Lehigh University - CSE: Graduate Application Process

Applications for the Fall term should be received no later than April 1st. Spring term applications should be received by November 1st. Students applying for financial aid must have their complete application materials in our office by January 15th. We STRONGLY suggest using the online application process. We will not be mailing any applications.
Conversion of the transcript to an American 4.0 grading scale will be helpful and will greatly facilitate the processing of the application.
An Application will NOT be processed unless ALL of the following are received.

Application Form
Application Fee
Transcripts from all relevant schools
At least two letters of recommendation
GRE scores
TOEFL and TSE score for foreign students
A personal statement of interests and goals
A completed request form for financial aid from those wishing financial aid

If you do not send all of your materials together there is the possibility of considerable delay in processing your application. Any delay may prevent consideration for financial aid.
If you are accepted into one of our graduate programs, the acceptance will be valid for one year. After one year you must reapply. ed materials or questions to the webmaster. n of the thesis is required.

Financial Aid

Financial Aid decisions for the academic year are made during the March/April period. In order to ensure consideration for an Assistantship for the Fall Semester, you should submit your application so that it is complete and ready for review by us no later than January 15^th. Teaching Assistantships, Fellowships and Information Technology Scholarships with stipends of approximately $1525 per month for 20 hours a week plus tuition, are selected by the Department. Research Assistantships are offered by some individual faculty members. Living costs are below the national average. Tuition cost for the 2004-2005 academic years is $950 per credit hour. Under current guidelines an MS degree (thesis or non thesis) requires 30 credit hours. A Ph.D. degree requires the completion of 48 credit hours of work (including dissertation) beyond the Master's degree (42 credit hours if the master's degree is from Lehigh).

Admission Criteria

The CSE graduate admissions committee considers a combination of criteria when evaluating applicants. We do not necessarily require an applicant to meet all of the following criteria, nor is the list in a prioritized order.

Undergraduate or graduate major program. We prefer majors in Computer Science or a similar discipline. All applicants must have taken courses equivalent to Data Structures, Programming Languages, Computer Architecture or Organization, Discrete Structures, and Operating Systems and two semesters of Calculus. A student who does not meet these requirements may apply and be admitted as Associate Students; upon completion of these requirements, they may be admitted as regular Graduate Students; however, Associate Students are not eligible for financial aid. We prefer students who fulfill these requirements with mostly A's.
GPA. We prefer students with at least a 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, in their major and overall.
Undergraduate university or college. We prefer students from highly ranked schools and/or American schools with accredited computer science programs.
GRE. The average score for successful applicants has been over 2000 in the old GREs (with three parts). We will prefer high scores (over 4.0) on the new written component.
Recommendations. We look closely at letters of recommendations.
Personal statement. We look for statements that articulate clearly an applicants experiences and goals for graduate study and research.
Publications. We value students, especially students who already have a Master's degree, who have published papers in conferences or journals.
Industry experience. We value students who have some industry experience related to Computer Science.
TOEFL or native English speakers. Lehigh requires scores of at least 213 on the electronic TOEFL for those who are not native English speakers. Foreign students applying for a Teaching Assistantship must also present the TSE with a score of at least 50.
Women and minorities. Lehigh University and the CSE department in particular wish to broaden the diversity of students entering Lehigh and computer science and engineering. Though identifying one's gender or ethnicity is not required in our admissions process, we want to encourage women and members of underrepresented minorities to apply and demonstrate their potential leadership.
Highest degree sought. We prioritize departmental financial aid to new students who plan to pursue the Ph.D.
Financial requirements. We also admit qualified students who do not require financial aid. Such applicants must provide evidence detailing how they will be supported. Students admitted without financial aid should not expect to receive financial aid for at least one year, and afterwards only if a faculty member is able to support them with a research assistantship or they obtain support outside the department.

If you need any assistance concerning our graduate program, please call the Graduate Coordinator at 610-758-4072, e-mail: grad-info@cse.lehigh.edu.

