• I am thinking of applying to Princeton. Can I visit and talk to some of the professors? Princeton has informative organized tours of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. You may make arrangements to take a tour by calling Ms. Vanessa Carter at (609) 258-4554 or by e-mail to vanessa@princeton.edu. You can find further general information on the SEAS web pages and on our web pages in the academics section. Meeting with a professor normally requires submitting a request in advance.
• How can I obtain an application? Applications for admission as an undergraduate are available from the Princeton Admissions Office. See Princeton's Undergraduate Admissions web page.
• Is your Electrical Engineering degree ABET accredited? Yes. More information is available on our undergraduate program web page and on the SEAS webpages.
• I have had two years of study at another university. Would I be able to transfer to Princeton University's engineering Program? For some years now, Princeton has not accepted transfer students.

• I am a first-year PhD student. Do I need to take written generals in January? No. PhD students can take generals in either January or May of their first-year. You MUST attempt written generals once before the end of your first year though.
• What's the pass rate on written generals? Roughly 90% of EE PhD students pass written generals on their first try. Hardcopies of past exams are available from the EE grad office for study purposes.
• I am a second-year student and don't feel quite ready for my research seminar. Can I postpone my oral exam until my third year? It is a university requirement to do your research seminar/ oral exam by the end of your fourth term at Princeton. Postponing beyond this is possible in very special circumstances, but requires that you speak with the DGS and petition formally.
• I am an international student interested in doing a summer internship in industry. What sort of visa paperwork is required? Please see the posted guidelines on how Curricular Practical Training can help with this.
• Are there travel funds available to help with a conference trip? Yes. Please see the information on quarterly applications for the Dean's fund for scholarly travel.
• I am getting ready to finish and defend my PhD thesis. When should I schedule my FPO? Please see the FPO completion guidelines for information on the steps in finishing.
• I would like to include a non-Princeton researcher as a reader of my Ph.D. thesis. What do I need to do? Please submit the researcher's resume to the graduate office for approval. In almost all circumstances, external readers need to have a doctoral degree to be eligible.
• I am getting ready to start writing my Ph.D. thesis. Are there formatting requirements? Yes, please see the university formatting requirements.

Graduate Admissions and Applications

• If I am ultimately interested in a Princeton EE Ph.D., do I first need to apply for a master's program? No. If you ultimately want a Ph.D. degree, you should apply to our Ph.D. program. Funding opportunities are excellent for PhD students and you will have the opportunity to earn a Master's degree "along the way".
• When should I apply? For the academic year beginning in Fall 2008, the application deadline is Dec 1, 2007 for applicants who DO NOT RESIDE in the USA, Canada, or Mexico. The Application deadline is Dec. 31, 2007 for applicants who DO reside in USA, Canada or Mexico. Please ensure that your recommendation letters and test scores are routed to the Graduate Admissions Office in time for these deadlines. Applications received on or before Dec. 1, 2007 have a lower application fee.
• How should I apply? The Graduate School Admissions Office webpage includes important information about applications, requirements, and fees. The preferred method for application is applying online. You may alternatively fill out or print out a PDF application form, available at the Graduate Admissions Office webpage.
• The application asks me to specify a sub-field. What does that mean? For organizational purposes, we divide the EE department into four groups: Computer Engineering (CE), Electronic Materials and Devices (EMD) Information Systems and Sciences (ISS), and Optics and Optoelectronics (OOE). Please specify the area that interests you the most so that the right faculty members will see your application.
• When is the deadline for taking the GRE exam? For most applicants, you need to take the exam in time to have the results forwarded to the university before the application deadline.

  For students who are citizens of China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan, additional timing issues and exam restrictions arise:

  The analytical writing portion of the GRE is required to be taken in advance of the verbal and quantitative sections. It must be taken by the end of September. This will be administered as a computerized test.

  The verbal and quantitative sections of the test must be taken by the end of October in order to be reported to Princeton in time for consideration. This is the only time that the test will be administered. This single, fall administration of the GRE-V and GRE-Q portions of the test will be paper-based.

  For citizens of the above countries, Princeton will only accept the paper-based GRE-V and GRE-Q test scores. These scores may come from tests taken no earlier than October 2002. Exemptions: Princeton will accept computer-based GRE-V and GRE-Q test scores if, 1. the applicant was formally enrolled in a degree program outside his/her home country prior to October 2002, and/or 2. citizens from these countries are currently enrolled in the U.S. or another non-home country's educational institution (either for a bachelor's or master's degree work).

• Do I need to take the GRE Subject test? No. Our program requires GRE General Exam scores, but does not require applicants to take a GRE subject test. Your application folder must have original copies of GRE scores; photocopies are not acceptable.
• How can I get information on the Master's of Engineering Program? Detailed information on the Master's of Engineering Program is available here. Also see our web pages under academics for information and additional links.
• Does your graduate program provide financial support? Yes. For the Ph.D. program we offer financial assistance normally until satisfactory completion of the program. All first year Ph.D. students are supported on University Fellowships. Prestigious Wu and Upton Fellowships are also available to first year students. Limited fellowship assistance is available for the Master of Engineering Program. Note, it is not possible to transfer from the Ph.D. program to the Master of Engineering Program.
• I think I forgot to include something in my Graduate School application. Can you check for me? If you have left out something important, the Graduate Admissions Office or our department will contact you and ask for it.
• How can I check on the status of my Graduate School Application? Once your application is submitted it goes through several stages of processing and review. We cannot give out any information until the final admission decisions are made. You will then be contacted as soon as possible.
• All of my friends have received their notices from Princeton and I haven't. Will you please tell me if I have been admitted? We do not give out admissions information on the telephone. Please be patient and the Graduate School will contact you as soon as admission decisions are finalized.
• I wrote to some professors about my chances of being admitted---why didn't I hear back from them? While the EE faculty welcome your interest in their research and our degree programs, they cannot prescreen your resume and offer guesses on the likelihood of acceptance. Since ALL first-year PhD students are supported on fellowship, there is no need to line up faculty financial support prior to admission. We give all applications a thorough reading, and look forward to seeing yours!
• Is there a minimum GRE score for admissions? No, we read all applications received and determine admission based on the applicant's overall credentials.

• How can I contact Professor So-and-So? The best way to contact professors is via email. Please see the faculty contact webpage.
• What is Professor So-and-So's telephone number? Email is the best way to contact a professor. If you must use the telephone, each professor's telephone extension is available in the on-line university telephone directory. Failing that you can call the main University operator and ask to be transferred.
• Is Professor So-and-So available? Please see above.
• I am writing an article on gizmos and would like to speak to Professor So-and-So. Is she/he available? Please see above.

• I have seen some interesting research described on your web pages. How can my company learn more about work underway at Princeton? Please consider joining our Corporate Affiliates Program. If you would like to explore other possible interactions, please contact the department chair, Peter Ramadge.