Applying to Graduate School TIPS
A large number of Brown Mechanical Engineering graduates choose to continue their studies through either a Masters program or a PhD program at a school of their choice. Many of Brown's graduates either take a masters degree through part-time release from work, or return to full time education within 5 years of graduation.
Brown's undergraduate program provides you with an excellent preparation for graduate school, and our graduates have been admitted to top graduate schools, including
- Brown University (of course, this has to be at the top)
- MIT
- Stanford
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- California Institute of Technology
- Northwestern University
Brown's faculty in the solid mechanics, materials and FTCP groups have a good network of contacts at graduate schools and can advise you regarding the merits of various programs in your area.
Things you should know about applying to grad school
- If you enroll in a Masters program, you will probably have to pay your own tuition. There may be a few fellowships available for MSc students but generally a school will not support you unless you tell them you are seriously considering a PhD program.
- If you are accepted in a PhD program in engineering you are virtually guaranteed full tuition support and a stipend.
- A Ph.D. is an essential qualification if you are interested in an academic career, or are interested in a career at a National Research laboratory. It is also a required qualification at many top level industrial research and development labs, and some consulting positions. You don't need a PhD for most other professional engineering positions - an MBA is more helpful if you are interested in a managerial or business career.
- Many engineering employers prefer to hire graduates with a Masters degree whenever they can find them.
- A Ph.D. is not for everyone. You need excellent academic skills; and need to have the ability to work independently with a minimum of supervision on an open-ended project which will certainly have no known solution, and may end up having no solution at all!
How to apply to graduate school
To prepare a competitive application to graduate school, you should:
- Consider completing an independent research project either as a summer internship, or as an EN195 course during the first semester of your senior year. This will show you what's involved in graduate research, and will also allow a faculty member to get to know you well enough to write a meaningful recommendation letter.
- Take the GRE examination. The GRE offer several tests - you should take the general test, there isn't an engineering subject test. You can find info regarding test sites, dates and fees on the GRE website.
- Complete applications to the schools of your choice. Deadlines for most schools are in early January. It's helpful to find out as much about your program of choice as possible before completing the application, so you can mention specific faculty you'd like to work with, and projects you'd be interested in working on in your application. It doesn't hurt to contact prospective advisors or graduate program representatives by email or phone.
- Many schools are happy to arrange, and sometimes even pay for, a visit to their department.
