carnegie mellon university college visit

Visit Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon warmly welcomes visitors from around the globe to explore its urban campus and become acquainted with the community’s innovations and impacts. Visit our campus, nestled in the heart of Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood, to dive into campus life, academic opportunities and view our unique landmarks including The Fence (once the world’s most-painted object) and alumnus Jonathan Borofsky’s “Walking to the Sky” sculpture.

Carnegie Mellon University 5000 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Schedule a Visit – Undergraduate Admission

Visit opportunities.

Coulter Welcome Center

Maps and Getting Here

Visiting Campus

Schedule a Prospective Student Tour

The David & Susan Coulter Welcome Center serves as the primary hub for campus visits, allowing visitors to engage with the university's community and learn about CMU's contributions to Pittsburgh and the world. Located in the Tepper Quadrangle, the center offers in-person and virtual tours led by Tartan Ambassadors.

View the Facility Request a Special Group Tour

Explore Pittsburgh

With 90 distinct city neighborhoods and over 80,000 students studying across 10 colleges and universities, Pittsburgh is a prime place for exploration: of places, of cultures and of ideas. Today, the Steel City’s industrial roots remain woven throughout, but Pittsburgh has evolved into a bustling mecca for technology and education with a vibrant culture rich in art, food, sports and entertainment.

Learn more about Pittsburgh

Global Presence

While Pittsburgh is home to the flagship campus, Carnegie Mellon extends its education leadership all over the world, with satellite campuses in Silicon Valley, New York City, Africa, Qatar, Washington D.C. and more. This global footprint facilitates a rich exchange of ideas and cultures and creates diverse opportunities for the entire CMU community.

Corporate Partners

• Center for Business Engagement
• Recruit Students and Alumni

Carnegie Mellon University challenges the curious and passionate to deliver work that matters.

Calendar Careers COVID-19 Updates Directory / Contact Feedback Global Locations

Health & Safety News Site Map Title IX

Alumni BUSINESS & RESEARCH PARTNERS Faculty & Staff Students

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar
• Skip to footer

Due to Carnegie Mellon’s COVID-19 mitigation efforts, we’re continuing to encourage students and families to connect with us online. Schedule a virtual informational chat and/or a 30-minute portfolio advice session with Art Senior Admissions Officer, Sheika Lugtu. Click here to schedule a time .

The university also offers several online visit opportunities that let you explore Carnegie Mellon’s campus and residence halls, chat with an admission counselor, sit in on an information session and hear from current students. To complement these offerings, we’re now also offering limited registrations for a self-guided Outdoor Campus Walking Route and on-campus Information Session . You can find the university’s full visitor protocol here .

• About the School
• Support the School
• Undergraduate
• Head of School
• Notable Alumni
• Current Students

Carnegie Mellon University

4 year • Pittsburgh, PA

Carnegie Mellon University is a private institution that was founded in 1900. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 7,509 (fall 2022), and the campus size is 157 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Carnegie Mellon University's ranking in the 2024 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, #24. Its tuition and fees are $63,829.

Carnegie Mellon University, founded by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, is located in Pittsburgh, which offers dining and entertainment options as well as professional sports teams including the Penguins (hockey), Steelers (football) and Pirates (baseball). Only freshmen are required to live on campus, but the university guarantees housing for all four years, and the majority of students choose to remain on campus. Nearly 20 percent of the student population is affiliated with Greek life, which consists of more than 20 fraternities and sororities. The Carnegie Mellon Tartans compete in NCAA Division III competitions, and the Kiltie Band, which sports full Scottish regalia, performs at every home football game.

Carnegie Mellon is known for its programs in science and technology, but its seven schools and colleges include the College of Fine Arts and the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Its graduate programs include the highly ranked Tepper School of Business , Carnegie Institute of Technology and School of Computer Science . Undergraduates at Carnegie Mellon have the opportunity to participate in research and can even receive grants or summer fellowships to support research in their field of study. Randy Pausch, author of the New York Times best-selling book "The Last Lecture," was a professor at Carnegie Mellon.

