee is $165 (USD). When submitting your course work to IERF please make sure to indicate that you were referred by "CSU Los Angeles-Graduate Admissions" and that you would like to have the official agency copy of the evaluation report sent directly to CSU Los Angeles-Graduate Admissions. 
    • WES - Visit http://www.wes.org/fees/evaltypes.asp to create an online application. You will need to order the course-by-course evaluation report. The cost is $205 for the WES ICAP.
  • For steps on how to submit your foreign academic records to these agencies, visit the Admissions and Recruitment page on IERF/WES.
     

Application Deadlines

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  • Application Period for Spring 2024: August 1, 2023 - October 15, 2023 (classes begin January 22, 2024)
  • Application Period for Fall 2024: October 1, 2023 - February 15, 2024 (classes begin on August 20, 2024)

 

Application FAQs

  1. A bachelor's degree in engineering or natural sciences with a minimum 2.75 GPA is required. 
  2. A promising applicant with a GPA between 2.5 and 2.74 may be admitted as a special action student. Special action students must achieve an overall GPA of 3.0 for three qualifying courses (9 units) as approved in advance by the program director.
  3. Students with other BS degrees or from non-ABET accredited programs may be admitted with conditions. Prerequisite courses will be required only for conditionally admitted students.
  4. Graduate Record Exam (GRE) score is NOT required (for Materials Science and Engineering Program). However, GRE score can be considered in the admission process and can also exempt graduate students from Graduate Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR) UNIV 4000 if they have a score of 4 on the analytic writing portion of the GRE or GMAT. (For more information please visit the following website: WPE)
  5. Letters of Recommendation are NOT required (except upon program director’s request for certain circumstances).
  6. If you do not possess a Bachelor's (or advanced) degree from a postsecondary college/university where English is the only language of instruction, you will need to submit official TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE test scores to the Cal State LA Admissions Office. Be aware, scores are only valid for two years from exam date. (For additional information please visit the following website: Language Proficiency Requirement)
  7. For funding opportunities, please contact us at [email protected]. You may also refer to the Center for Financial Aid for financial assistance available from federal, state and institutional sources at Cal State LA.
  8. Go to the Student Handbook for more information on the graduate program in Materials Science and Engineering.
  9. Go to the Graduate Application and Admission page for more detailed information about the university graduate admission.

After Admission FAQs

  1. Note that the applicants who meet all the university requirements are admitted in one of the four following categories: Graduate Classified, Graduate Conditionally Classified, Post-Baccalaureate Classified and Post-Baccalaureate Unclassified. (For more information please visit the following website: Graduate and Post-Baccalaureate Admission Requirements)
  2. We will conduct advisement/orientation sessions for new incoming graduate students to set up a study plan and determine which courses must be taken for their graduate program.

For questions regarding MS&E Graduate Admissions, contact us: [email protected]