GraduateAdmissionRequirements

WearepleasedthatyouareinterestedinapplyingtotheComputerScienceGraduateProgramatUCLA.Thefollowinginformation
providesanoverviewoftherequirementsforadmissiontothedepartmentandanexplanationoftheapplicationprocedures.Additionally,
seeourFrequentlyAskedQuestionspage.

BASICREQUIREMENTS
Anapplicantforadmissionmustholdabachelor'sdegreefromanaccreditedcollegeoruniversity,musthavethenecessaryacademic
preparationtocompletegraduatelevelcoursesinComputerScience,andmustbeabletoscorecompetitivelyontheGREtest.International
applicantsmustmeettheuniversity'sminimumrequirementfortheTOEFLorIELTS.Conditionadmissionisnotofferedandatransitional
orpremaster'sprogramisnotavailable.

GRADEPOINTAVERAGE
ThemostcompetitiveapplicantshaveanundergraduatecumulativeGPAofatleast3.5(ona4.00scale),andatleasta3.50inanygraduate
study.TheaveragecumulativeGPAofadmittedapplicantsis3.60.
TheuniversityrequiresacumulativeGPAofatleast3.0forconsideration.Thedepartmentreviewsallapplicantswhohaveearneda
cumulativeGPAofatleast3.0.
Staffinthecomputersciencegraduatestudentaffairsofficereviewandconvert,asnecessary,themarksorgradesofallapplicants.The
GraduateDivisiononlineapplicationasksapplicantstosubmittheirgradepointaverageonthescaleusedbytheirinstitutions.

DECIDINGBETWEENTHEPH.D.ANDM.S.PROGRAMS
StudentsmayapplyforeitherthePh.D.programortheM.S.programbutnotboth.AdmissiontothePh.D.programismoreselectivethan
fortheM.S.program.Ingeneral,theadmissionscommitteedoesnotconsiderPh.D.applicantsforadmissionintotheM.S.programand
viceversa.WhileaPh.D.degreepreparesstudentsnotonlyforcareersinresearchandacademia,Ph.D.applicantstypicallydemonstrate
significantachievementinand/orpotentialforadvancingknowledgethroughindependentresearchandteaching.
WhileaM.S.degreepreparesstudentsnotonlyforcareersinindustry,M.S.applicantstypicallydemonstrateinterestindevelopingand
applyingtechnicalskillsandtranslationalknowledge.M.S.applicantsshouldbeawarethattheselectionprocessisrigorousforM.S.
studentswholaterapplyforadmissionintothePh.D.program.
Applicantswhoholdamaster'sdegreeincomputerscienceoracloselyrelateddisciplinewillnotbeconsideredforadmissiontothe
master'sprogram.Applicantswhoholdonlyabachelor'sdegreemayapplytothePh.D.program.Inrecentyears,themajorityofPhD
admitteeshavecompletedonlyabachelor'sdegree.

APPLYINGFORGRADUATEADMISSION
APPLICATIONDEADLINE
ThedeadlinetosubmitanapplicationforadmissionisDECEMBER1,23:59,PST.Studentsareadmittedonlyonceayeartostartinthe
fallquarteronly.ApplicationsshouldbesubmittedonlybetweenmidSeptemberandDecember1.

UCLAGRADUATEDIVISIONONLINEAPPLICATIONFORADMISSION
AllapplicantsmustcompleteaUCLAGraduateDivisiononlineapplicationforadmission.Formoreinformationaboutapplyingfor
graduateadmissiontoUCLA,visittheGraduateDivisionwebpage.
AllapplicationmaterialforthecomputersciencedepartmentmaybesubmittedthroughtheonlineUCLAapplication
websitenotedabove.Materialtobesubmittedincludesthefollowing:
(1)LettersofRecommendation(NOTE:PleaseutilizetheGraduateDivisionRecommendation,andNOTtheElectrical
EngineeringRecommendation.)
AtleastTHREE(3)lettersofrecommendationmustbesubmitted.
ForM.S.applicants:Werecommendthatyouprovidelettersofreferencefromprofessorswhohavetaughtyouinyourjuniorand
senioryears.
ForPh.D.applicants:Weurgethatallyourlettersbefromacademicorprofessionalreferencesasrecentaspossibleandfrompeople
whocancommentonyourrecentprofessionalaccomplishmentsandyourqualificationsforgraduatestudyinComputerScience.Ifyou
haveanM.S.degree,lettersfromprofessorswhohaveservedonyourM.S.committeeareparticularlyhelpful.
LettersaredueDecember1.WewillmakeeveryefforttoreviewlatelettersreceivedbetweenDecember1andDecember15,butwecannot
guaranteethattheywillbeincludedinthereview.
(2)AcademicTranscripts(NotrequiredfromUCLAstudentsandalumni.)
AllapplicantsarerequiredtosubmitONE(1)officialtranscriptfromeachpostsecondaryinstitutionattended.Officialtranscriptsshould
bemailedtotheCSdepartmentatthemailingaddressbelowtobereceivedbythedeadlineofDecember1.Weprefertoreceiveofficial
documentsdirectlyfrominstitutions,however,applicantsmaymailofficiallysealedandunopenedenvelopestous.Applicantsshouldmail
transcriptsasearlyaspossibleintheprocessandnotwaituntilaftercompletingtheonlineapplication.Ourofficewillmatchtranscripts
receivedearlywithonlineapplicationscompletedlater.Acoversheetisnotneededandnospecificenvelopeformatsorsizesarerequired.
OfficialtranscriptsaredefinedasoriginaldocumentsissuedbytheinstitutionthatbeartheactualsignatureoftheRegistrarnota
photocopyandthesealoftheissuinginstitution.Donot,however,sendtheoriginalofanacademicrecordthatcannotbe
replacedobtainaproperlycertifiedcopyinstead.

