Graduate Admissions

Master of Science (MS) program

Admission decisions are based on the overall academic record, grade point averages, Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores (for financial aid applicants and all students who have completed their secondary degrees outside of the U.S.), letters of recommendation, and other information provided in the application. While no strict rules exist for the decision to admit a student, there are guidelines for what constitutes acceptable GRE scores and grade point averages. Applicants should have the following:

An undergraduate degree in Computer Science or 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
A total score of 1200 or above on the GRE General Exam (500+ verbal, 700+ quantitative, and 4.5+/6.0 analytical)

*These numbers are generally considered minimum requirements, but do neither guarantee admission if met nor nor denial of admission if not met. If they are not met, however, it is unlikely that admission will be granted without special considerations.

All international applicants are required to take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exam. For the TOEFL a minimum score of 230 CBT (570 PBT) is required for admission, although average scores of admitted students have been over 250 CBT (600 PBT). TOEFL iBT scores are valid for admission consideration. 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.

Students may request a TOEFL waiver provided they have completed a minimum of two years of full-time, transferable study at the secondary or collegiate level in a country where English is the primary language as well as the language of instruction, or worked full time in the United States 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.

GRE Requirement

All graduates from a foreign institution are required to submit General GRE scores for admission consideration. Applicants planning to seek a University Fellowship or other financial support (department fellowship/TA/RA/TFW) must submit general GRE scores. All GRE scores must be sent via ETS to institution code 1851. Graduates of non-English-speaking countries requesting TA consideration may submit a TSE (Test of Spoken English) score, although it is not required. The minimum TSE score accepted is 50.

Applicants who are U.S. graduates are encouraged to take the GRE exam if they feel their scores will enhance their admission or financial aid prospects. Any official GRE score submitted by a student will be used in reviewing their application for admission.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program

Admission decisions are based on the overall academic record, grade point averages, Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores (for financial aid applicants and all foreign students), letters of recommendation, and other information provided in the application. While no strict rules exist for the decision to admit a student, there are guidelines for what constitutes acceptable GRE scores and grade point averages. Applicants should have the following:

A Master of Science degree in Computer Science or Computer Engineering or a graduate degree in a related area with substantial coursework in Computer Science, with a superior academic or professional record with demonstrated ability to pursue individual research investigation
A cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale
A total score of 1200 or above on the GRE General Exam (500+ verbal, 700+ quantitative, and 4.5+/6.0 analytical)

*These numbers are generally considered minimum requirements, but do neither guarantee admission if met nor denial of admission if not met. If they are not met, however, it is unlikely that admission will be granted without special considerations.

All international applicants are required to take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exam. For the TOEFL a minimum score of 230 CBT (570 PBT) is required for admission, although average scores of admitted students have been over 250 CBT (600 PBT). TOEFL iBT scores are valid for admission consideration. 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.

Direct PhD Admission

Exceptional applicants who have completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science, or a related field, and wish to pursue a PhD will be considered for “Direct PhD Admission”. Such students will pursue the PhD degree without the requirement of first completing a Master's degree. All students seeking this option must submit three letters of recommendation, a resume and statement of purpose. Direct PhD Admission is competitive. For fullest consideration, any student seeking this admission should adhere to the early deadlines listed on the Graduate College website. See the section on Doctor of Philosophy Requirements for details on the course and research graduation requirements.

GRE Requirement

Limited standing admission

At the discretion of the admissions committee, highly promising applicants who do not meet all of the above requirements may be admitted on a limited standing status. Graduates of other scientifically oriented curricula must show substantial evidence of their ability to successfully complete the CS graduate program. Depending on individual qualifications and academic history, such applicants will be required to complete one or a series of deficiency courses. Applicants whose undergraduate preparation is inadequate may develop a background equivalent to an undergraduate degree in Computer Science in order to improve admission chances.