+ Show More

At-a-Glance

Tuition & Fees

Undergraduate Enrollment

Acceptance Rate

2024 Rankings

Schools are ranked according to their performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence. Read more about how we rank schools.

• #24 in National Universities  (tie)
• #24 in Best Value Schools
• #7 in Business Programs

My Fit Score

My Fit Custom College Ranking

Does this school fit your college needs? Receive a personalized ranking provided by U.S. News College Compass and find out. Try it now

High School GPA*

* These are the average scores of applications admitted to this school. Ranges represent admitted applicants who fell within the 25th and 75th percentile.

Will You Get Into Carnegie Mellon University ?

College admissions calculator.

Data provided by U.S. News College Compass Users.

Room & Board

$17,468 (2023-24)

Average Need-Based Aid Package

*Average cost after aid

Popular Majors

% OF GRADUATES

ALUMNI STARTING SALARY

Computer Science

Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Business Administration and Management, General

Systems Science and Theory

Mechanical Engineering

* In cases where salary data at the specific major level is unavailable, a general salary for the major category is displayed.

Faculty Research Impact

Bibliometric Rank

Publications Cited in Top 25% of Journals

Publications Cited in Top 5% of Journals

Total Papers published between 2018-2022

Citations Per Publication

Pick the Perfect Major

Discover the perfect major for you based on your innate wiring. The Innate Assessment sets you up for success by pairing you with majors, colleges and careers that fit your unique skills and abilities.

Graduate Enrollment

Total Enrollment

Full-Time Degree-Seeking Students

Student Diversity

Gender Distribution

Ethnic Diversity

Minority Enrollment

International

Two or more races

Not Specified is not included in this breakdown due to an enrollment of 0%.

Campus Life

Housing and Dorms

Types of campus housing available:

• women's dorms
• men's dorms
• sorority housing
• fraternity housing
• apartment for single students
• special housing for disabled students
• theme housing
• wellness housing

Student Activities

Sports Teams

Fraternities

After College

Graduation Rate

Graduating Students Who Have Borrowed (any loan type, 2021)

Average Debt at Graduation

Schools You Might Also Like

Reviews & ratings.

See reviews and ratings of this school from students, alumni, staff and others. These reviews are not written by U.S. News and have no impact on any of the Best Colleges rankings. Read an explanation of user ratings .

This school does not have enough reviews yet. Click here to submit your review.

Undergraduate data are based on the 2022 school year.

More from This School

• Online Programs
• Graduate Schools
• Global Universities

Top Schools in Pennsylvania

You can compare up to 25 schools at a time. Please remove a school before adding another.

Remote Campus Visit

Katie Holmes to Visit Daughter Suri at Carnegie Mellon University; Tom Cruise Will Not Attend

Katie taking up on mom duties; where’s the dad.

Katie Holmes is set to visit her daughter Suri Cruise at Carnegie Mellon University for Family Weekend on September 27 and 28. According to a source, Holmes will be flying to Pittsburgh to spend time with Suri, who recently started her college journey.

Tom Cruise, who is funding Suri’s education as part of their 2012 divorce settlement, will not be joining them. The divorce agreement stipulates that Cruise covers all of Suri’s educational expenses, which includes Carnegie Mellon University’s annual tuition of $65,000.

“Katie is excited to visit her daughter at school and be a part of this milestone in her life,” a source told DailyMail.com. “She enjoyed her time at Columbia University and is thrilled that Suri is experiencing college life.”

Suri, who moved into her dorm a week ago with the help of her mother, will have a three-day break for Labor Day before classes start on August 26.

While Tom Cruise continues to fulfill his financial obligations for Suri’s education, he and Suri have been estranged. The divorce documents outlined that Cruise would cover Suri’s expenses, including tuition and other costs, but it is understood that he is no longer providing child support as Suri has turned 18.

