Academics / Graduate Study / Materials Science Engineering (PhD)FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the Application Deadline? The deadline for PhD applications can be found here, and for MS applications here.
Do I qualify for a TOEFL waiver? If you will earn a bachelor or master’s degree at an institution where the language is English, yes. Thus any university in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, or New Zealand qualify. Many, but not all, universities in India, Singapore, and Nigeria also qualify. We need to review and update the status of the waiver manually, so please allow us time to process it. Institutions where the language of your program, but not institution at large, is English do not qualify for the waiver (this is often the case at European institutions).
Why is my application status incomplete? It looks like all materials have been received. Please note that the committee will review your application whether it’s marked complete or not. We need to review and update the status of the application manually, so please allow us time to process it. This can take some time, especially around the deadline when lots of applications and other materials are coming in.
Did you get my GRE/TOEFL/IELTS test scores? Test scores sent electronically by ETS should automatically match to your application, but sometimes the process goes awry. We strongly encourage you to upload the score report with your application. That way, the committee has the information they need even if we never receive official scores. IELTS scores will take longer if you send a paper copy—again, best to simply upload the score report to your application. We can use it to verify your scores.
Can I submit test scores or letters of recommendation after the deadline? Yes, we’ll accept them whenever they come in; however, the committee will begin reviewing applications shortly after the deadline so there is no guarantee they will see late submissions. There’s no way of knowing when a particular applicant’s file will be reviewed, and we will not wait for missing materials to conduct the review.