The department is not offering waivers at this time, but we will review your application with unofficial copies of transcripts and/or test scores. Options for a free application:

1. There will be one free application day (December 1st) that falls before our fall application deadline (January 5th). This means the application needs to be complete and submitted on December 1st, but letters of rec and unofficial documents can be pending. You can only upload unofficial documents after submission. Thus, the application, your cv/resume, personal statement and writing sample must be ready by Dec 1st.

2. The other option is to see if you qualify for a waiver here.

• All PhD and MS-thesis applications (domestic or international) are considered for funding, no additional application for funding is required.
• Our program offers financial support in the form of Graduate Teaching Assistantships, Graduate Research Assistantships, and Rotating Graduate Assistantships. Assistantships cover all of tuition and provide a monthly stipend.
• No funding is offered for the MS-coursework only degree (seminar, paper, project option). 

• No, but MS-Thesis and PhD applicants must mention 2-4 faculty they are interested in working with in your application and/or personal statement. Check out our faculty page and research areas for more information.

• Regardless of residency status, you are eligible for funding when applying to PhD or MS-thesis degree programs.
• There is no additional funding application required.
• We do not offer funding for the MS- coursework only (seminar, paper, project)

• Application via CSU portal (online application link at the top of this page)
• Transcript(s) 
• English proficiency test scores (if applicable)
• Resume/CV
• Writing Sample
• 3 letters of recommendation
• Statement of purpose

No. We do not require GRE for our application. Submitting GRE scores does not increase the likelihood of admission and not submitting scores does not hinder your admission review.

• Yes you can apply. We can recommend students who have between a 2.8 and 3.0 (or equivalent) for admission. The graduate school has the final say on admission.
• For applicants with a GPA below 2.800, the Access Admission Pathway (see Access Admission Pathway section) provides an admission pathway that balances accessibility with individual student success for applicants who have completed six credits of regular, graduate-level coursework at CSU and received a B or better in each individual course. Applicants who qualify for Access Admission will be provisionally admitted and immediately placed on academic warning.

• Regardless of citizenship, applicants may be required to demonstrate proof of English language proficiency if they do not have a degree from an institution where the primary language of instruction is English.
• Information about minimum test scores and a list of who is exempt from submitting English proficiency test scores is found here.

• CSU requires that proficiency in the English language be demonstrated either by the TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo, or and PTE Academic tests prior to admission.
• TOEFL minimum score – 550 (paper based), 80 (Internet based)
• IELTS minimum score – 6.5
• Duolingo minimum score – 120
• PTE minimum score – 58

Official scores, taken within two years prior to admission, must be submitted directly from the testing agency.

• General IELTS
• IELTS indicator
• iTEP
• TOEFL Essentials
• TOEFL ITP
• TOEFL My Best Score

• Yes, our MSE program is interdisciplinary. Our faculty and students come from a variety of backgrounds (chemistry, physics, mechanical engineering, math, textile engineering, etc.). However, our admissions committee requires you demonstrate knowledge of the following subjects/courses:
  • One year of calculus-based physics
  • One year of collegiate chemistry for the sciences
  • Calculus and differential equations

Yes, we will review the application with unofficial transcripts. You can submit unofficial transcripts in the portal after you submit the application. If offered admission, official transcripts will be requested and details on submission will be provided at that time.

• A guide to submitting your transcripts can be found here.

• An official transcript paper copy that is sent via mail to graduate admissions:

Colorado State University – Office of Admissions

1062 Campus Delivery

Fort Collins, CO 80523-1062

• Copies emailed from the university ARE NOT considered official
  • An official transcript copy sent from the university through a secure service like TrueCopy or World Education Services (WES) will count as official. These must be sent to ADM GradProcessing at [email protected]

4-6 weeks after the due date. The committee does not review applications until we have a complete applicant pool. We do not have an early admission for early decision timeline. Please be patient with our process. We take our time and review your application as holistically as possible and have several “stops” in the process.

A paper or report from a previous class or job, in which you are the primary writer. Chapters from a thesis are accepted. Avoid submitting publications or a full thesis as writing samples. All writing samples must be in English.

Yes, as a support document. Please do not submit publications as a writing sample.