Admission to the program

Admission requirements to be met by each applicant are presented below.  Specific documentation required by the UNC Charlotte Graduate School for admission is also described.

Admission requirements (minimum and general requirements)

Applicants will be reviewed for admission to the Program based on their satisfaction of the requirements described below.

• The equivalent to a U.S. baccalaureate or master’s degree, from a regionally accredited college or university, in Engineering, Earth Sciences/Geology, Chemistry, Biology or a related field with a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.2 or a minimum graduate GPA of 3.5 (A = 4.0) in all graduate work.

• An acceptable score on the verbal, quantitative and analytical sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) with section and cumulative scores expected to be in the upper 50^th percentile.

• A minimum score of 220 (computer-based test) or 550 (paper-based test) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) for applicants whose native language is not English.

• Three letters of reference, two of which must be from faculty members

• An essay that addresses the applicant’s motivation and area of research interest

Documents to be submitted for admission

The Office of the Graduate School at UNC Charlotte requires the following documents be submitted in the online application package for each student:

• Two official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended

• Official GRE scores (verbal, quantitative and analytical)

• Official TOEFL scores if the student’s native language is not English

• The UNC Charlotte application for graduate admission form

• Three letters of reference

• An essay that addresses the applicant’s motivation, prospective INES Ph.D. program focus area (INESD or INESS or INESM) and research issues of interest.