The Department's Admission Committee will review each application using the following criteria.
Grade point average
The Department of Mechanical Engineering requires an overall undergraduate cumulative GPA of at least 3.3 for M.S. applicants. Ph.D. applicants are required to have an M.S. cumulative GPA of 3.5 or better.
The Graduate School requires that applicants have a GPA of at least 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) for the last 90 quarter-hours or 60 semester-hours of graded undergraduate coursework to receive consideration for admission.
Academic rigor
The admission committee will review the quality and difficulty of courses taken and universities and colleges attended.
GRE General Test
In response to current restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mechanical Engineering Department will temporarily waive the Graduate Records Examination (GRE) requirement for admissions during the 2020-21 academic year.
Recommendations
Three letters of recommendations from people who are familiar with your engineering and research abilities. Please note that recommenders will automatically receive an email from UW requesting the recommendations only after you have submitted your application and paid the application fee.
Statement of purpose
A one-page summary of your technical and research interests, career goals, and how you envision your proposed degree contributing to these goals.
Professional experience
Include a resume, if applicable.
English requirements for foreign nationals
Applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate English language proficiency. Please refer to the UW Graduate School Memo 8 for further information regarding this requirement.
Averages
For reference, these are the average GPA and GRE scores for accepted graduate students.
| Year | Program | GPA | GRE-Quant. | GRE-Verbal | GRE-Writing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019/2020 | Ph.D. | 3.77 | 164 | 156 | 4.5 |
| 2019/2020 | M.S. | 3.62 | 163 | 154 | 4.0 |
| 2020/2021 | Ph.D. | 3.70 | 165 | 158 | 4.5 |
| 2020/201 | M.S. | 3.52 | 162 | 156 | 4.0 |
The University of Washington provides equal opportunity in education without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, or status as a disabled veteran or Vietnam era veteran in accordance with University of Washington policy and applicable federal and state statutes and regulations.