Despite the estrangement, Cruise is known for upholding his commitments. “Tom has always paid for Suri’s schooling and will continue to do so,” a friend of Cruise’s shared. “He has never hesitated in fulfilling his responsibilities and remains committed to his daughter’s well-being.”

Katie Holmes, meanwhile, is looking forward to being present for Family Weekend and supporting her daughter during this significant phase of her life.

This article is copyright © 2024 

New Research Shows Online Ads Have Limited Impact on Consumer Valuations for Facebook

Policymakers are increasingly debating the relative social costs and benefits of digital advertising. While ads typically benefit platforms and advertisers, do they disadvantage consumers? In a new study, researchers analyzed advertising on Facebook, comparing the effects on consumers of seeing ads versus not seeing ads. The study found no significant differences in users’ valuations between the two groups, suggesting that either the harmful effects of ads are relatively small or that certain benefits offset the harms. The study, by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Meta, appears as a new NBER working paper. “In theory, the effect of online ads on consumer welfare could go either way,” explains Avinash Collis, assistant professor of management science and economics at Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz College, who led the study. “Ads may annoy users with irrelevant content or they may help them find useful products and services.” Research on the causal effects of online advertising on consumer welfare is limited due to the challenges of running large-scale experiments and tracking effects over extended periods. In this study, researchers analyzed a long-running field experiment of online advertising on Facebook, which began in 2013 and continues today. In that work, a random 0.5% subset of the entire user base (nearly 3 billion people) was assigned to a group that never sees ads while the rest of users experience their usual levels of advertising. In 2022, researchers recruited a representative sample of more than 53,000 Facebook users in the ads and no-ads groups. Participants were invited to take part in a survey, which included an incentivized online choice experiment that measured users’ valuations of Facebook. The study found that users’ valuations did not differ statistically between the two groups. This indicates that users did not experience a significant difficulty from current levels of advertising, which suggests that a no-ads environment may not be particularly beneficial for consumers, the authors concluded. Any negative impact of ads on user satisfaction is likely to be smaller than 10% of how much they value Facebook. In determining why this occurred, researchers suggested that it could be because the beneficial effects of some well-targeted ads (e.g., helping users locate products and services of interest) cancelled out the annoyance of irrelevant ads. Or, they posited, it could be because both effects were so small that they did not reach statistical significance. The users in the ads group did spend 9.4% less time on Facebook than users in the no-ads group, but that didn’t seem to affect their overall valuations. Among the study’s limitations, the authors say they evaluated only the usefulness or harm of ads on Facebook, not on other platforms. In addition, within Facebook, the no-ads group prevented users from seeing most but not all ads. More than half of the authors on the paper are from Meta, the parent company of Facebook.  “In the United States and Europe, policymakers have proposed regulations which focus on the ability of online platforms to show targeted ads to consumers,” says Erik Brynjolfsson, a professor at Stanford’s Institute for Human-centered AI, who co-led the study. “Our study provides evidence from the largest and longest-running experiment to estimate of the utility and disutility of ads.”

Summarized from an NBER working paper, The Consumer Welfare Effects of Online Ads: Evidence from a 9-Year Experiment , by Brynjolfsson, E (Stanford University), Collis, A (Carnegie Mellon University), Liawat, A (Meta), Kutzman, D (Meta), Garro, H (Meta), Deisenroth, D (Meta), and Wernerfelt, N (Northwestern University). Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.

About Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy The Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy is home to two internationally recognized graduate-level institutions at Carnegie Mellon University: the School of Information Systems and Management and the School of Public Policy and Management. This unique colocation combined with its expertise in analytics set Heinz College apart in the areas of cybersecurity, health care, the future of work, smart cities, and arts & entertainment. In 2016, INFORMS named Heinz College the  #1 academic program  for Analytics Education. For more information, please visit  www.heinz.cmu.edu .

