Application Materials

You will be required to upload a copy of your transcript into your admissions portal, but an official transcript will be requested if you are admitted to the program. When it is received, you will be enrolled.

The $75 application fee is waived for Fall 2027 master’s applicants in the Whiting School of Engineering.

The MSE application requires two letters of recommendation. Your recommenders will submit their recommendations via the online application. Only two letters are guaranteed to be read irrespective of how many are submitted.

If you have worked for several years, it is expected that some of your recommendations will come from non-academic sources. What should be avoided is having mostly non-academic recommendations when your last several years have been in academia, and vice versa.

We require the use of the online application for recommenders’ submissions. Choosing this option in the application will trigger an email to your recommender with explicit instructions on how to submit their recommendation.

Yes. The official form is a part of the online application. 

ETS, GRE, and English Language Proficiency Exams

TOEFL

IELTS

  • Send official IELTS scores to IELTS Institution Name: Johns Hopkins University, Whiting School of Engineering, Country: USA

TOEFL and IELTS scores older than 2 years are not accepted. Official test scores must be sent from the Testing Agency at least 3 weeks prior to the score expiration date. Any requests made close to or after the expiration date may not be processed in time.

For additional information about english language proficiency exams, see here.

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is the world’s most widely used admissions test for graduate and professional schools. GRE scores are not an included application material during the admissions review in the Department of Computer Science. For the applicants that choose to submit them, our institution code for the GRE is 4655. For additional information regarding GREs, see here.

 

 

 

GREs are not required by the Whiting School of Engineering and are not reviewed by the Department of Computer Science.

All non-native English speakers must take either the TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo exam. Neither the TWE nor the TSE is required, but it is recommended.

Requirements:

  • TOEFL: 100 or above
  • IELTS: 7 or above
  • Duolingo: 135 or above

For additional information about english proficiency and test waiver eligibility, see here.

English language proficiency exam scores are valid for two years from your test date.

Getting Accepted

First, we consider the source of the letter. A letter from your cousin who happens to teach at a two-year college is weighed significantly less than a letter from a researcher at a top computer science school!

Next, we look for evidence of research potential. In particular, evidence of outstanding performance in past projects is of high importance. Somewhat less important is evidence of outstanding ability in the classroom.

A good recommender should know you well and be able to rank you very favorably in comparison with your peers.

Yes, we do. Grades and courses are important—primarily your grades in CS courses during your last two years of undergraduate study are highly considered.

Previous research experience is the easiest way to be placed on the top of the applicant interest list. For this reason, we encourage you to send a link to detailed information on your past research experience, if applicable. Projects performed for classes, as part of a job, or on your own are also important, particularly if the projects are research-related. Make sure to include a description of these projects with your application—better yet, link to an online file. Previous teaching experience also improves your chances.

Statements of purpose are very important, as they allow us to better form a picture of each applicant and convince us that you have the attitude needed to succeed in a graduate program. In addition, they are your opportunity to directly address the admissions committee with your own “voice”.

Applicants are expected to submit the statements of purpose through the online application. The uploaded file cannot exceed 500KB in size (1-2 pages). The document must also adhere to 1-inch margins. While the sample of work is not a required application material in the CS department, the online application can only accept samples of work up to 500KB in size. The document must also adhere to 1-inch margins.

We encourage you to include any information that you think will help us make a more accurate assessment of your abilities. However, it is generally better to give short abstracts of papers or projects (links to online versions are even better) rather than full papers or reports.

The department regrets that we are unable to give financial aid to MSE students. Students may apply for part-time student work as a course assistant or for other part-time opportunities on campus; however, we cannot grant tuition waivers for this work. MSE students are never given a stipend of any form, but may be hired on an hourly basis.

Applications are free!

If you satisfy all the qualifying requirements for the PhD program and a professor wishes to serve as your PhD thesis advisor and secure financial support for your research, you can become a PhD candidate. You will still have to apply for admission into the program and be approved by the Admissions Committee and the Department Chair.

Applicants from other disciplines are expected to have coursework (or equivalent experience) in intermediate programming (C++ and Java), data structures, computer system fundamentals, and mathematical foundations for computer science. This can be demonstrated through coursework, research and working experiences.

Full-time working professionals should apply to JHU’s Engineering for Professionals program. This is a completely separate program from the day school and offers a large number of computer science courses online, in the evening, and during the summer at several locations in the Baltimore-Washington area that lead to an MS degree or post-master’s certificate. No PhD degrees are offered online.

For more information, and visit the Engineering for Professionals website or email jhep@jhu.edu.