Ph.D. CMSE - How to apply

Application Deadlines

Fall Semester: Applications for fall semester of the following calendar year must be paid, submitted and received by the department no later than January 2^nd of the preceding spring semester to be considered for admission.  Applicants who wish to be considered for department, college, and University fellowships should ensure that all application materials (including recommendation letters and transcripts)are received by January 2nd, and are strongly encouraged to email faculty you may be interested in working with prior to the deadline.

Spring Semester: Applications for spring semester of the following calendar year must be paid, submitted, and received by the department no later than August 1^st of the preceding summer semester to be considered for admission.

Application Materials

Start your graduate application here

An application to the PhD program in CMSE requires the following materials:

Application Process

1. MSU Graduate Application Form and Fee

• Please fill out and submit an application in the application portal
  • Please use your legal name, address, and an email address that you check often as this information will be used for future documents and correspondence
  • You will be required to pay an application fee which is valid for 1 year (Fee waivers are available to some qualified students)
  • You will be required to provide a personal and an academic statement that follows the guidelines outlined below:
    • Personal Statement
    • Academic Statement
• As part of this application you will be provided a MSU Applicant Number and prompted to create a password, save this information as you will need it to upload the remaining application materials.

2. Log In to the Grad Portal

• After you have completed the application form and paid the fee, you will be sent an e-mail inviting you to complete the program's supplemental application through the portal.
• Use your MSU Applicant Number and the password you created in step one to log in.
• The Grad Portal allows you to upload required documents, request letters of recommendation, check the status of your application, and communicate with the department (note: incomplete applications will be not be considered).

3. Resume/CV

• Within the Grad Portal, upload a recent Resume or CV.
• Please select ‘Resume’ from the drop down menu and name your document accordingly: (Family/Sur/Last name)(First name)_Resume.pdf

4. Letters of Recommendation

• The Department of CMSE PhD program requires three letters of recommendation.  Ideally, two of these letters will be from faculty members that know you well. 
• Within the Grad Portal, enter your recommender’s information by selecting the “Letters of Recommendation” tab.
• Be prepared to enter the First Name, Last Name, and E-mail Address of each of your 3 recommendation writers.
• You will be asked if you would like to waive/not-waive access to the letters of recommendation you solicit.
• You are responsible for ensuring that the appropriate number of letters are submitted on your behalf. You can check the status of the letters within the Grad Portal
• You may need to follow up with your recommenders regarding missing letters in order to complete your application. If they do not recall receiving an e-mail, have them search for a message from admis@msu.edu

5. Official Transcripts

• One official copy of transcripts from all previous institutions attended (graduate and undergraduate) as well as proof of diploma (graduate certification).
• All transcripts must be in English.
• For applicants who attended US institutions, we strongly prefer electronic transcripts.  Electronic transcripts can be sent to cmsegrad@msu.edu. 
• If electronic delivery is not available, official transcripts can be sent by mail and must be sent directly from the institution to MSU in unopened, sealed university envelopes.
• Please have these documents sent directly to:

CMSE Program
Michigan State University
428 S. Shaw Lane, Rm. 1501
Engineering Building
East Lansing, MI 48824

• Unofficial copies of transcripts may be uploaded in the Grad Portal and are useful for early application review only - you must have official transcripts in order to be admitted into the program. Please name your file:

(Family/Sur/Last name)(First name)_(University Name)_UTranscripts.pdf

• MSU will not accept as official transripts those that are marked "Issued to Student" or paper transcripts delivered outside of an officially sealed university envelope.
• International Scholars: Admission to the university and all visa documents are dependent on receipt of official transcripts. Please request all of your official transcripts from international institutions at least 10 weeks prior to the application deadline to ensure adequate processing and shipping time. All official transcripts must be translated into English.

6. Applicants with Fellowships/Scholarships

• If you have an external fellowship or scholarship of some kind, you should email  cmsegrad@msu.edu information about the fellowship/scholarship, including:
  • The name of the fellowship/scholarship (e.g., Fulbright)
  • The dates the fellowship/scholarship will cover (e.g., August 2025 – August 2026)
  • The amount of support provided by the fellowship/scholarship (e.g., tuition and fees or $25,000/year)

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Ph.D. in Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering: #8085

GRE University Code: #1465
GRE Department Code: #1699

TOEFL University Code: #1465
TOEFL Department Code: #69