How to Apply to the Chemical and Biological Engineering PhD Program

All applicants must fill out an application to the Graduate School, which permits application to up to three UW-Madison departments. Key requirements of the application include:

• GRE scores. GRE scores are not required and will not be considered during the admissions process.
• A bachelor’s degree with a strong background in chemical engineering or related disciplines. The degree must be from an ABET-accredited institution. Applicants from international institutions must have a degree comparable to an approved U.S. bachelor’s degree.
• PDFs of unofficial transcripts from all institutions that you have attended. Once admitted, the Graduate School will contact you to ask for your official transcripts. For official transcripts from US institutions, e-transcripts are acceptable. For official transcripts from other countries, physical copies are required. Any transcripts not in English require the original, physical transcripts along with an official translation (not a World Educational Service evaluation) performed by your school or a professional translator.
• Curriculum Vitae (CV). The CV should be two pages or less and written in 11-point font.
• Statement of Purpose (SoP). The SoP is your opportunity to discuss your background and future interests. The SoP should be 2-3 pages in length and written in 11-point font. Suggested topics that you could discuss in your Statement of Purpose include, but are not limited to:
  • Your past research experience (academic or non-academic) and contributions to research projects, any products of your research (papers, posters, presentations, etc.), future research interests, and what faculty members match your interests.
  • Your motivation for pursuing a PhD, your career goals, and how the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is a good fit for you.
  • Your potential to contribute to a community of inclusion, belonging, and respect in which scholars with various perspectives, abilities, and experiences can learn and collaborate productively and positively.
  • Your academic preparation and why you are well-prepared for graduate coursework in Chemical Engineering, including any extenuating circumstances or challenges that you have overcome.
• Three recommendation letters. Recommendation letters are requested through the online system and should be submitted electronically by three persons who are familiar with you and can attest to your potential to succeed in graduate school.
• English proficiency test. Official TOEFL or IELTS scores are required for students who attended institutions at which English is not the sole language of instruction, or who have not completed two full-time semesters at an English-speaking institution without any ESL coursework. See the Graduate School Requirements for Admission for more information.

Applicants also fill out a Supplementary Application as part of the graduate application that has questions specific to the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. These questions ask you to:

• Identify whether you are interested in experimental research, computational research, or either.
• Select 1 or 2 research focus areas of most interest for future study.
• Select 1-4 specific faculty members you are interested in as potential advisors. Here is a one-page summary of faculty and their research interests.

These choices are not binding and are used in part to ensure that your application is reviewed by faculty with aligned interests. There is also a question that asks how your background and life experiences motivated your decision to pursue a graduate degree at the University of Wisconsin. A response of fewer than 1000 characters is suggested and some redundancy with the Statement of Purpose is acceptable. A final question asks if you have external funding to support your PhD studies. Please note that external funding is not necessary for admission as all admitted students receive a five-year financial guarantee.

The graduate school application fee is $75, with an additional $6 processing fee for international applicants. However, the department provides application fee waivers to all domestic students, to international students who are currently enrolled in a US institution, and to all Fulbright Scholars. Please contact gradrecruit@che.wisc.edu with your request when you are ready to submit your application, but before you pay to submit it. If you qualify, you will receive a one-time use coupon to use in place of payment when you’re ready to submit your application.

Click here to access the application to the Graduate School. It is extremely important that you check your MyUW portal frequently. This link is where you will find an application checklist, updates on the status of your application, and any communications from the Graduate School. You will first need to activate your NetID by visiting the NetID Account Activation site. You will need to enter your 10-digit UW-Madison campus ID number and your date of birth to complete the NetID activation process. Your campus ID number was provided in the confirmation email when you originally applied. It is the 10-digit number starting with 9.

To make your application as competitive as possible, you should carefully consider how to make your Curriculum Vitae (CV), Statement of Purpose (SoP), and letters of recommendation highlight your strengths to demonstrate why you will excel in graduate research.

The first step in preparing a competitive application is learning about our research focus areas and specific faculty with whom you would be interested in as potential faculty advisors. Click here for a one-page summary of faculty and their research interests. You are not expected to be an expert in department research prior to joining the program but researching our faculty can help ensure that the department is a good fit for your interests. We further recommend explicitly stating the faculty members that you are most interested in working with in your SoP and why their work is appealing to you.

Your CV and SoP should highlight your strengths in research. Your CV should clearly list any research products (publications, posters, or presentations) that have resulted from your research experience, as well as any accolades that you have earned. Your SoP is your opportunity to describe your research experience (academic or non-academic) and specific contributions to any research projects, as well as how your background and research experiences have shaped your future research interests. You can also use your SoP to explain your motivation for obtaining a PhD and why Wisconsin would be a good fit for you. This presentation also provides advice on preparing a strong Statement of Purpose.

Letters of recommendation should be selected to highlight your strengths. Most applicants have at least one letter from a research supervisor (professor or industry supervisor) who can attest to your research skills and contributions to research projects. Letters attesting to your strength in classroom activities are also an asset. Do not request letters of recommendation from graduate students or postdoctoral scholars, even if they were your primary mentors – letters should come from faculty if possible. Request letters of recommendation well ahead of the deadline to ensure that your recommenders have sufficient time to prepare a strong letter.

Most applicants accepted into the program have a Chemical Engineering degree with a grade-point average (GPA) well above the Graduate School minimum of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. You can discuss any potential concerns about your academic background in your SoP. If your degree is in another discipline, and particularly in a non-engineering discipline, it is recommended that you discuss coursework that you have taken that will prepare you for graduate-level Chemical Engineering courses. Information on the core courses taken by Chemical Engineering PhD students is here. If your GPA is close to the minimum, it is similarly recommended that you discuss your academic performance in classes relevant to graduate-level coursework.

Finally, highlight your unique non-academic strengths and activities in your SoP. Examples could include volunteering at public outreach events, community service activities, engaging in activities to improve diversity, equity, or inclusion, serving in leadership roles in student groups or organizations, mentoring or tutoring students, participating in varsity athletics, etc. This information will help the admissions committee gain a more holistic view of your application and who you are as a person.