InternationalapplicantsshouldrefertotheRequirementsforInternationalStudentssectionoftheGraduateDivisionwebpagefor
informationaboutsubmissionofforeignacademicrecords.WedonotrequestorreviewWESevaluations.
ApplicantsmaysubmitunofficialtranscriptsontheAcademicHistory/TranscriptUploadsectionoftheUCLAGraduateDivisiononline
application.Thismayexpeditethedepartmentsinitialreviewoftheapplication,however,anadmissionoffercannotbemadewithout
receiptofofficialtranscripts.
OfficialtranscriptsaredueDecember1.WewillmakeeveryefforttoreviewlatetranscriptsreceivedbetweenDecember1andDecember
15,butwecannotguaranteethattheywillbeincludedinthereview.
UCLAstudentsandalumnipleasenote:YoudonothavetosubmitanofficialUCLAtranscript.YoumayuploadyourMyUCLArecordin
theonlineapplication.
(3)GraduateRecordExamination(GRE)
GREscoresontheGeneral(Aptitude)testarerequiredforadmissiontoboththeM.S.andPh.D.programs.ThereisnominimumGRE
scorerequirement.However,themostcompetitiveapplicantsearnaverageoraboveaveragescorescomparedtothecomputerscience
applicantpool.(SeeFrequentlyAskedQuestionsfordata.)
AllstudentsapplyingforfallshouldtaketheGREtestnolaterthanNovember30.Thetestmusthavebeentakenwithinfive(5)yearsof
thesubmissiondateoftheUCLAGraduateDivisiononlineapplication.CheckthetestingscheduleandregistrationinformationontheGRE
homepage.TheUCLAinstitutioncodeis4837.TheComputerSciencedepartmentcodeis0402.OfficialscoresshouldbesenttoUCLAas
soonaspossible.Meanwhile,applicantsareencouragedtosubmitunofficialstudentscorereportsontheSupportingDocumentsUpload
sectionoftheUCLAGraduateDivisiononlineapplication.
TheGREcomputersciencesubjectexamisnotreviewedbythedepartment.TheGMATmaynotbesubstitutedfortheGRE.
ApplicantsmusttaketheexambeforetheDecember1deadline.ReportsonexamstakeninNovemberwillbereceivedintimeforreview.
GREreportsmaybesenttoUCLAbeforeonlineapplicationsaresubmitted.
(4)TestofEnglishasaForeignLanguage(TOEFL)ortheInternationalEnglishLanguageTestingSystem(IELTS)
InternationalstudentsmustsubmitaTOEFLwithascoreofatleast87(computerbased)or560(paperbased),oranIELTSwithascoreof
atleast7.0.Examsmustbetakenwithintwo(2)yearsofthedateoftheonlineapplicationsubmission.TheUCLAinstitutioncodeis4837.
TheComputerSciencedepartmentcodeis78.OfficialscoresshouldbesenttoUCLAassoonaspossible.Meanwhile,applicantsare
encouragedtosubmitunofficialstudentscorereportsontheSupportingDocumentsUploadsectionoftheUCLAGraduateDivisiononline
application.AdditionalTOEFLinformationisavailableatFrequentlyAskedQuestions.
ApplicantswhoholdabachelorsdegreeorhigherfromauniversitywithintheUnitedStatesorinanothercountryinwhichEnglishis
boththeofficiallanguageANDthemediumofinstruction,orwhohavecompletedatleasttwoyearsoffulltimestudyatsuchan
institution,areexemptedfromtheTOEFL/IELTSrequirement.Ifyouseekthiswaiver,youonlyneedtosubmityourofficialtranscriptto
theCSdepartmentaspartoftheroutineapplicationprocess.Youneednotdoanythingelse.

