Graduate Academics

The School of Engineering’s graduate programs emphasize innovative, rigorous multidisciplinary study and in-depth instruction. Be part of a world-class research institution with the intimacy and faculty contact of a small private university. Our faculty is committed to teaching and working with the next generation of engineering students and you can expect to enjoy the richness of collaboration and long-term relationships at Vanderbilt. 

Engineering

Welcome prospective graduate student!

Thank you for considering Vanderbilt University for your graduate studies. Vanderbilt University is one of the most highly respected, engaging universities and research institutions in the world. Our faculty is committed to teaching and working with the next generation of engineering students. We recognize that your choice of graduate institution is one of the most important decisions you will make for your future.

At Vanderbilt, we offer depth, breadth, and agility in graduate engineering education and pride ourselves on a rich tradition of multidisciplinary research. You can expect to enjoy the richness of collaboration and long-term relationships built within a solid community, but with the intimacy and faculty contact of a small private university.

Application fees will be waived for all Vanderbilt School of Engineering Ph.D. applications for admission in Summer/Fall 2024 and Spring 2025. Full refunds will be issued to those who already paid the fee. Also note that GRE scores are not required for these programs.

Degree Programs

Research-oriented Master of Science (M.S.)   and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)  degrees are offered through the Graduate School and hosted by the academic departments of the School of Engineering. The Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) degree is an advanced professional degree awarded by the School of Engineering and especially designed for engineering practitioners who may prefer to work while doing professional study.

Vanderbilt University also offers two online graduate degree programs: M.S. in computer science and M.Eng. in engineering management.

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Departments

Each department offers depth and breadth in academics coupled with multidisciplinary research. You can expect to enjoy the richness of collaboration and long-term relationships built within a solid community, along with the intimacy and faculty contact of a small private university.

Visit the following department pages with graduate programs to learn more about their research areas of focus, faculty, and more:

Graduate Funding and Fellowships

For Master's degree students, partial tuition scholarships may be available to qualified applicants. Doctoral candidates are awarded full financial assistance in the form of teaching or research positions. This support typically includes a full-tuition scholarship, monthly stipend, and paid health insurance. Student activity fees, which allow access to the student recreation center, are also covered. In addition, individual fellowship awards above and beyond the standard financial aid package are regularly awarded to outstanding applicants.

Learn more about graduate funding

In addition to Vanderbilt's graduate funding, numerous fellowships are available through private donors, philanthropic organizations and government agencies.

Learn more about graduate fellowships

View list of available engineering fellowships

Certificates

A number of departments/programs offer graduate certificates, which are open to students already enrolled in a Vanderbilt University post-baccalaureate degree program. Each certificate requires at least 12 credit/semester hours of interrelated graduate-level coursework supporting a specified theme. No more than 50% of coursework may be transferred for a graduate certificate program. The following is a list of certificate programs currently approved for the School of Engineering.

Interested student should contact the director of the corresponding program about the specific requirements.

Learn more about engineering graduate certificate programs

Dates to Remember

  • Fall Applications

    August 1st
    Date by which most programs begin accepting Fall applications. If you have further questions, please directly contact the office of your program of interest.

  • Application Deadlines

    Deadline for receipt of completed application form and all supporting credentials for a decision about fall semester admission.

    January 1st
    Biomedical Engineering(M.S. and PhD)
    Environmental Engineering(M.S. and PhD)
    Chemical Engineering(PhD)
    Mechanical Engineering(M.S. and PhD)
    Civil Engineering(M.S. and PhD)

    January 15th
    Computer Science(M.S. and PhD)
    Electrical and Computer Engineering(M.S. and PhD)
    Interdisciplinary Materials Science(M.S. and PhD)

    February 15th
    Chemical Engineering(M.S.)

  • Admission decisions

    March 31st
    Target date by which admission offers for fall semester will be mailed to all applicants whose files are complete by the deadline of the program you chose.

  • Response to admission offers

    April 15th
    Deadline for applicants to respond to offers of admission. If your reply is not received by April 15th, the department may reallocate any offer of financial award.

    Application deadlines vary for M.Eng. and online degree programs

    Transcripts:
    Transcripts can be sent either via the postal service or via secure electronic delivery. In order to be considered official, transcripts and other documents must come directly from the institution attended. Some institutions provide secure electronic delivery of transcripts. These submissions may be made to cdm@vanderbilt.edu.
    Transcripts sent via the postal service should be addressed as follows:

    CDM
    PMB 407833
    2301 Vanderbilt Place
    Nashville, TN 37240-7833

Important for the 2023-2024 admissions cycle: The School of Engineering is not requiring Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores for consideration for admission.

Also note: for international students who did not graduate from an institution in a country where English is the official language, proficiency in English must be shown by a minimum score of 89 on the TOEFL or 7.0 on the IELTS test. For the admission cycles for which we are accepting the DuoLingo test, the minimum acceptable score for this is 110. All programs will accept both the ‘iBT TOEFL home-edition’ as well as the ‘DuoLingo’ test to fulfill the requirement to submit proficiency in English for international applications (as substitute for the regular TOEFL or IELTS). This exception is for the upcoming Spring '24, Summer '24, Fall '24 admissions cycles.

Contact Us 

Gabriel Luis
Director of Graduate Recruiting
Assistant Dean for Graduate Education
Official GEM Representative
(615) 343-3128

PMB 351826
2301 Vanderbilt Place
Nashville, TN 37235-1826
gradengineering@vanderbilt.edu