		Applications for the Fall term should be received no later than April 1st. Spring term applications should be received by November 1st. Students applying for financial aid must have their complete application materials in our office by January 15th. We STRONGLY suggest using the online application process. We will not be mailing any applications. Conversion of the transcript to an American 4.0 grading scale will be helpful and will greatly facilitate the processing of the application. An Application will NOT be processed unless ALL of the following are received. Application Form Application Fee Transcripts from all relevant schools At least two letters of recommendation GRE scores TOEFL and TSE score for foreign students A personal statement of interests and goals A completed request form for financial aid from those wishing financial aid If you do not send all of your materials together there is the possibility of considerable delay in processing your application. Any delay may prevent consideration for financial aid. If you are accepted into one of our graduate programs, the acceptance will be valid for one year. After one year you must reapply. ed materials or questions to the webmaster. n of the thesis is required. Financial Aid Financial Aid decisions for the academic year are made during the March/April period. In order to ensure consideration for an Assistantship for the Fall Semester, you should submit your application so that it is complete and ready for review by us no later than January 15^th. Teaching Assistantships, Fellowships and Information Technology Scholarships with stipends of approximately $1525 per month for 20 hours a week plus tuition, are selected by the Department. Research Assistantships are offered by some individual faculty members. Living costs are below the national average. Tuition cost for the 2004-2005 academic years is $950 per credit hour. Under current guidelines an MS degree (thesis or non thesis) requires 30 credit hours. A Ph.D. degree requires the completion of 48 credit hours of work (including dissertation) beyond the Master's degree (42 credit hours if the master's degree is from Lehigh). Admission Criteria The CSE graduate admissions committee considers a combination of criteria when evaluating applicants. We do not necessarily require an applicant to meet all of the following criteria, nor is the list in a prioritized order. Undergraduate or graduate major program. We prefer majors in Computer Science or a similar discipline. All applicants must have taken courses equivalent to Data Structures, Programming Languages, Computer Architecture or Organization, Discrete Structures, and Operating Systems and two semesters of Calculus. A student who does not meet these requirements may apply and be admitted as Associate Students; upon completion of these requirements, they may be admitted as regular Graduate Students; however, Associate Students are not eligible for financial aid. We prefer students who fulfill these requirements with mostly A's. GPA. We prefer students with at least a 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, in their major and overall. Undergraduate university or college. We prefer students from highly ranked schools and/or American schools with accredited computer science programs. GRE. The average score for successful applicants has been over 2000 in the old GREs (with three parts). We will prefer high scores (over 4.0) on the new written component. Recommendations. We look closely at letters of recommendations. Personal statement. We look for statements that articulate clearly an applicants experiences and goals for graduate study and research. Publications. We value students, especially students who already have a Master's degree, who have published papers in conferences or journals. Industry experience. We value students who have some industry experience related to Computer Science. TOEFL or native English speakers. Lehigh requires scores of at least 213 on the electronic TOEFL for those who are not native English speakers. Foreign students applying for a Teaching Assistantship must also present the TSE with a score of at least 50. Women and minorities. Lehigh University and the CSE department in particular wish to broaden the diversity of students entering Lehigh and computer science and engineering. Though identifying one's gender or ethnicity is not required in our admissions process, we want to encourage women and members of underrepresented minorities to apply and demonstrate their potential leadership. Highest degree sought. We prioritize departmental financial aid to new students who plan to pursue the Ph.D. Financial requirements. We also admit qualified students who do not require financial aid. Such applicants must provide evidence detailing how they will be supported. Students admitted without financial aid should not expect to receive financial aid for at least one year, and afterwards only if a faculty member is able to support them with a research assistantship or they obtain support outside the department. If you need any assistance concerning our graduate program, please call the Graduate Coordinator at 610-758-4072, e-mail: grad-info@cse.lehigh.edu.