ApplicantsmusttaketheexambeforetheDecember1deadline.ReportsonexamstakeninNovemberwillbereceivedintimeforreview.
TOEFLreportsmaybesenttoUCLAbeforeonlineapplicationsaresubmitted.
Formoreinformation,visittheUCLAGraduateDivisionwebpage.
(5)StatementofPurpose(SOP)
AllCSapplicantssubmitanSOPintheirGraduateDivisiononlineapplication.InstructionsareprovidedintheSOPsectionoftheonline
application.
(6)ResumeorVitae(Notrequired)
Applicantsarenotrequiredtosubmitaresumeorvitae.ThisinformationmaybepresentedintheUCLAGraduateDivisiononline
applicationintheawards,distinctions,publicationsandorganizationssections,oruploadedasaSupportingDocument.
(7)SupplementalApplicationandWritingSample(Notrequired)
ComputerSciencedoesnothaveasupplementalapplicationorrequireawritingsample.ThenotationontheGraduateDivisionwebpage
concerningthesupplementalapplicationdoesnotapplytoCSapplicants.

CHECKINGAPPLICATION/DOCUMENTSTATUS
Youwillbecontactedifanydocumentorapplicationmaterialismissingorneeded.Pleasedonotemailorcalltoinquireabout
receiptofdocumentsasitwilldelayoureffortstoprocessapplicationmaterial.Ourofficeisabletomatchtestreportsand
transcriptsfornearlyallapplicants.Anapplicantisdeniedadmissionconsiderationduetoanincompletefileonlyifheorshedoesnot
respondtoourrequesttosubmitmissingmaterial.PhDdecisionswillbeemailedtoallapplicantsbytheendofFebruary.MSdecisionswill
beemailedoutbytheendofMarch.

MAILINGADDRESSFOROFFICIALTRANSCRIPTS
PleasearrangetohaveofficialtranscriptssenttothefollowingaddressbeforetheDecember1deadline:
GraduateStudentAffairsOffice
UCLAComputerScienceDepartment
4403BoelterHall
LosAngeles,CA900951596
Phone:(310)8256830
Fax:(310)2068133
Email:gradadm@cs.ucla.edu

FINANCIALSUPPORT
ApplicantstothePh.D.programwillautomaticallybeconsideredfordepartmentalfunding,andawardswillbegivenbasedonthe
applicant'sacademicmeritandpotential.AllPh.D.applicantswhoareofferedadmissionareprovidedfinancialsupportfromeither
departmentresourcesortheresearchgrantsofindividualfacultymembers.Ph.D.admitteesareprovidedafundingoffershortlyafterbeing
notifiedoftheiradmission.DomesticPh.D.applicantsarestronglyencouragedtoexploreuniversitywidefellowships,especiallytheEugene
V.CotaRoblesFellowship,detailedintheUCLAGraduateDivisionfinancialsupportwebpage.
Unfortunately,M.S.applicantsarenoteligiblefordepartmentalfinancialsupport.DomesticM.S.applicantsarestronglyencouragedto
exploreuniversitywidefellowshipsandgrantsandexternalfellowships,especiallytheGraduateOpportunityFellowshipProgram(GOFP),
detailedintheUCLAGraduateDivisionfinancialsupportwebpage.
InternationalM.S.applicantsmustdemonstratepersonaloragencyfinancialsupportofatleast$50,000forthefirst
yeartoqualifyforavisatostudyintheU.S.ProspectiveinternationalM.S.applicantsshouldapplyforadmissionONLYiftheycan
providesuchdocumentation,whichwillberequestedifadmissionisoffered,inearlyMarch.Informationonthecostofattendanceis
availableontheUCLAGraduateDivisionwebpage.Specificchargesfortuitionandfeesandnonresidentsupplementaltuitionarelistedon
theRegistrar'sfeepage.

QUESTIONS?
PleaseCLICKHEREtoseeourFrequentlyAskedQuestionspage.Foradditionalassistance,pleasecontacttheComputerScience
GraduateStudentAffairsOfficeat:gradadm@cs.ucla.edu
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