For comparison purposes, incoming graduate students are expected to have completed the equivalent of the following UIC Computer Science courses (see descriptions under Courses):

CS 101 Introduction to Computing
CS 102 Introduction to Programming
CS 201 Data Structures and Discrete Mathematics I
CS 202 Data Structures and Discrete Mathematics II
CS 266 Computer Architecture I: Logic and Computer Structures
CS 301 Languages & Automata
CS 340 Software Design
CS 366 Computer Architecture II: Hardware-Software Interface
CS 385 Operating System Concepts & Design
CS 401 Computer Algorithms I

Students with strong academic backgrounds who have not completed the equivalent of this set of courses may be admitted on Limited Standing status. Ordinarily, this option is restricted to students who are missing at most two or three courses from the list above. Students who are admitted on Limited Standing will be required to complete a set of specific deficiency courses in order to be elevated to Full Standing graduate status. Students must complete their deficiency courses within their first year in the CS graduate program, and must receive grades of A or B in these courses in order to continue in the graduate program. Substitutions for deficiency courses will not be permitted.

Once the limited standing requirements have been met, it is the student's responsibility to request a status change from limited to full. Requests are to be made in the Student Affairs Office as soon as the limited standing conditions have been satisfied and prior to the semester the student intends to graduate.

Applicants who need to take a considerable number of undergraduate CS deficiency courses should consider applying to our undergraduate program in the College of Engineering as a second-degree student; or as non-degree student. Admission to non-degree program does not obligate the CS department or the Graduate College to later admit a student to a degree program.

Applying to the graduate program

Please read the following instructions carefully to avoid delays in your application procedure.

To apply for admission to the UIC graduate program in Computer Science, you need to complete the following steps:

Step 1: Applying to the UIC Graduate College

The UIC Office of Graduate Admissions is responsible for the initial evaluation of all graduate student applications. Your first step is to complete the Graduate College Application. You may complete the application in one of two ways:

You may complete and submit the on-line application.
You may print a downloadable application, provide the requested information and documentation, and mail it directly to the UIC Office of Graduate Admissions. (Note: Adobe Acrobat reader required. A free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader can be downloaded from Adobe's web site).

The Computer Science curriculum code (item #20 on the Graduate College Application) for M.S. applicants is 20FS0112MS and 20FS0112PHD for PhD applicants.
You must arrange to have official transcripts issued by the registrar of your prior institutions, along with standardized score reports delivered directly to the UIC Office of Graduate Admissions soon after your application is filed in order to avoid processing delays.

Please note that the Computer Science Department cannot act on your application in any way until you have submitted your application, application fee, transcripts, and official TOEFL and GRE scores to the Office of Admissions and Records.

Step 2: Declaration and Certification of Finances

International applicants only. If you are an International applicant, you must complete the Declaration and Certification of Finances form and mail it to the Office of Graduate Admissions. This form is not required for U.S. applicants. The university considers any student who currently holds a visa of any type or is seeking a visa to be international. Even if you do not require a student (F or J) visa to attend UIC, you are viewed as an international applicant. Most policies that apply to those seeking student visas will apply to holders of other types of visas.

For the university's purposes, this is anyone who currently holds a visa of any type or who is in need of an I-20 or DS-2019.

You may print a downloadable Declaration and Certification of Finances form, provide the requested information and documentation, and mail it directly to the UIC Office of Graduate Admissions. (Note: Adobe Acrobat reader required. A free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader can be downloaded from Adobe's web site).

Step 3: Submitting supplementary materials to the Computer Science Department

After you have submitted your application materials to the UIC Office of Graduate Admissions, you should submit the following materials (as appropriate) directly to the UIC Department of Computer Science.

Letters of Recommendation: The Computer Science Department requires three letters of recommendation for applicants to the program. These letters should be written by people who are familiar with your academic and/or professional work and are able to communicate your potential success in a competitive graduate program. You may print a downloadable Letter of Recommendation form, and ask your recommenders to forward it directly to the UIC Computer Science Department. The recommendation form is not required, your recommenders may to write their own letters.
Other materials: Additional information that you would like to provide regarding your candidacy for admission or consideration for financial aid can include resumes, a statement of purpose, etc. These materials are not required, but any materials sent will be used to evaluate your application.
Financial aid. Please see the section on Financial aid below.
TOEFL and GRE scores: should be sent to institution code 1851. We do not use a department code.

