Graduate Admissions

• Master of Science (MS)
  • Limited standing admissions
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
• Applying for admission to our graduate program
• Financial aid
• Deadlines
• Frequently asked questions
• Graduate programs
• Current CS Graduate Program manual (in PDF format)

Master of Science (MS) program

Admission decisions are based on overall academic record: grade point averages, Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores (for financial aid applicants and applicants who have completed their bachelor's or bachelor's degree equivalent outside of the US), letters of recommendation, and other information provided in the application. Admission requirements are:

• An undergraduate degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or a degree in a related area with substantial coursework in Computer Science
• A cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale
• Official GRE scores submitted to institution code 1851 via ETS
• Official TOEFL / IELTS scores submitted to institution code 1851 via ETS/ IELTS
• Two letters of recommendation
• Statement of Purpose
• Curriculum Vita

*These are generally considered minimum requirements but do not guarantee admission if met nor denial of admission if not met. All complete applications are reviewed by the graduate admissions committee.

GRE Requirement

A total score of 308 or above on the official GRE exam (153+ verbal, 155+ quantitative and 4.5/6.0 analytical). For the old GRE score system a total score of 1200 or above (500+ verbal, 700+ quantitative and 4.5+/6.0 analytical).

All graduates from a university outside the US are required to submit General GRE scores for admission consideration. Applicants who want to be considered for Fellowships, TA, RA or TFW must submit general GRE scores.

Applicants who are US graduates are encouraged to submit GRE scores if they feel their scores will enhance their admission prospect.

TOEFL / IELTS Requirement

The University requires all international applicants to submit official TOEFL or IELTS scores. The required minima for the four subsections on the iBT TOEFL, as well as the total score are: Reading 19, Speaking 20, Listening 17, Writing 21 and Total 80. For the IELTS exam, a minimum of 6.0 on every subscore and a minimum total score of 6.5 is required. For the old TOEFL exam a minimum score of 230 CBT (570 PBT) is required for admission.

Students may request a TOEFL waiver provided they have completed a minimum of two years of full-time study at the secondary or collegiate level in the US or a country where English is the only official language (i.e. UK, Australia, Canada (excluding Quebec)); or worked full time in the US for one year. Requests for a TOEFL score waiver must be made in writing to the Office of Graduate Admissions and included with your application materials. Employment related waiver requests must be accompanied by a letter from a supervisor certifying that the applicant has English proficiency and verifying the length of employment.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program

Admission decisions are based on overall academic record: grade point averages, Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores (for financial aid applicants and applicants who have completed their bachelor's or bachelor's degree equivalent outside of the US), letters of recommendation, and other information provided in the application. Admission requirements are:

• A Master of Science degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or a degree in a related area with substantial coursework in Computer Science
• A cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale
• Official GRE scores submitted to institution code 1851 via ETS scores submitted to institution code 1851 via ETS
• Official TOEFL / IELTS scores submitted to institution code 1851 via ETS / IELTS
• Three letters of recommendation
• Statement of Purpose
• Curriculum Vita

*These are generally considered minimum requirements but do not guarantee admission if met nor denial of admission if not met. All complete applications are reviewed by the graduate admissions committee.

GRE Requirement

A total score of 308 or above on the official GRE exam (153+ verbal, 155+ quantitative and 4.5/6.0 analytical). For the old GRE score system a total score of 1200 or above (500+ verbal, 700+ quantitative and 4.5+/6.0 analytical).

All graduates from a university outside the US are required to submit General GRE scores for admission consideration. Applicants who want to be considered for Fellowships, TA, RA or TFW must submit general GRE scores.

Applicants who are US graduates are encouraged to submit GRE scores if they feel their scores will enhance their admission prospect.

TOEFL / IELTS Requirement

The University requires all international applicants to submit official TOEFL or IELTS scores. The required minima for the four subsections on the iBT TOEFL, as well as the total score are: Reading 19, Speaking 20, Listening 17, Writing 21 and Total 80. For the IELTS exam, a minimum of 6.0 on every subscore and a minimum total score of 6.5 is required. For the old TOEFL exam a minimum score of 230 CBT (570 PBT) is required for admission.

