Master of Science Degree Program at The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science - Columbia University (Fall 2025)

If you fulfill all the requirements, you are ready to complete the online application form before the deadline, you will be requested to login with your UTEC account, application with personal accounts will not be considered in this process. To successfully submit your application you will be requested to complete all the information and documents of the online application form before the deadline.
Online Application Form

The internationalization team will review each application and verify the status of each student with the academic and administrative areas at UTEC. After this time, the student that has fulfilled all the requirements requested in the online application form will receive a message to his/her UTEC account to take the psychological test, which has an expiration date of 2 working days.

When the student has completed the psychological test, the internationalization team will have to wait for the results of the test from Bienestar Estudiantil (2 working days) to schedule the online interview.

After the personal interview, the Internationalization Office will contact selected candidates by email with instructions for student's acceptance.  Selected students are required to accept or deny the position offered abroad by sending an email.

The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science - Columbia University Process

UTEC pre-selected students must apply to The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science - Columbia University following these general requirements:

• ► Admissions application
• ► Pay an application fee ($85 non-refundable) - The fee is waived for UTEC applicants after they have been nominated by UTEC.
• ► Transcripts: On your application, you must list all colleges and universities you have attended for at least one term and from which you have received academic credit, regardless of the number of credits received. This includes professional schools and summer study programs. After listing each institution, you will be prompted to upload a copy of your transcript. The transcript copy you upload onto your online application should be a copy of your official transcript or a student copy of your transcript. We ask that you not upload screenshots of your online student portal. Uploading anything other than a copy of your official transcript, or student copy, may cause a delay in the review of your application. If you are a currently enrolled graduate student at Columbia Engineering applying again to another department or degree level you must upload a copy of your transcript to your online application. Official transcripts do not need to be sent from your institution to Columbia Engineering until after you are admitted and have accepted your offer of admission. Do not have your institution send us transcripts prior to this.
• ► Columbia Engineering requires three letters of recommendation: Letters should be written by faculty members with whom you have studied; who can assess your academic work, intellectual ability, and academic potential for graduate work; who can address your suitability for the program; and who can speak to your ability to commit to the rigorous curriculum. You may also submit letters of recommendation from current or former supervisors. Personal references are not appropriate. Upon entering your recommendation providers' contact information in your application, your recommendation providers will be contacted to supply the letter of recommendation. Under no circumstance should you write any portion of the evaluation, nor have any involvement in its drafting or submission.
• ► Score Reports: Please upload a copy of the corresponding score report for any test scores you have provided in your application. This is the only score report required at the time of application. Your self-reported scores will be verified during the post-admit verification process. After admission, you should have official scores sent to us directly from your testing agency (ETS code 2111). If we cannot verify your test scores, we will contact you. Please do not contact our office to confirm if your scores were received, as this will create a backlog.

 Graduate Record Examination (GRE): The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not required for the 2025 admission cycle. This includes Spring 2025 and Fall 2025. If you have taken the exam and would like to provide your scores, you may, but it is not required. Students who do not submit scores will not be penalized in the graduate admissions review process. Students who do submit scores will be required to submit official test scores should they be admitted. Students applying to the Applied Physics PhD or Applied Physics MS/PhD track program may supply GRE Physics subject test scores, although it is not required.

English Language Proficiency Exams

Applicants who earned their undergraduate degree in a country other than Australia, Canada, Ghana, Ireland, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Singapore, the UK, and the United States of America must submit an official score from either the TOEFL, IELTS, PTE Academic test, or Duolingo English Test with their application. 
This includes students who transferred from or have participated in a combined or joint degree program in a country outside of Australia, Canada, Ghana, Ireland, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Singapore, the UK, or the United States of America. This requirement applies to applicants from Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Latin America, the Middle East, Israel, the People’s Republic of China, Japan, Korea, and most European countries, countries in Africa, and countries in Southeast Asia. 

An exception will be made for applicants who have earned or will complete a Master's degree in Australia, Canada, Ghana, Ireland, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Singapore, the UK, and the United States of America. In this case, the applicant is not required to submit English language proficiency exam scores for admission. 

Columbia Engineering accepts the following exams: Test of English as a Foreign Language iBT (TOEFL) - including TOEFL iBT Home Edition, International English Language Testing System Academic (IELTS), Pearson Test of English (PTE Academic), or Duolingo English Test (DET). Only one English language test is required.

Additional Policies:
All self-reported scores will be verified during the review process.

If you have taken any of the standardized tests on multiple occasions, please enter a complete set of scores from the test you wish to be considered with your application for admission. “Superscoring" test scores is not allowed.
Please ensure your test scores are still valid. Expired test scores will not be accepted. All standardized test scores need to remain valid through the start of your first semester. GRE scores expire in five years. TOEFL, IELTS, and Duolingo scores expire in two years. If your scores will expire prior to this, we strongly encourage you to retake the exam or submit your official test scores to us prior to their expiration.

• ► Personal Statement: The purpose of the Personal Statement is for you to share more about your past experiences and to discuss how they have contributed to your personal and professional growth. It allows you the opportunity to explain to the admission committee the distinct qualities and commitment you can bring to your department and to the overall Columbia Engineering community. We recommend your Personal Statement be between 250 and 1,000 words. Your application will not be negatively impacted should you exceed this recommendation. Please do not email us to request permission to exceed this recommendation, no permission is necessary. If possible, we prefer you follow the following formatting guidelines:

- All margins should be at least one inch, and the left and right margins should be equal.
- Text should be double spaced.

- The preferred fonts are 10-point Arial or 12-point Times New Roman; however, any legible serif or sans-serif standard font may be used. Do not use script or ornamental fonts. 
- Your name should appear in the Header or Footer of every page.
- It is essential to the admissions process that you write and submit this Personal Statement on your own. Any evidence of plagiarized materials may result in denial or revocation of admission.

-  A few topics that you may want to address in your Personal Statement include: 

*Describe how your background has prepared you to pursue an advanced degree in the field of engineering or applied science at Columbia University.

*Describe the reasons you are interested in this program and discuss any relevant past experience.

*If you have relevant work or research experience, please indicate how it helped you decide on your career path.

*What are your post-graduation plans or career goals?

*What do you hope to gain from this program?

*What about this program excites you?

*If there are any special circumstances that need to be brought to the attention of the Admission Committee, please include that information.

• ► Resumé/CV: This document should outline clearly and briefly the following:

- Employment held (include title of jobs and start/end dates)Research activities
- Academic honors, including fellowships you have been awarded
- Volunteer or community service
- Extracurricular activities
- Honorary societies and awards for service or leadership you have received
- Publications

• ► Publications: If you have made contributions to a publication, you may provide those details and upload a copy. You will be asked to describe your contributions to the paper and provide a professor or advisor's email who can confirm your involvement.
• ► Video Interview: The Video Interview is a mandatory component of the Master of Science application. It will only be available once your application is submitted and the application fee is paid. You will access the Video Interview via your application Status Portal. The Video Interview will help the Admissions Committee assess your communication skills and your ability to think quickly and effectively. You will be asked three randomly selected questions, be given 90 seconds to consider your responses, and have three minutes to record your answer to all three questions. The questions will be behavioral in nature. You do not need to prepare anything in advance. Please note: The use of a VPN may interfere with the submission of your Video Interview. We recommend that you log out of any type of VPN prior to starting the Video Interview.