Graduate Program: Fall 2008 Graduate Admissions Information

Applications for graduate study in any department are processed through the University's Graduate Admissions Office, which provides an on-line application. Transcripts must still be sent as hard copy. For those who prefer to submit their entire applications as hard copy, a paper application may be downloaded here, and mailed to: Princeton University, Graduate Admission Office, One Clio Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, telephone 609-258-3034. There is only one set of deadlines annually, and students must matriculate in September; midyear matriculation is not possible at Princeton . The deadlines for Fall 2008 matriculation, and associated application fees, are:

  • Applicants who do not reside in the United States, Canada or Mexico:
    December 1, 2007     for paper applications ($105 fee); electronic applications ($65 fee)
  • Applicants who reside in the United States, Canada or Mexico:
    December 1, 2007     for electronic applications ($65 fee)
    December 31, 2007     for paper applications ($105 fee); electronic applications received after December 1st ($85 fee)

Admission is highly competitive. Applicants should possess, prior to matriculation, a bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in chemical engineering or an allied field such as Materials Science, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, or another engineering discipline. The relative merits of all candidates are compared, with weight given to undergraduate records, letters of recommendation, and Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test (Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical Writing) results, prior research or work experience, and the applicant's statement of purpose. Applicants whose undergraduate institution is located outside the United States (or the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Anglophone Canada) must also submit scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Information on these examinations is available from the Educational Testing Service (ETS).

Applications are reviewed by the department's faculty by early February. Applications are then forwarded with departmental recommendations to the Dean of the Graduate School for review. Final admission decisions will be communicated to all applicants by the middle of February. Admitted students studying within North America will be invited to visit the Department of Chemical Engineering, at our expense, during one of two weekends in the spring. These visits provide prospective students with an overview of the research currently underway in the department, presented by both current graduate students and faculty; with tours of chemical engineering laboratories, the Princeton campus, and several graduate student housing options; social activities with current graduate students; and opportunities to meet individually with faculty whose work is of particular interest.