Please note that all correspondence with the UIC Department of Computer Science involving graduate admissions should use the following address:

The University of Illinois at Chicago
Department of Computer Science (M/C 152)
Attn: Student Affairs Office
851 S. Morgan St.
Chicago, IL 60607-7053

Please do not send the graduate college application, fee or transcripts to this address. If you cannot afford to send separate packages, send all the materials to UIC Graduate Admissions and they will forward the additional materials to us. This will help avoid unnecessary delays.

Financial aid

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

1. UIC University Fellowship
The most prestigious and therefore the most competitive form of financial aid is the UIC University Fellowship. Nominations for University Fellowships are submitted by the Computer Science Department to the Graduate College in the first week of February, which implies that your application must be complete and ready for processing in December. A major consideration in these fellowships is GRE scores. The sum of two parts of GRE (verbal and quantitative) must be greater than 1400 for you to have any reasonable chance for a fellowship. You must have high GPA and TOEFL scores and three letters of recommendation. These are highly competitive financial awards and the department gets only few (one to three) fellowships each year. The stipend in these fellowships is $20,000, plus a tuition and fee waiver which is worth over $20,000 for state of Illinois residents and over $29,000 for non-residents.

2. Teaching Assistants are responsible for grading and staffing laboratory sections of undergraduate Computer Science courses. Approximately 10 entering graduate students receive Teaching Assistantships each year. These positions are assigned on merit only. Generally you should have a minimum GPA of 3.6 on 4.0 scale and must be admitted with full standing. All applicants for financial aid must submit GRE scores. An applicant will have a much reduced chance of getting TA position with a total GRE score (verbal + quantitative) of less than 1300 and a TOEFL (for international applicants) of less than 90 iBT or 620 PBT or 260 CBT. All foreign applicants from non-English speaking countries are required to pass TSE (Test for Spoken English or an equivalent test known as SPEAK test). Your chance for TA position will improve if you submit TSE scores with your application. The minimum required score is 50. This requirement is not satisfied by the TOEFL examination. Teaching assistant wages for incoming graduate students in AY 2008-2009 is $16,395 for a 50% appointment (20 hours per week).

Decisions regarding Teaching Assistant positions for new students for the Fall semester are typically made during mid March. For full consideration for a Teaching Assistant position, your application must have been processed by the end of February. Application processing is delayed when an original transcript is not submitted to the Office of Graduate Admissions at UIC either in a sealed envelope with the application or mailed directly to Grad Admissions by your college or university.

3. Research Assistants assist faculty in funded research projects. Research assistantships are awarded by individual faculty members based on their needs and available research funding. Generally these assistantships are awarded to continuing students whom faculty members have come to know through their courses and work on campus. However, a growing number of research assistantships are awarded to incoming students based on their prior work. If you are an especially strong candidate with research experience, you should email individual faculty (see Faculty on the menu to your left) and inform them of your interest and experience, but only after you have been admitted. (Prior to admission, faculty do not have access to your application materials and credentials.) Please be selective and email only the faculty whose research interests match your own; faculty are generally non-responsive to "broadcast" appeals for financial aid, particularly from students whose background and interests do not match the research of the faculty members. Please also be aware that our faculty receive a large volume of emails, please do not send repeat emails. Faculty will respond to your email request if they are interested in considering you for an RA position. Research assistant wages for incoming graduate students in AY 2008-2009 is $16,395 for a 50% appointment (20 hours per week).

4. Tuition and Fee waivers A limited number of Tuition and Fee waivers are available on a competitive basis for graduate students. These cover the cost of UIC tuition (including non-resident tuition) and fees only. These waivers are usually not awarded until the semester begins. Once on campus, please stop by the room 905 SEO for more information.