Students may request a TOEFL waiver provided they have completed a minimum of two years of full-time study at the secondary or collegiate level in the US or a country where English is the only official language (i.e. UK, Australia, Canada (excluding Quebec)); or worked full time in the US for one year. Requests for a TOEFL score waiver must be made in writing to the Office of Graduate Admissions and included with your application materials. Employment related waiver requests must be accompanied by a letter from a supervisor certifying that the applicant has English proficiency and verifying the length of employment.

Direct PhD Admission

Applicants who have completed only a bachelor’s degree may apply to be considered for “Direct PhD Admission”. These students will pursue the PhD degree without first obtaining a Master's degree. Applicants must have an excellent academic record and demonstrated ability to pursue independent research.

Limited standing admission

At the discretion of the admissions committee applicants who do not meet the requirements may be admitted on limited standing status.

Core Computer Science courses

To successfully complete the graduate degree requirements applicants must have already completed the following core computer science coursework.

• CS 111 Program Design I
• CS 141 Program Design II
• CS 151 Mathematical Foundations of Computing
• CS 251 Data Structures
• CS 261 Machine Organization
• CS 301 Languages & Automata
• CS 342 Software Design
• CS 361 Computer Systems
• CS 385 Operating System Concepts & Design
• CS 401 Computer Algorithms I

Applicants with strong academic background who are deficient in two to three core computer science coursework may be considered for limited standing admission. Applicants deficient in a significant amount of core coursework should consider applying to our undergraduate program for a second bachelor’s degree or to the graduate non-degree.

Applying to the Computer Science graduate program

Beginning Summer 2013 all UIC Graduate Applications will require the submission of application materials electronically as part of the application process. Please review the following information to help you successfully navigate the new electronic application system:

1.) All uploaded documents must be in PDF format. Word documents will not be accepted.

2.) All letters of recommendation must have the recommenders contact information (ie Title, email, phone, employer etc) included in the letter along with an electronic or original signature if they are scanning the document.

3.) MS Students seeking financial aid, please only submit 2 letters of reference. We will contact you if you qualify for aid to request a third letter of reference.

4.) We do NOT recommend mailing paper items to the department. Any paper items recieved will be delayed by a significant amount of time in matching with the applicant's electronic file. Please use the upload links to add any documents.

5.) Miscellaneous and Supplemental materials are not required. These are optional and are availble for you to upload any additional items you feel will strengthen your application.

6.) Any emails sent to the department or the admissions office should contain a UIN, first and last name and date of birth.

Step 1: Submitting your application and materials

• Start your application process at the UIC Admissions website. You must wait for the confirmation page at the end of the application before you are prompted to upload credentials (transcripts, TOEFL scores report, proof of degree etc.) directly to your application. *The course evaluation upload should only be used if your transcripts have been evaluated by a third party such as WES or ECE. If you do not have an evaluated transcript do not upload anything into this area.*
• 3-5 days after submission of the application, you will receive an e-mail from the Office of Admissions and Records (OAR) notifying you that your application has been received and that you can log back into your application to submit the supplemental materials required by the department, i.e.
  • Recommendation letters (2 for MS and 3 for PhD)
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Curriculum Vita/Resume

• PLEASE NOTE-there are errors in the online application system regarding the submission of departmental documents; A.) You are not required to submit the Admissions Review Cover Sheet B.) Submit either statement of purpose or personal statement, not both.
• You can login to your application to check the status of your application. OAR and the department will periodically check in on the applicants’ submitted materials for completeness of the application.
• Once your application is complete, the Computer Science department’s graduate admissions committee will review the application and make a decision. The review processes takes 2-3 weeks once your application is complete. Decisions will not be provided over the phone.
• All admissions decision made by the department must be approved and finalized by OAR and the Graduate College

Step 2: You are admitted, what's next?

