Prospective Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. Students

Thank you for considering the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering at Louisiana State University for pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Mechanical Engineering. Please use the following link to view the General Course Catalog for the degree: https://catalog.lsu.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=19&poid=10308. All interested applicants must apply online through the LSU Graduate School. Paper applications are no longer used. Please do not send copies of items submitted online to the Graduate School or the Department.

Types of Admission

B.S. to PhD

If you wish to enter the ME PhD Program directly from a B.S. degree, you will be required to take a minimum of 36 hours of course work and 18 hours of dissertation research (ME 9000). The course work must include courses of at least one minor area. The Major Professor and Advisory Committee, as evidenced by the certification of the departmental Plan of Study form, must approve course work.

M.S. to PhD

If you have earned a recognizable M.S. Degree with at least 24 hours of graduate-level courses applicable to the proposed doctoral program, you will require a minimum of 12 hours of course work and 12 hours of Dissertation Research (ME 9000) for the PhD degree. The major professor and Advisory Committee must approve course work, as evidenced by the certification of the departmental Plan of Study and the Graduate School Program of Study forms.

Departmental Application Deadlines

  • Fall & Summer - April 1st
  • Spring - October 1st

Applications must be complete by the deadlines.

Graduate School Admission Requirements

All accepted applicants must meet the minimum requirements for admission to the Graduate School as well as the Department. Graduate School Admission Requirements are listed on the Graduate School website under "Prospective Student Information" and in the current Graduate Bulletin.

Departmental Admission Requirements

Official test scores must be sent from ETS.  The ETS institution code for LSU is 6373.

GRE score - Submission of GRE scores is required by the department.

TOEFL score (International applicants only). The Department has the same requirements as the Graduate School which is no lower than 550 (paper based test), 213 (computer based test), or 79 (Internet based test).

Three recommendation letters are required by the Department.  When applying online, follow the instructions on the application. If the recommendation letters cannot be submitted online then email or mail to the Department's Graduate Studies Coordinator.

Statement of Purpose should be completed with the online application.

A Writing Sample is required by the department.

Overview of the Application Process

  • The Department will evaluate your application after you have submitted all required documents.
  • An applicant selected for admission by the Department is recommend to the Graduate School, where a final evaluation of the application is conducted by the Graduate Admissions staff. If a student meets the general requirements for admission and the department recommends admission, the student is admitted.
  • The Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Department makes a decision on all applications approximately one month after the deadline. Once a decision has been made it will be posted to your application. The Graduate School and Department will not send a notification by mail or email. You can see the decision on your application by logging into your application. At the bottom of the page under Decision Status, click on the link that says "Your application decision is now available online" and a window pops up with the acceptance or rejection letter.
  • Note: Applicants who meet the minimum requirements of the Graduate School are not guaranteed admission.

Probationary Admission

This section of the PhD requirements applies to those entering with probationary status. If you are a full-time student entering with probationary status, you must complete a minimum of 9 hours of graduate-level technical courses in the first semester. The graduate studies committee must approve exceptions to this during your first semester. A 3.0 average or better must be obtained in these courses. Failure to attain this average will result in your being dropped from the program.

If you are a part-time student entering with probationary status, you must complete a minimum of 3 hours of graduate-level technical courses. The graduate studies committee must approve exceptions to this during your first semester. You will remain on probation until you have completed 9 hours of technical graduate-level courses with at least a 3.0 average. If you are a part-time student on probation with fewer than 9 hours of technical graduate-level courses, you will be dropped from the program if your grade-point average falls below 3.0 during any semester.

 

LSU