Overview of Admissions

Our department is seeking candidates who can contribute to their academic or professional fields through teaching, research, and/or professional practice. Admission offers are based on several factors, including the academic degrees and record, statement of purpose, personal history statement, letters of recommendation, test scores, and relevant experience. The appropriateness of your goals to the degree program to which you are applying and their relationship to the research interests of its faculty are also considered. In general, a 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale in the last two years of upper-division undergraduate work is desirable and applicants with a master’s degree are expected to have a GPA of 3.5 or above.

The Fall 2025 online application opens on October 1, 2024.

Application Deadlines – Fall 2025

• January 5:  Application deadline for fellowship consideration for PhD applicants*
• May 1: General application deadline

How to Apply

1. Application

Complete the Online Application for graduate admission

2. Application Fee

$135 non-refundable application fee. VISA or MasterCard only

*Fee Waivers are available to qualified domestic applicants only.

3. Official Transcripts

You are required to upload UNOFFICIAL transcripts for all academic institutions you have attended after high school to your application or email them to gradinfo@cs.ucr.edu. We only require UNOFFICIAL transcripts for the review of your application. DO NOT send official transcripts electronically or by mail. All transcripts and academic documents uploaded to the online application system are considered unofficial. Official transcripts will be required when applicants are admitted to the program and subsequently accept the offer.

Applicants who attended an institution located outside the U.S., please visit the Required Academic Records from International Institutions page for detailed document requirements.

4. Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

MS applicants - the GRE is required for admission consideration. Please submit your score to UCR using the GRE codes below.

GRE UCR code: 4839
GRE Department code: 0402 Computer Sciences

Educational Testing Service (ETS)
Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. - 9:45 p.m. EST
Telephone: 609-771-7670

PhD applicants - the GRE is optional. PhD applicants are encouraged to include additional material that will help the admission committee evaluate their math preparation. (However, applicants who took GREs are still required to submit them.)

The GRE General Test at Home version is being accepted for the 2024-25 application cycles.  The test must be taken within the last five (5) years before the desired date of admission.

Please allow a minimum of 3-4 weeks for a test score to be reported to our campus. Please note that the online application status for the GRE is updated automatically as the score is received electronically from ETS. The online application will only show a GRE score as 'received' if it has been successfully transmitted electronically from ETS; this is done automatically at the Graduate Division level. If an applicant has ordered a GRE score to be sent to UCR and it is not yet reflected in the online application, ETS should be contacted to determine if all information entered by the applicant was correct (the score report may need to be sent again.

5. TOEFL or IELTS Scores

TOEFL or IELTS scores must be submitted by students whose native language is not English and who do not have a bachelor's or graduate degree from an institution where English is the exclusive language of instruction. 

For students who have taken the TOEFL or IELTS exam, the requirements are listed below.

The scores cannot be more than two years old from the date of matriculation.

Minimum TOEFL Score

Official scores must be submitted directly from ETS to UCR. Request that ETS send your score electronically to UCR.

UCR code: 4839
Computer Sciences iBT code: 78

The Educational Testing Service homepage is https://www.ets.org/
Hours: Monday-Friday, between 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Telephone: 609-771-7100

Please allow a minimum of 3-4 weeks for a test score to be reported to our campus. The online application status for the TOEFL is updated automatically as the score is received electronically from ETS. The online application will only show a TOEFL score as 'received' if it has been successfully transmitted electronically from ETS; this is done automatically at the Graduate Division level. If an applicant has ordered a TOEFL score to be sent to UCR and it is not yet reflected in the online application, ETS should be contacted to determine if all information entered by the applicant was correct (the score may need to be sent again).

Minimum IELTS score: 7 overall total score

The minimum overall IELTS score is 7 with a score no lower than 6 on any individual component. This exam must be taken within two years of the time you intend to enroll at UCR. Please request an official Test Report Form (TRF) of your IELTS. Remember to order the TRF from the test center where you took the test and ask the administrator to send the official TRF to:

Graduate Admissions Office
Graduate Division
University Office Building
University of California
Riverside, CA 92521, USA

For more information about registering for this exam or to locate the office of any test center, consult the IELTS website.