• OAR will email you regarding the submission of any necessary documents to finalize your admission. You will also recieve an invitation via email to the UIC portal which has pertinent information on registering for courses, the UIC campus and other details related to your admission.
• If you are an applicant requiring an I20, please follow instructions of the Office of International Services (OIS).
• Please inform the Computer Science department of your ‘intent to enroll’ by emailing grad @ cs.uic.edu. The deadlines for accepting or declining our offer of admission is July 15th for Fall semester and November 15th for Spring semester.
• Newly admitted CS students can find information on getting started and arriving at UIC here.

Financial aid

When we use the term ‘financial aid’ for graduate students, we use it in reference to Fellowships, Teaching Assistantships (TA), Research Assistantships (RA) or Tuition Fee Waiver (TFW) awards. Although not limited to, typically these awards are primarily only available to PhD students. Students admitted on limited standing are not eligible for Fellowships, Teaching Assistantships or Tuition Fee Waivers. All admitted students are automatically considered for Fellowships and Teaching Assistantships by the Computer Science department, a separate application is not required.

US Citizens and Immigrants should contact the UIC Financial Aid Office for information on student loans and grants.

There are several forms of financial aid available to incoming graduate students.

UIC University Fellowship

One of the most prestigious and thus the most competitive form of financial aid is the UIC University Fellowship. The department has to nominate applicants for this award. To be considered for nomination to the University Fellowship, your application must be complete by and ready for review by mid January. These deadlines are strictly enforced.

Applicants will be reviewed by the Graduate Awards Committee and evaluated for academic excellence on the basis of post-secondary record, letters of recommendation, personal statement, standardized tests, and other criteria as deemed appropriate by the committee, including the recommendation from the nominating program/department. The stipend for these fellowships was $20,600 for the 2012-13 academic year. In addition the award carries a waiver of tuition (including differential), service fee, health service fee, academic facilities maintenance fund assessment, library and information technology assessment, and $125 each Fall and Spring Semester towards Campus Care, if applicable. All other fees are the responsibility of the student.

Teaching Assistantship

Teaching Assistantships are awarded to applicants with outstanding academic records. TA’s assist in the teaching and grading of course work under the supervision and direction of an assigned instructor. Decisions regarding TA’s for the Fall semester are typically made mid March. Awarded applicants are contacted via email.

A typical award of this type is a 50% appointment which requires the student to work 20 hours/week of their TA duties. The stipend for this award was $16,886 for the 2012-13 academic year. In addition the award carries a waiver of tuition (differential fee not covered), service fee, health service fee, academic facilities maintenance fund assessment, library and information technology assessment, and $125 each Fall and Spring Semester towards Campus Care, if applicable. All other fees are the responsibility of the student.

Research Assistantship

Research assistantships are awarded by individual faculty members based on their needs and available research funding. RA’s assist faculty in funded research projects. Applicants interested in these should contact faculty (link to faculty page) in their area of research directly after being admitted by the department. Be selective in your correspondence to only the faculty whose research interests match your own; faculty are generally non-responsive to "broadcast" appeals for financial aid.

A typical award is a 50% appointment which requires the student to work 20 hours/week of their RA duties. The stipend for this award was $17,224 for the 2012-13 academic year. In addition the award carries a waiver of tuition (differential fee not covered), service fee, health service fee, academic facilities maintenance fund assessment, library and information technology assessment, and $125 each Fall and Spring Semester towards Campus Care, if applicable. All other fees are the responsibility of the student.

Tuition and Fee Waiver

A limited number of Tuition and Fee waivers are available on a competitive basis for PhD students. These cover the cost of all tuition (including differential), service fee, health service fee, academic facilities maintenance fund assessment, library and information technology assessment, and $125 each Fall and Spring Semester towards Campus Care, if applicable. All other fees are the financial responsibility of the student. These waivers are usually not awarded until just prior to the beginning of the semester. After admission and arrival at the university, please stop by the Student Affairs Office for further information on an application for this award.

IGERT Fellowship

A limited number of NSF IGERT Fellowships are available on a competitive basis for incoming or current PhD students. Due to requirements by NSF, these Fellowships are available only for US citizens or permanent residents. These Fellowships offer a stipend of $30,000/year plus Tuition and Fee waivers for two years. The application for these fellowships must be sent to the ESP-IGERT program. For more details about this program and application procedures, please visit http://securityigert.uic.edu.