Application Procedure

After you have completed the application process described in the section titledApplying for admission to our graduate program above, you may apply for financial aid by completing the downloadable Application for Graduate Appointment form and mail it directly to the UIC Computer Science Department. You will automatically be considered for fellowships and teaching assistantships.

Please note that all correspondence with the UIC Department of Computer Science involving graduate admissions should use the following address:

The University of Illinois at Chicago
Department of Computer Science (M/C 152)
Attn: Student Affairs Office
851 S. Morgan St.
Chicago, IL 60607-7053

Please do not send the graduate college application, fee or transcripts to this address. If you cannot afford to send separate packages, send all the materials to UIC Graduate Admissions and they will forward the additional materials to us. This will avoid unnecessary delays.

Application and Credentials Deadlines

Student Type	Spring 2010	Fall 2010
Final deadline for international students	July 15, 2009	February 15, 2010
Final deadline for domestic students	November 1, 2009	May 15, 2010
Final deadline for non-degree seeking students	November 15, 2009	August 1, 2010
Recommended deadline for students interested in financial aid	July 15, 2009	January 1, 2010
Classes Begin	January 12, 2010	August 25, 2010

These are the official University of Illinois at Chicago application deadlines for new students. However, if you wish to be considered for financial aid, all of your materials (including both application for admission and financial aid materials) should be in much earlier. Most financial aid is allocated for Fall admissions applicants; in order to be competitive applicants should have all materials submitted before January 1 of the preceding year.

Frequently asked questions

Q:Am I eligible for admission to your program?
	Please go over the "Graduate Admissions" section of our web site (http://cs.uic.edu) for our admission requirements. Due to high volume of such requests, we do not prescreen applicants to help them determine if they are qualified to apply to our program.

Q:How can I get an application?
	We encourage prospective students to download the materials and information from our web site (http://cs.uic.edu). Click on "Applying for admission to the program" under the "Graduate Admissions". When you apply online, you will be able to track the progress of your application. You will be notified of any materials that are missing and/or any additional problems with your application much quicker than if you submit a paper version. If you absolutely cannot download the material, please send e-mail with a request to grad@cs.uic.edu - we will process the request at our earliest convenience. Domestic requests can expect to receive them in 2-4 weeks, international requests in about 4-6 weeks.

Q: If I meet your qualifications for financial aid, am I guaranteed aid?
	No. Financial aid is very competitive and we have a limited number of assistantships available. You will be judged among the group of admitted students for that year/semester. Aid will be offered to the top candidates in the group based on the number of openings available. You will be notified if you are offered aid. If you are not contacted with an aid offer, you did not receive aid for that term.

Q: I have a degree from the U.S., do I still need to take the GRE?
	GRE is not mandatory for students who have degrees from US and who 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: I am ready to apply, where do I send the materials?
	Graduate college application, application fee, transcripts, proof of degree, GRE and TEOFL scores from ETS, and proof of status in US (or bank and financial statements for international students) should be sent directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions (MC 018) University of Illinois at Chicago Box 7994 Chicago, Illinois 60680-7994 If a street address is required for delivery by the carrier, please use: Office of Graduate Admissions (MC 018) University of Illinois at Chicago 1200 West Harrison Street, Suite 1100 Chicago, Illinois 60607 *If you wish to submit supplemental materials such as a request for financial support, letters of recommendation (required for PhD applicants and MS applicants seeking financial support), statement of purpose or resume, send only these materials separately to the department at the address below: The University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Computer Science (M/C 152) Attn: Student Affairs Office 851 S. Morgan St. Chicago, IL 60607-7053 Please DO NOT send the graduate college application, fee or transcripts to this address. If you cannot afford to send separate packages, send all the materials to Office of Graduate Admissions and they will forward the additional materials to us.

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. They are needed for official admission if the department admits you. However, the Office of Graduate Admissions will continue to send reminder notifications that these documents are missing, you can ignore them. If you receive admission, they need to be turned in to the Office of Graduate Admissions immediately.

Q: What happens after I send my application?

| | Once Office of Graduate Admissions receives the application, it takes them approximately 2 weeks to process and log your application into the system.

