Admission criteria

The Department of Mechanical Engineering prefers an overall 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.

The Statement of Purpose should be approximately 1 page in length. Key points to address include:

• An introduction to yourself, including your interests and motivations
• Any relevant highlights in your background that would be of interest to the admissions committee or faculty
• A description of your laboratory or research experience, outreach, leadership activities, or scholarly engagement outside of coursework, and how they have influenced your current motivations and scientific interests
• Your career goals and how your planned graduate studies align with these goals

You may also mention faculty members whose research aligns with your interests, along with a brief explanation of your choices.

Additionally, the Statement of Purpose is an appropriate place to explain any concerns in your application, such as poor grades due to extenuating circumstances.

Three letters of recommendation from people in an ME-relevant field (i.e. faculty, supervisors at work or internship) who are familiar with your engineering and research abilities. The most successful letters speak to an applicant’s capabilities as an engineer and describe specific experiences with the applicant that demonstrate their preparedness for graduate study.

Please note that recommenders will automatically receive an email from UW requesting the recommendations immediately after you add their contact information to the application. The message will direct them to the online system where they can choose to submit the letter online.

We evaluate your resume for project, research, or work experiences in ME relevant fields. For each experience on your resume, it’s helpful to include the length of your involvement, and any roles that you held on a project team.

Our ME department values students who make positive contributions to their community through volunteering and service. We evaluate all application materials for evidence of broader impacts, especially with groups traditionally underrepresented in ME or STEM.

Applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate English language proficiency. Please refer to the UW Graduate School Policy 3.2 for further information regarding this requirement.

Our department does not require the GRE for admission to our graduate programs. Applicants can leave this portion of the application blank.

To be considered for admission to our graduate programs, the graduate school requires a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. We do admit students with GPAs in this range. For reference, the average GPA of admitted students is provided below.

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 the University of Washington policy and applicable federal and state statutes and regulations.