Application Instructions for Graduate Students

Overview

• Applicants apply online at the BYU Graduate Studies web site (more...):
  • Instructions for U.S. Applicants
    
  • Instructions for International Applicants (see note below)

• Application deadline (more...)
  • Feb. 15 for students beginning Fall Semester.
  • Admission at other times of the year is made on a case-by-case basis.

• Application Requirements (more...)
  • GRE and TOEFL (for non-native English speakers) exams are required.  
  • Competitive GPAs are above 3.3 (overall), and 3.0 (chemical engineering).  

• Financial Aid and Advisors (more...) 
  • Tuition and research stipends are available to nearly all students.  
  • Research advisors are chosen after admission. 

• Adherance to the BYU Honor Code (more...)

Detailed Application Information 

Please note there is one exception to this process for international students (those with a B.S. degree from a non-U.S. school): The BYU graduate admissions web site instructs international applicants to submit transcripts to an approved agency for credential evaluation (step 5).  International applicants to the chemical engineering department may choose not do this; instead, official copies of transcripts, diplomas, and marksheets may be mailed to the department for initial review.  The student should complete all other steps of the online application, including submitting GRE and TOEFL scores to BYU. Under this option, if the department decides to recommend admission to the university, the department will send the student's transcripts to a credential evaluation agency and pay the required fees to have the results sent to BYU.  We adopted this policy as a courtesy to our applicants as the credential evaluation costs $100 or more.  In summary, if international students wish to avoid paying for the credential evaluation for BYU admission, they may mail official transcripts (including English translation) to the following address, while completing all other application steps.

Graduate Student Admissions
Chemical Engineering Department
350 CB
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT 84604
USA

 Application Deadlines

*Each year's entering class of graduate students is selected following the February 15 priority deadline.  Applications received after the priority deadline will be considered only if additional openings in our entering class become available.

The graduate program is organized so that Fall Semester is the normal starting time; we therefore will consider admission at other times of the year only for well-qualified applicants who are able to secure supplemental financial support from a potential faculty research advisor.

 Application Requirements

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required for all applicants. Applicants whose native language is not English are also required to take an English proficiency exam (such as TOEFL) as described on the BYU Graduate Studies web page.  Average GRE scores from admitted students over the past five years, along with other program statistics are available at the BYU Graduate Studies web pages for our PhD and MS programs.

All applicants must have a bachelor of science (B.S.) degree in chemical engineering, in another field of engineering, or in a physical science.  Students in the final year of their B.S. program who will complete the degree before their graduate school entrance date are included in this group.  The most competitive applicants will have a chemical engineering B.S. with a minimum 3.0 GPA in upper-division chemical engineering courses and a minimum overall 3.3 GPA.

Applicants with a technical, non-chemical engineering background will be considered and are encouraged to apply.  Students in these areas who are admitted to the program are generally required to take supplemental chemical engineering coursework during the first year of graduate school.  On a case-by-case basis such students may also be admitted on a provisional degree-seeking basis, in which their status is changed to regular degree-seeking once necessary background courses have been taken.

Financial Aid and Choosing an Advisor

Nearly every student in the chemical engineering graduate program receives financial aid in the form of tuition support and a stipend (salary).  This does not require a separate application.  Currently, the department pays full tuition for Ph.D. students and 25% tuition for M.S. students, who maintain a minimum 3.4 GPA.  Graduate student tuition information can be found on the Graduate Studies webpage.  Nearly every student receives a stipend through a combination of research and teaching assistantships.  The planned yearly stipend for first-year students in 2010-2011 will be $23,000 for Ph.D. students and $22,000 for M.S. students, with similar amounts provided in successive years in the program.  These amounts are sufficient that most students can avoid accumulating debt in the form of student loans.  Each student accepted into the program will have his or her financial aid package specified in the offer letter.

Choosing a faculty research advisor is one of the most important decisions for graduate students.  In our program this decision is made after a student begins the program and after he or she has been able to interview at least six faculty members as potential advisors.  This policy is designed to allow sufficient freedom for the best match between students and faculty.  We encourage students to correspond with potential advisors before applying to and attending BYU.  However, no binding commitments with respect to advisor can be made until after the student begins the graduate program.

BYU Honor Code

The BYU Honor Code establishes expected standards of honor, integrity, morality, and personal behavior for students, faculty and staff.  All students, upon admission to BYU, are required to observe the standards of the BYU Honor Code at all times, whether on or off campus.  A detailed description of the Honor Code can be found at the the Honor Code Office website.  The Honor Code is an integral part of BYU and prospective students should be comfortable adhering to it. 

Additional Questions

If you have additional questions about the application process or the chemical engineering program at BYU, we would be happy to help you.  We encourage you to view the Why BYU and  Frequently Asked Questions pages.

Please email us at cheme [at] byu [dot] edu