If you are an international applicant, an international admissions officer will review your application for completeness. If the file is complete (application, fee, transcripts, and ETS scores) it will be forwarded to the department for admission consideration.
Once the file reaches the department, our admission committee will take approximately 3-4 weeks to make a decision on the file. Once a decision is made, a letter is mailed to your current address and the file is sent back to Graduate Admissions for further processing.
If you are denied, you will get a letter from the department informing you of this fact; Graduate Admissions may/may not send another letter as well. Your file will be closed by Graduate Admissions at this point.
If you are admitted, Graduate Admissions will review the file for further completeness. If you are not seeking a F1 visa and have submitted proof of your legal status in US, you will be formally admitted and information will be sent to your current mailing address regarding registration. This information will be sent close to the start of the semester. If you are seeking an F1 Visa, Graduate Admissions will check for an original bank statement and notarized "Declaration and Certification of Finances" forms, and process your formal admittance to the university after they receive those documents.
With the increased security concerns in the US, admitted international applicants whose file is incomplete will be closed by June 1st for Fall applicants, and November 1st for Spring applicants. No I-20s will be processed after these deadlines. |

Q: It has been 4 weeks since I sent the application to Office of Graduate Admissions and I have not heard anything from them. What is going on with my application?

	Due to high volume of applications and credentials, the Office of Admissions and Records cannot contact you when documents arrive. However, you can track the status of your application on-line for updates as they occur. You may log into http://www.uic.edu/depts/oar/grad/apply_online_grad.html using the ID and password you created during the on-line application process and choose "Edit your incomplete application/View your application." Any documents that we are currently requesting will be posted under the Requirements section. Updates made to your account will be reflected immediately. Once a decision has been made on your application, it will be viewable on-line next to "Decisions" and an official letter of admission will be mailed to you. A decision of "Pending - Manual Review Required" means that your file has been sent to your department and is awaiting a decision. The Office of Admissions and Records cannot give you any further information on a deferred application. E-mail the department grad@cs.uic.edu with your University ID number (UIN-a nine digit number issued with your application), your first name, last name, and date of birth. We will be able to check the status of your application and provide you and update via email. If you do not have, or are unsure of your UIN number, we must have your first, last name and date of birth. Emails sent without UIN numbers will take an extra 2 days to process as we must manually look up your information. Please include your UIN number in all subsequent correspondence with the department. *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, and there are hundreds of other applicants like you looking for information. Sometimes it will take 5-10 working days before we can get to your e-mail. Do not send repeat e-mails. Also, if we tell you to get back in touch with us in a few weeks or a month, please do not send e-mail in two days or a week.

Q: I received my admissions letter. When will I know about financial aid?
	If you were selected for any Fellowship you will be contact by March for Fall admissions (no fellowships are available for Spring admissions). Teaching Assistantships will be awarded some time in April; so you will be contacted by the end of May at the latest if you are awarded any TA. We will only contact individuals who are offered aid.

Q: How about research assistantships?
	Once admitted you can email faculty in your area of research interests to see if they have any openings. If the faculty are hiring RA's and are interested in you, they will email you back. Please do not send repeat e-mail requests to the faculty. If they are really interested in discussing a possible RA position with you, they will contact you.

Q: When will I get my I-20?
	The I-20 will be processed 2-3 weeks after all the documents required by Office of Graduate Admissions are received. They are sent by regular mail to your current address. The department does not express mail the I-20s. If you would like a friend or family member to collect it for you, contact the department at grad@cs.uic.edu and the department will make arrangements with Graduate Admissions to have your friend/family pick up the I-20.

Q: If I am counting on getting aid from the department, should I still submit a bank and financial statements?
	If you are counting on aid from the department, you can ignore the notices from Office of Graduate Admissions regarding these documents. It is their obligation to warn you periodically. If you are awarded a Fellowship or TA or RA, the department will send a copy of the award letter to Graduate Admissions and they will then go ahead and process the I-20.

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