The applicant usually will have received the Master of Science degree from an accredited college or university and will rank high in his or her class academically. An exceptional student without a master's degree may be accepted directly into the Ph.D. program and is strongly encouraged to do so. A minimum GPA of 3.5 out of 4.0 for the most recent academic degree is expected.
The student must show the ability to perform independent research. A student who has not written a thesis or an equivalent research paper may be admitted upon the recommendations of at least two graduate faculty members who can attest to the student's potential research abilities.
The applicant must indicate a field of specialization and be acceptable as a thesis advisee to a member of the Electrical and Computer Engineering graduate faculty.
Applicants who have received their master's degree from the University of Colorado must reapply for admission to the Ph.D. program. It is not necessary to resubmit transcripts and references. However, the application must be accompanied by a positive written recommendation from the student's thesis advisor. The application should be submitted at least one month prior to the beginning of the term in which the student expects to register.
The GRE expectations for Ph.D. students are similar to those for M.S. students (see M.S. admission section).
All Ph.D. students will be considered provisional within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering until their successful completion of the Preliminary Examination.