Question:

How can I obtain a paper application and a graduate admissions booklet?

Entering students normally are expected to have completed the B.S. degree requirements with at least a 3.0 grade-point average in all coursework taken in the junior and senior years of undergraduate study.

Students entering the Ph.D. program are expected to have completed the requirements for the master's degree with at least a 3.25 grade-point average, and to have demonstrated creative ability.

Admission to the UCLA Electrical Engineering Department is quite competitive. Recently admitted applicants have had a mean grade point average of 3.6-4.0.

You will need to provide the name, email address, position title, institution or business, and telephone number of your recommenders while completing the online application process.

Since hardcopies of the letters of recommendation are not accepted, recommendations may only be submitted online.

Once you have officially submitted your application (by paying the fee), an email will automatically be sent to your recommenders. Based on the number of incoming applicants, it can take between a day and a week for recommenders to be contacted electronically.

Recommendation letters do not need to be received by the December 15 deadline; rather when UCLA contacts the recommenders by email, they will be given their own internal deadline. Please do not contact our office to see if your we have contacted your recommenders via email. If necessary, you should contact the recommenders to ensure that they have been contacted by UCLA. 

You may send these yourself, or have the institution send them directly to the UCLA Electrical Engineering Department, at the following address:

A student may receive a departmental or Graduate Division award, and an award based solely on financial need if the need-based criteria are met. You are strongly urged to apply in all categories for which you may qualify during the online application process.

You may also apply for non-UCLA support by contacting national, international, or private foundations directly. (The EE Department maintains a webpage of scholarships, internships, and fellowships available to graduate students in Electrical Engineering at www.ee.ucla.edu/ academics/info4grads/s-fships.htm which may be of some assistance)

Students are also nominated for departmental fellowships during the admissions process. Recipients will be notified of financial awards in April. All admitted students are automatically screened for departmental funding.

Typically, first year students are not offered TA positions. RA positions are available upon consultation with the student's assigned advisor.

For more information, see the pages on Financial Aid for U.S. students and permanent residents, OR Financial Aid for international students .  

Although the Graduate Division Website provides the option to check your application status (after you have officially submitted it), the UCLA EE Department does not provide this information due to the overwhelming number of applications. Therefore, the Graduate Division Website will not reflect your current application status.

Please do not email us to verify if materials have been received. We will email you if your application is incomplete and if any documents are missing. 

U.S. immigration law requires that international applicants, if admitted, show documented evidence that sufficient funds to cover all fees,  transportation, and living expenses are available for the first year of their studies at UCLA. This must be proved before a Certificate of Eligibility (I-20 or IAP-66) before a visa can be issued.

ALL international applicants must complete and return the Confidential Financial Statement (form is available at www.gdnet.ucla.edu/gasaa/library/cfstatement.pdf). After filling out the Statement according to the instructions (provided with the form) mail the Confidential Financial Statement to:

For international students, the total amount of money needed for living and educational expenses for the 2006-2007 academic year at UCLA is US$42,979.00, subject to change without notice. (US$19,740.50 for basic living expenses and US$23,238.50 for tuition and other university fees.) If you plan to bring your family, you should expect to add the following costs: US$4,500.00 for your spouse, plus US$2,000.00 for each child. Health insurance is mandatory and is included in the above figure for tuition and fees. (Expenses for the 2007-2008 academic year can realistically be expected to be greater than this amount by approximately US$1,000.00).

For more information, please visit the UCLA Graduate Division website's page on Anticipated Expenses for Studying at UCLA.

Although financial awards may later be applied to the Confidential Financial Statement after you have been admitted, you must still submit the Confidential Financial Statement Form by the December 15 deadline.

This form will not be looked at during the admissions process, i.e. students are are admitted based on their qualifications, rather than their country of origin or their financial affairs.

When filling out your application, fill out your grades in the scale that your institution uses.

Do not attempt to translate your grades yourself, as we have a specialist in the department who will translate them.

Yes. The TOEFL is a requirement, in order to determine whether a student is prepared to undertake graduate study conducted in English before he or she makes extensive plans for graduate study in the U.S. Applications are not considered complete without the test scores.

Note that you have the option of taking the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) instead of the TOEFL. These tests are administered at accredited Test Centres throughout the world. There are currently more than 300 Centres, in over 120 countries. Go to the IELTS website to find the nearest Center to you.

You do not have to take the TOEFL or IELTS if you hold a bachelor’s or higher degree from a university located in the United States or in another country in which English is the spoken language and the medium of instruction, or if you have completed at least two years of full-time study at such an institution. If you do not meet these criteria, you will have to take the TOEFL or IELTS.

A TOEFL score of at least 560 on the paper and pencil test or 220 on the computer based test is the minimum required for applicants to graduate programs at UCLA.

An IELTS overall band score of at least 7.0 is the minimum required.

Be sure to read "The Test of English as a Spoken Language (TOEFL) and The International English Language Testing System (IELTS)".