Application Deadlines

These are the official University of Illinois at Chicago application deadlines. However, if you wish to be considered for financial aid, your application must be complete by mid January for Fellowships and mid February for Teching Assistantships. Most financial aid is allocated for Fall admissions applicants.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Am I eligible for admission to your program?
	Please go over the admission requirements mentioned above. We do not prescreen applicants to help them determine if they are qualified to apply to our program.

Q: I do not quite meet the requirements in one or two areas, will I be denied automatically?
	Our admissions committee reviews all complete applications irrespective of whether you meet the requirements in all areas. We do not guarantee admission if the requirements are met nor denial of admission if not met. Applicants are reviewed on their overall academic record and all materials submitted are taken into consideration before a decision is made.

Q: How do I apply for financial aid?
	All applicants who are admitted are automatically considered for financial aid in the Computer Science department. You need not submit a separate application.

Q: I have a degree from the US, do I still need to take the GRE?
	GRE is not mandatory for students who have degrees from the US and are seeking admission only. However, the graduate admission committee may request that you submit GRE scores if they feel they need the score to make a final decision on your admission. If you are seeking financial aid GRE is required.

Q: When do I have to submit my original materials?
	If you are admitted to our graduate program, you have to submit your original transcripts (or attested transcripts) to the Office of Admissions and Records to be officially admitted to the University.

Q: I am an international student; should I send the bank and financial statement now?
	No, it is not necessary to submit these materials until you are admitted and decide to attend UIC. If you decide to attend UIC, then you have to submit the appropriate document to Office of International Services (OIS).

Q: What happens after I submit my application?

• Once you complete your on-line application, Office of Admissions and Records (OAR) will send confirmation in 3-5 business. At this point you can log back in and upload the supplemental materials required by the department and type in the emails of your recommenders.
• Your recommenders will get an email notification of your application and link to upload their recommendation letter.
• OAR and the department will periodically check applications for acceptability of the documents submitted.
• You should check your application status periodically as well to see if there are any issues with the materials submitted and if your application is complete.
• Once the application is considered complete by OAR and department, the Computer Science department graduate admission committee will review the application and make a decision.
• Once a decision is made, a letter will be sent to your mailing address.

Q: What is the status of my application?

The best way to keep check this is by logging into your application and checking the status. You are welcome to e-mail the CS department at 'grad @ cs.uic.edu' with your University ID number (UIN), your first name, last name and date of birth. We will be able to check the status of your application and provide you an update via email, however we ask that you be patient while we respond; during our busiest time it may take 5-10 business days to reply back. If you do not have or are unsure of your UIN number, we must have your first name, last name and date of birth. **All email requests must be received from the email account listed on your application. We will not provide application information or status to any person other than the applicant. There are no exceptions to this policy.

Q: I sent an e-mail to grad@cs.uic.edu two days back and have not heard anything back. What do I do?
	Be patient. We respond to all e-mail, however there are hundreds of other applicants like you looking for information. Sometimes it will take 5-10 business days before we can respond to your e-mail. Please do not send multiple e-mails. When we give a time period for our follow up response, please wait for that time to elapse before contacting us again.

Q: I received my admissions letter, when will I know about financial aid?
	If you are selected for any Fellowship or teaching assistantship you will be contacted by March for Fall admissions (no fellowships are available for Spring admissions). We contact only the applicants who are offered aid.

Q: How can I apply for research assistantships?
	Once admitted, you can contact faculty in your area of research interests for possible openings. If the faculty are hiring RA's and are interested in you, they will contact you back.

Q: When will I get my I-20?
	Please consult Office of International Service (OIS) for this.

Q: If I am counting on getting aid from the department, should I still submit bank and financial statements?
	If you are counting on aid from the department, you can wait to hear from the department before submitting the necessary documents. If you are awarded a Fellowship, TA or RA, the department can provide OIS with a copy of the offer letter once you have accepted the offer.

For more General FAQ on Graduate Admissions see http://www.uic.edu/depts/oar/grad/grad_faq.html