Note: Before performing duties as a Teaching Assistant, any student whose native language is not English must pass an oral English language competency exam upon arrival at UCR. This includes not only international students but also any student whose first language is not English.

6. Letters of Recommendation

Applicants will be able to enter their recommenders' information directly into our online application. Recommenders will be notified electronically and provided instructions on how to submit a letter online. All letters of recommendation must be received electronically so they are attached to the applicant's file for review.
 
Graduate programs require three (3) letters of recommendation. Submitting more than three letters does not improve your standing as an applicant. Preferably, all letters should be requested from professors in your major subject. The most important aspect of letters of recommendation is that they be completed by individuals who are able to analyze your academic ability and potential for success in a rigorous graduate program. If you wish to submit letters from employers, the CS department will consider two professional letters as long as one letter is from an academic professor.  All letters of recommendation must be in English. If you have been enrolled in a previous graduate program, it is required that one letter be from your research or program advisor in that graduate program.

Applicants using Interfolio's online portfolio service can have their letters uploaded to our online application using Interfolio's "Web Delivery" Method. To do so, please follow the step-by-step instructions located within the Reference Information section of the online application.
 
 If you wish to waive your right to inspect the letters of recommendation, mark the appropriate box below the reference information. Only enrolled UCR students are permitted to inspect letters of recommendation for which they did not waive their right to access. Letters of recommendation cannot be released to the applicant and cannot be forwarded elsewhere.

All electronic letters uploaded to an application MUST be from an official, company or university affiliated e-mail address. RECOMMENDER PERSONAL E-MAIL ACCOUNTS ARE NOT PERMITTED.

7. Supplemental Fellowship Application

All domestic applicants are encouraged to submit the Supplementary Fellowship information form in order to be considered for all awards for which they might qualify. This optional form is for domestic applicants who wish to be considered for merit-based diversity fellowships.

8. Financial Support and Fees

Fellowship packages are offered to PhD applicants only. For multiple-year fellowship packages, applicants must apply by January 5, 2025.

Domestic student applications may be considered for fellowship opportunities after this deadline, pending funding availability but are encouraged to apply by this date. Current quarterly fees can be found here.

Note: Received documents cannot be returned to applicants and become property of the university. Copies of received documents cannot be provided to applicants as well.

Admissions Process

The primary objective of the admissions process is the selection of those students most likely to complete their chosen graduate programs with distinction. After consultation between the program and the Graduate Division, the final authority to admit rests with the Graduate Division Dean. Applicants are initially reviewed and rated based on their overall undergraduate and, where appropriate, post-baccalaureate GPAs. However, the evaluation process is intended to be flexible, and departments take a variety of other factors into consideration, including GRE or other test scores, GPA in the major subject, letters of recommendation, and the reputation of the degree-granting program or institution. Soon after the department forwards its recommendation to the Graduate Division, the applicant is notified in writing (first, via e-mail) of the Dean's decision. If admission is offered with work still in progress, official transcripts reflecting the satisfactory completion of this work and the awarding of the degree (where appropriate) must be submitted as soon as possible. An offer of admission is valid for a specific quarter only; admission may not be deferred to a later quarter. Accepted students who wish to be admitted for a subsequent quarter must reapply and, if additional coursework has been completed, submit updated transcripts. Please note that all applicants must submit a new application and application fee if reapplying for a later quarter.

The Computer Science and Engineering master and PhD programs receive a large number of applications and meeting all admission criteria do not guarantee admission to our graduate program. Admission is offered to candidates with the highest qualifications. UCR views as a high priority the enrollment of men and women from different backgrounds and from different demographic and ethnic groups. As a public university of the state of California, a major component of our mission is to serve the residents of the State of California who we strongly encourage to apply to our program.

Contact Information

Graduate Admissions Office

Graduate Division
University Office Building
University of California
Riverside, CA 92521, USA
Tel: (951)-827-4302
Fax: (951) 827-2238
Email: graddiv@ucr.edu
For additional information, please check the Graduate Division website.

CS Admissions

Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Winston Chung Hall, Room 351
Bourns College of Engineering
Riverside, CA 92521-0429
Tel: (951) 827-5639
Fax: (951) 827-9345
Email: gradinfo@cs.ucr.edu