Industrial Engineering Graduate Program Admissions FAQ

The difference between these two words is incredibly important. When an application has been submitted, the Department’s Graduate Committee reviews every application and determines whether or not the applicant should be accepted* into the Industrial Engineering Graduate program. Final approval is granted by Iowa State University’s Graduate College, and should they approve an applicant, the Office of Admissions will formally admit* the applicant to the University. Only then is the process 100% complete.

* This term has been highlighted throughout this FAQ in order for you to better understand the difference.

No. We cannot analyze any applicant documents unless they are part of an official application; therefore, we strongly encourage students to formally apply to our program so we may view your documents as an official applicant. Please do not email application documents to the department for review.

Complete applications are due January 15 for Fall consideration and September 1 for Spring consideration. Late applications may still be considered, but decisions will be delayed, as those applicants who met the deadline will receive top priority for committee review.

The review process for complete PhD and MS applications received before the deadline begins shortly after the deadline for the term has passed. We do not review early submissions until after the deadline has passed.

Incomplete applications cannot be marked complete or reviewed until all required materials have been received and processed, including letters of recommendation. Please be sure your recommenders respond in a timely fashion.

We do not regularly admit students in the Summer term; please apply for Fall entry instead.

Once the deadline for the semester’s consideration has passed, the Department’s Graduate Committee will review all of the applications received on or before the deadline. This process takes approximately 4-6 weeks AFTER the application deadline has passed and NOT before. Once the Graduate Committee reaches their decision, every applicant will be notified via email, whether they were accepted or denied. Please note that acceptance letters will only be ACCEPTANCE letters and your application must still be approved by ISU’s Graduate College, and then ISU’s Office of Admissions formally admits and notifies the applicant via e-mail.

The Department is not permitted to answer this question. The Office of Admissions reviews and validates the transcripts of each graduate applicant after the application is submitted. If you want to know whether your university is accepted, please contact them at gradhelp@iastate.edu. Please note, they do not calculate transfer credits.

The application fee is $60 for domestic students (US citizens/US permanent residents) or $100 for international students.

PhD applicants ONLY: Application fees are currently deferred/waived automatically by the university, and no further action is needed. We are unable to waive or defer fees for any other degree program.

We no longer require the GRE for applicants to our graduate programs. You may submit a GRE score for consideration as part of your overall admissions package, but again, this is not required.

If you have not earned a degree from an English-speaking country, you must provide official scores from one of the following exams. The minimum scores accepted by the Graduate College and the IMSE Department are:

• Paper-Based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL Paper-Based Test): 550
• Internet-Based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL iBT): 79 (for exams taken before Jan. 21, 2026); 4.5 (for exams taken on or after January 21, 2026)
• International English Language Testing System (IELTS): 6.5
• Pearson Test of English (PTE): 53
• Duolingo English Test: 115

The statement of purpose should answer the following questions. Please limit your statement to a maximum of two double-spaced pages.

• Why do you wish to pursue graduate studies in industrial engineering at ISU?
• What are your career goals after completing your degree?
• How have your background, education, and/or experiences prepared you for graduate study?
• What are your research interests for a thesis or dissertation? (for M.S. and Ph.D. applicants only).

To be considered for acceptance to the graduate program, the applicant should have a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering or related field from a college, university, or 4-year technical school of recognized standing. Other degree programs will be considered on an individual basis, but completion of a Calculus sequence through Differential Equations is required. High academic achievement or other persuasive evidence of professional accomplishments is expected for acceptance to the program.

You will be able to register for classes on the date indicated by the Office of Admissions. Please be sure to accept your offer of admission in the Admissions MyAccount Portal, as this is the first step to matriculating and creating your student record. You will also need to take care of some onboarding tasks in your Workday inbox before you can register, once your registration date has passed.

This will depend on your major and the courses you have taken. If you have an engineering degree, you should not need additional courses. Other degrees may require additional coursework.

If you are a domestic student, there may be funding available for you through ISU’s Office of Student Financial Aid; however, this funding is very limited. Please visit their website to learn more about your options: Office of Student Financial Aid.

If you are an international student, you are not eligible for traditional financial aid because one of the requirements for admittance to ISU is verification that you have sufficient resources to support yourself (and any dependents) financially while you are here.

The IMSE Department typically offers full funding in the form of an assistantship to top-quality PhD applicants, which means assistantships are highly competitive. We do not typically have funding available for Master’s students.

The University’s Office of Admissions will send your I-20 form after they have received your required financial documents (if you are not receiving full funding as a PhD student, or you are bringing a dependent as a PhD student), and you should receive it within 6-8 weeks of your offer of admission from the program. However, if you have not submitted your required financial documents to the Office of Admissions, an I-20 will not be issued to you, which could delay your arrival to campus. To avoid this delay, please submit your financial documents in accordance with the Office of Admissions policy. Please visit the following link to learn more about the financial documents (and all of the other required documents) you need to submit: International Graduate Student Application Information