Admissions
Do I need to submit official transcripts?
Unofficial Transcripts Required for Application:
When you apply, please submit an unofficial transcript from each university or college where you earned course credit. Your transcripts must be in English and contain a grade key. Transcripts must include your name, the institution’s name, courses taken, credit hours, and grades earned.
If your unofficial transcript is not in English, we encourage you to use a transcript evaluation or translation service.
Official transcripts are only required if you have been admitted and choose to enroll.
Official Transcripts Required If Admitted:
Please arrange for your official transcripts and degree documents to be sent directly to Graduate Admissions as soon as they become available with the degree conferral posted. In order for a transcript to be considered official, it must come directly from your school or third-party evaluation service.
When requesting documents to be sent to Penn Engineering Graduate Admissions, please ensure that you have indicated the appropriate office in the drop-down selections. In instances where multiple University of Pennsylvania profiles are available, you should select the option for the University of Pennsylvania, Dept: SEAS Graduate Admissions (Engineering) when possible. Please do not select the main University of Pennsylvania Office as we cannot access transcripts sent to this office or you will need to resend them to the correct office.
Submitting Your Official Transcripts:
- For U.S. Institutions: Provide your final official transcript showing coursework completion, degree earned, and degree conferral date. Transcripts must be submitted via a secure electronic service, sent to graduate-admissions@seas.upenn.edu.
- For International Institutions: For each university or college you’ve attended outside the U.S., we require that you contact a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) to have a course-by-course evaluation of your non-U.S. transcript(s) sent electronically from the NACES member to Penn Engineering Graduate Admissions. This evaluation should include course titles, grades received, GPA, and U.S. degree equivalency. While Penn Engineering accepts course-by-course evaluations from any NACES member, many of our applicants have been successful using:
We encourage you to review our Official Transcript Policy if you have additional questions.
Can my application fee be waived?
- U.S. citizen or permanent resident with a proven low-income background
- Applicant with a Penn or U.S. military affiliation
- Eligible student from a U.S. partner institution applying to an Accelerated Master’s program
I am not a U.S. citizen and will need a student visa in order to study in the United States. What should I do?
If you are admitted to a graduate program, we will email you instructions for beginning the I-20 application process. If you have questions about the I-20 process, please contact the University’s International Student and Scholar Services office.
Do you accept transfer credit for master’s or doctoral students?
Master’s students may request a transfer of up to two graduate-level courses, and doctoral students may request transfer of up to nine. We do not accept transfer credits from online courses for on-campus programs. Read more about transfer credit in the Graduate Student Handbook.
Can I apply to more than one program?
Yes. Start by submitting an application for the first program you are applying to, and then submit your other application(s) using the same account and login information. You will need to upload all the required application components and pay a separate application fee for each application you submit.
If you are admitted to more than one program, you may enroll in only one. You can apply to the second program (as a dual degree option) after you have completed at least one semester. See the Graduate Student Handbook for details.
Are there guidelines or requirements for the personal statement?
No, but we do have some recommendations. For more, see How to Apply.
Do I need a bachelor’s in engineering to apply to a Penn Engineering graduate program?
Some of our programs require a BS in engineering, but others don’t. You can learn more about prerequisites in the descriptions of our master’s programs and Ph.D. programs.
What are the prerequisites for admission?
That depends on the program, but in general, you must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university by the time classes begin. For details, see How to Apply.