Prospective Students

COVID-19 Update:

To meet the needs of students who are unable to take the TOEFL or GRE tests at a test center due to public health concerns, ETS is temporarily offering a Special Home Edition test. The test is identical in content, format and on-screen experience taken at a test center but it is taken on your own computer at home and is monitored by a human proctor online through ProctorU®.  For more information click the links below:

• GRE at home
• TOEFL at home

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Applicants must meet the Graduate School minimum requirements for admission and be accepted into the department program.  Please note that meeting these requirements does not guarantee acceptance. 

Department Deadlines

Admission Requirements

All applicants must have the following in order to be considered for admission:

• A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S. institution or the equivalent from a foreign institution.
• A grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.00 (A = 4.0) on all undergraduate work (or in the final 64 credit hours) and any graduate work already completed.
• Official GRE - minimum score of 300 
• Official TOEFL - a TOEFL score of at least 550 on the paper-based test or 79 on the Internet-based test, an IELTS score of at least 6.5, or a PTE score of at least 59 must be received before an international student’s application is evaluated for admission. You may be exempt from this requirement if you have completed a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S. institution.
• Three (3) recommendation letters
• Statement of purpose
• Writing sample is not required but may be submitted with your application.

Application Process

Prospective graduate students must complete the online application and pay the application fee. The department cannot waive the fee. Ensure the spelling and order of your name on your application matches your legal identification.

• Send one official transcript from each college or university attended to the Graduate School (including summer work that appears on another institution’s transcript). International applicants should include degree statements and an English translation of each non-English document. Do not send transcripts to the department.
• Official documents are sent directly from the testing servicer and university registrar’s offices. ETS test scores can be sent to LSU using the LSU Graduate School institution code of 6373; other test scores can be sent by selecting LSU from their list of universities. Photocopies of test score reports are not official, but uploading them with your application may help speed up processing time. You may upload unofficial copies of your transcripts with your application. If you are admitted, the Graduate School will require official transcripts if you did not submit them with your application. Official transcripts must be sent directly from the registrar’s office or other appropriate official from your university and must be in a sealed envelope. If your university offers electronic official transcripts, they can be sent to [email protected].  
• The department will evaluate all applications after the department deadline.  A decision will be made a month after the deadline. 
• You will receive an email from the department to inform you when a decision has been made on your application.  The Graduate School will receive notification at the same time and will begin their evaluation. This evaluation will take additional time.  The Graduate School will email their decision to the applicant and the department.

Financial Assistance

The department offers a number of assistantships to exceptional students.  To apply for a department assistantship simply select "Need Assistantship" on the Graduate School Application.   Acceptance of our offer of financial support completes an agreement that both student and graduate school are expected to honor.  For more information read the Council of Graduate Schools Resolution.

Clayton Program

This award was established through an endowment by 1959 LSU graduates, Donald W. and Gloria Pichon Clayton, to support the College of Engineering in its quest for excellence. Donald W. Clayton is an alumnus of the Craft and Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering, and a 1993 inductee into the College of Engineering Hall of Distinction. The stipends may vary from $10,000 to $20,000 a year, depending on the student's year in the degree program and the funds available. The recipient should be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident enrolled or coming into an engineering Ph.D. program and desirous of entering the teaching profession.

To qualify for the Assistantship, the student must also receive, in addition, a minimum of $15,000 per year in graduate assistantship from his or her engineering department or other source such as research grants/contracts, other assistantships, etc. The total award will thus be $25,000, $30,000 and $35,000 per year per student for the three-year program of study. A letter of support should be included in the application from the student's department/major professor obligating the $15,000 per year support funds.

Tuition and Fee Information

Apply to LSU Graduate School

Contact Information

Janet Dugas
Graduate Coordinator
[email protected]

Graduate School Admissions
114 West David Boyd Hall
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Tel: 225-578-2311
Fax: 225-578-2112
E-mail: [email protected]