Graduate Admissions

Application Deadlines & Processing Fees

• The ECE Graduate Program admits students only for the Fall and Spring semesters.
• All applicants will automatically be considered for any available awards but doctoral students are generally given first priority.
• Students should complete applications as early as possible for the best chance of receiving available awards.

¹Applications received after the deadline will be processed automatically for the following term.

²There are no application processing fee deadlines for non-degree seeking applications.

³ECE does not admit graduate students in the summer semester. 

The application processing fee is non-refundable.

ECE Domestic Graduate Admission Requirements

All applicants must have the following in order to be considered for unconditional 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.
• Transcripts from each university attended are required (even if only for summer coursework or if coursework appears on another institution’s transcript). Unofficial transcripts are acceptable for the initial review of your application, and you can usually download them directly from the universities you attended. If you are admitted, the Graduate School will require official transcripts if you did not submit them with your application. Official transcripts should be sent directly to Graduate Student Admissions, 118 West David Boyd Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 USA. If your university offers the option of emailing official transcripts, they can be sent to [email protected].
• GRE scores are optional for admission to the ECE Graduate Program.
• Statement of Purpose Clearly identify an area of interest (Communication, Computers, Electronics, Power, Systems)
• Resume The resume should highlight the applicant's academic, research, and professional history. All time should be accounted for to date. This can be submitted using the on-line application and a hard copy is not required.
• Three Letters of Recommendation from a professor or supervisor who is able to comment on your qualifications for graduate study.
• Recommendation for Graduate Studies Supplemental Form. This form is a supplement to be submitted along with each recommendation letter. It addresses significant factors that could help determine your admission to our program and your chance for financial assistance.

Note: A scholarly writing sample is NOT REQUIRED for admission into the ECE Graduate Program.

ECE International Graduate Admission Requirements

• A Bachelor's degree or its equivalent, with a grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or better on all previous undergraduate work (or last half-degree requirement) from an accredited college or university.
• Transcripts from each university attended are required (even if only for summer coursework or if coursework appears on another institution's transcript). Unofficial transcripts (photocopies, facsimiles, or transcripts marked “issued to student”) are acceptable for the initial review of your application. If you are admitted, the Graduate School will require official transcripts if you did not submit them with your application. The issuing college or university can submit official transcripts by mail or email to:

  Mailing Address: LSU Office of Graduate Admissions 114 David Boyd Hall Baton Rouge, LA 70803 USA Email Address: [email protected]

• Official transcripts must be written in the language used for instruction. An English translation of transcripts and degree statements must be included. Academic/credential evaluations from third parties such as World Education Services (WES), Academic Evaluation Services (AES), AACRAO International Education Services (IES), or other similar services ARE NOT ACCEPTED by ECE.
• For applicants from countries whose institutions do not issue official copies to other institutions, the applicant may provide copies of the records for review purposes only. The applicant must prove that the provided documents are official before the admission process is finalized.
• GRE scores are optional for admission to the ECE Graduate Program.
• Satisfactory English scores are mandatory for admission to the LSU Graduate School. Students who do not meet the minimum scores cannot be admitted.
  • TOEFL Minimum: 550 (paper-based), 79 (internet-based), 213 (Computer-Based)
  • IELTS Minimum: 6.5
  • PTE Minimum: 59 
  • DUOLINGO  minimum score of 110 
  • MICHIGAN ENGLISH TEST (4-skill) minimum score of 53 (Level B2)

Send all English and GRE scores to the LSU Graduate School through the ETS using institution code 6373.

• Statement of Purpose clearly identifying an area of interest (Communication, Computers, Electronics, Power, Systems)
• Three Letters of Recommendation from a professor or supervisor who is able to comment on your qualifications for graduate study.

Supplemental Documents

The following materials should be sent to International Services ([email protected]):

• A copy of the name page of your passport.
• A completed Affidavit of Support and supporting financial documents (if you require an I-20 or DS-2019 for F-1 or J-1 visa status). Note: Your application will be processed even if your financial documents are not included. If you prefer, you can wait to submit these items after an admission decision has been made. See International Services for more information about these documents.
• For international students who need to apply for the F-1 or J-1 student visas, there are deadlines for processing Initial I-20 or DS-2019 forms that are needed for visa applications. For LSU admissions applications that do not have a decision made before the following deadlines, no initial I-20s or DS-2019s will be issued.

I-20/DS-2019 Deadlines for International Students

• Fall Semesters: June 30
• Spring Semesters: November 20

Application Instructions

Students wishing to enter the ECE graduate program should apply on-line using the LSU graduate school application site.

A Note on Letters of Recommendations and Supplemental (optional) Forms

The recommender should submit the recommendation letter and supplemental (optional) form through the on-line application. If for some reason, this is not possible, the RECOMMENDER can:

• Mail the recommendation in a sealed envelope with his/her signature across the seal to: The Graduate School, Louisiana State University, 114 West David Boyd, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 USA.
• If the recommendation is returned to the applicant, it must remain sealed from the recommender to be accepted.
• NOTE: Original letters not required if the recommendation was submitted using the on-line application.

Recommendation for Graduate Studies Supplemental Form.

