Admissions Requirements and Process
GPA Requirements
The Department of Aerospace Engineering requires a GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (A=4) for the last two years of undergraduate work and any graduate work completed. However, having a GPA higher than the minimum is no guarantee of admission. Applicants with an MS degree generally must meet a higher standard.
GRE
The GRE requirement is waived. However, GRE scores will be accepted and, if provided, evaluated as part of your application. Strong GRE scores can enhance your application.
Education Background Requirements
Applicants must have a B.S. degree in aerospace engineering or a closely related field such as mechanical or civil engineering from an accredited college in the United States or an approved institution of higher learning abroad in order to be eligible to apply.
Students whose backgrounds are not in aerospace engineering should make sure they have the necessary background for the graduate program.
English Proficiency Requirement
Please check English proficiency requirements for more information, including minimum scores and qualified exemptions.
Application Procedures
Please use the University's online graduate application. Please read the application instructions. A nonrefundable application processing fee is required with the submission of your application. This fee cannot be waived. The application fee for domestic applicants is $90; for international applicants, the fee is $90.
The Department of Aerospace Engineering requires the following application materials:
- Online application including resume and statement of purpose.
- In the Educational History section of the application, you will be asked to upload scanned versions of your transcripts and certificates of degree or diplomas. Please view your transcripts after the upload to be sure they are legible. Your transcript must show the name of the university and your name. Please do NOT mail a copy of the credentials which you have uploaded to your online application.
- In the Statements section of the application, please upload your resume and statement of purpose. The statement of purpose should be approximately 1-2 pages, single spaced, 12 pt. font.
- Three letters of reference. After your application is submitted, the application system will email your references so they can upload letters of reference to your application. This can take time, so submitting your application well ahead of deadlines is highly recommended.
- English proficiency test scores, for those applicants who do not qualify for exemptions. Please review our English Proficiency requirements as outlined by the Graduate College.
- optional: Official GRE scores for general test from ETS. GRE scores are not required.
Additional information:
- No program-specific questions are required for the Aerospace Engineering Department.
- Application fee waivers are not available unless applicants are McNair Scholars or eligible University of Illinois employees.
- All applicants are automatically considered for financial support in the form of fellowships, research assistantships, and teaching assistantships. There is no separate application to be considered for financial support.
- Please do not send additional materials (e.g. publications, photographs, videos, CDs, or portfolios). These items are not reviewed during the admission process and they will be discarded.
- Please do NOT mail or fax a copy of credentials which you have uploaded to your online application. This saves you the time, effort, and the expense of mailing transcripts to us during the initial processing and review of your application.
- Students in the MS Non-thesis program and Master of Engineering programs are not provided funding by the Department of Aerospace Engineering, and do not qualify for assistantships.
- International students who do not receive departmental funding will, if admitted, be required to submit Certification of Declaration of Finances form and funding documents online. The department does not require these documents to be submitted when applying, but will be required for you to be officially admitted. Please see the Graduate College website for more information.