• The supplemental form is optional but can be useful when ranking students.
• It can be mailed in a sealed envelope with the signature of the recommender across the seal to: The Graduate School, Louisiana State University, 114 West David Boyd, Baton Rouge, LA 70803.
• If the recommendation is returned to the applicant, it must remain sealed from the recommender to be accepted.
• The RECOMMENDER can also send this form to the ECE graduate office email at [email protected].

For International Applicants

[See LSU Graduate School International Admissions]

• International applicants are advised to submit the application and supporting documents at least ten months in advance of the start of the semester they are seeking admission.
• Submit a copy of the name page of your passport to the graduate school. For identification purposes in the U.S., the spelling and order of your names on your LSU application and the U.S. non-immigrant documentation (Form I-20/Form DS-2019) must match the names on your passport. If your names on your LSU admissions application do not match your passport, please send a brief letter of explanation.
• A completed Affidavit of Support form and supporting financial documents are required in order for International Services (IS)  to process a Form I-20 (for F-1 student visa) or Form DS-2019 (for J-1 exchange visa). IS cannot process your non-immigrant documents without this information. (IMPORTANT: The Affidavit of Support is required only for those individuals who are pursuing F-1 or J-1 student visa status.) An Affidavit of Support form can be found at the LSU International Services page.NOTE: You can wait to submit the Affidavit of Support after an admission decision has been made for you.  Your application for admission will be processed by the admissions staff even if your financial documents are not included.
• Test score requirements: International applicants must provide an official TOEFL score of 79 on the internet-based test, 550 on the paper-based test or 213 on the computer-based or 6.5 on the IELTS test to be considered for admission. All test scores, including the GRE, must be submitted prior to admission. Though test scores must be sent directly by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to be official, you may submit unofficial copies of your test scores to speed the processing of your application. International “OFFICIAL” Documents: Documents submitted to the Graduate School must be written in the language used for instruction (original language). An English translation of all documents submitted must also be included. Documents must be prepared by the institution which prescribes the curriculum of study. For applicants from countries whose institutions do not issue official copies to other institutions, the applicant may provide copies of the records for review purposes only. The applicant must prove that the provided documents are official before the admission process is finalized. “Official documents” are defined as official records of transcripts and degree statements in original language AND the English translations prepared by the institution. These documents must be sealed in the institution's official envelope with the official stamp across on the envelope. The individual pages of all documents must be printed on the institutions letterhead or stamped with the official logo/signatures of the proper authority. Any document not received in this manner is considered unofficial. (Signatures of a professor, government officials other than Ministry of Education, and/or notary public are NOT accepted as official.)
• For applicants from countries whose institutions do not issue official copies to other institutions, the applicant may provide copies of the records for review purposes only. The applicant must prove that the provided documents are official before the admission process is finalized.
• Once the Graduate School and the ECE division have approved admission, and sufficient financial responsibility has been verified, the International Services Office (ISO) is notified. ISO will then prepare and issue the appropriate immigration documents to you.

Important Tip: It is recommended that all international applicants visit the International Services website for additional information regarding visas and procedures for admitted international students.

Forms

• Recommendation for Graduate Studies in ECE (Supplement Form)
• Evaluation of Transfer Courses for a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering (Transfer Course Pre-Approval Form)

Short Overview of the Application Process

When a virtual application is processed by the Office of Graduate Admissions at the LSU Graduate School, the materials submitted with the application are immediately viewable by the division. Transcripts and other official documents sent by mail to the LSU Graduate School are processed and are also made available to the division with the virtual application.

The ECE graduate program office will monitor the application until all required documents are received, then processes the application to be evaluated review by the ECE Admissions Committee.

Once the ECE Admissions Committee has completed the evaluation, the division notifies the LSU Office of Graduate Admissions of an admission recommendation.

The ECE Admissions Committee evaluates the application and the division notifies the LSU Office of Graduate Admissions of an admission recommendation (this can take several days to several weeks depending on the time of year and faculty schedules).

The LSU Office of Graduate Admissions then conducts the final evaluation and posts the official decision on the applicant's account created at the on-line application site. An e-mail notification is automatically sent to the e-mail address that was provided by the applicant on the application.

Application Status

You can determine the status of your application from the on-line application site. If the status of the application is “Under Department Review” you can send an inquiry to [email protected] to check on the status of your application in the division.

Graduate Non-Degree/Non-matriculating Admission

Students interested in taking ECE graduate level courses as a non-degree/non-matriculating student should apply for graduate non-degree admission to the LSU Graduate School using the the LSU graduate school application site. The LSU Graduate School makes all decisions on non-degree admissions. The division has no opinion on non-degree admission decisions.

• Non-degree admission is restricted to U.S. citizens and permanent residents only.
• Requires a 2.50 GPA on all undergraduate work completed and a 3.00 GPA on all graduate work completed.
• No more than 12 hours of combined credit transferred from other schools and earned as an LSU extension or nonmatriculating student may be applied toward a master's degree at LSU.
• Courses taken in an undergraduate classification cannot be transferred into graduate credit
• Course work is taken for academic credit, and all rules and regulations for graduate students apply.

Please visit the LSU Graduate School Application site to begin your ECE Graduate Application.