Popular Searches

• Master’s of AI Engineering
• Engineering Magazine
• graduate programs
• Manufacturing Futures Institute
• student organizations
• Rethink the Rink

Social Media

• @CMUEngineering
• CMUEngineering
• College of Engineering
• Graduate studies

Graduate programs

The College of Engineering provides a range of graduate programs that are both traditional and interdisciplinary. The programs are designed to foster a maker ecosystem where students and faculty from different disciplines collaborate to create solutions to complex problems in industry, government, and academia.

Graduates of these programs have excellent prospects in various fields, including industry, government, academia, and the corporate world. The college’s global alumni network is transforming the engineering profession by using an authentic interdisciplinary approach to problem-solving, which is the hallmark of Carnegie Mellon. Every day, our engineers are making a significant impact.

Biomedical Engineering

Chemical Engineering

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Engineering and Public Policy

Information Networking Institute

Integrated Innovation Institute

Materials Science and Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

Carnegie Mellon University Africa

Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley

Master’s of Artificial Intelligence​ Engineering

The​ Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence​ Engineering degrees (MS AIE) take AI and embed it into engineering frameworks, including engineering representations, applications within engineered systems, and discipline-specific interpretations of system outcomes. Within these frameworks, students will learn to invent, tune, and specialize AI algorithms and tools for engineering systems.

• Learn more about our MS AIE degrees

Dual-degree Ph.D. program with Howard University

Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering and Howard University’s College of Engineering and Architecture jointly offer a dual Ph.D. program that grants doctoral degrees from both institutions. This unique program provides students with two academic advisors and access to an extensive range of courses and research facilities. Moreover, students benefit from being part of vibrant research communities in two major metropolitan areas: Pittsburgh, PA, and Washington, DC.

Learn more about the Howard Dual-degree program

The student perspective

Artificial Intelligence

Emotion detection system puts a smile on their face

Silicon Valley students use AI to develop an emotion detection system that can help job seekers improve performance and build confidence.

Faculty at Carnegie Mellon University Africa hosted workshops to give educators important classroom resources, while Mastercard Foundation Scholars visited secondary school students to build their programming and computer skills. The goal is to get students interested in ICT early on so they can ultimately pursue careers in the field.

Refugee outreach welcomes students to the ICT space

New course harnesses AI to kindle creativity

New course, AI for Humanities, offers a unique perspective on how AI can revolutionize our perception and interaction with creative expressions.

• Research paper

News & Events

Engineering students awarded Fulbright Scholarships

Six students and alumni from the College of Engineering will research and study abroad on Fulbright program scholarships.

Siddiqui receives Udall Scholarship

Aleena Siddiqui has received the Udall Scholar award, which recognizes future leaders in environmental, Tribal public policy, and health care fields.

Advanced Manufacturing

NASA mentor guides student’s career trajectory

Campus research experience, NASA internship, and advice from a mentor propel material science and engineering student, Lauren Fitzwater, to pursue a minor in additive manufacturing.

Amateur radio for aspiring professionals

Introduction to Amateur Radio course teaches history, culture, and science of radio technology.

Reeja Jayan designed a syllabus that incorporates Minecraft to give students a hands-on approach to learning about materials science concepts like chemical vapor deposition polymerization without setting foot in an actual lab.

Visit the virtual lab

Undergraduates present research at Meeting of the Minds 2024

Engineering undergraduate students had a wonderful showing at Meeting of the Minds, displaying posters, giving presentations, and demonstrating projects they have worked on this past academic year.

Presidential and graduate fellowships awarded for 2024-25

College of Engineering graduate students have been awarded fellowships for the 2024-25 academic year.

Behring Foundation gift supports international undergrads in tech

Two students have received the Behring Scholarship, a scholarship to support students from Brazil pursuing tech-related undergraduate degrees at Carnegie Mellon University.

Parry receives Goldwater Scholarship

Katherine Parry, a junior in electrical and computer engineering, has received the 2024 Barry Goldwater Scholarship to support her pursuit of a research career.

Six members from the College of Engineering were recognized at CMU’s annual Celebration of Education Awards.

Honoring our educators

Engineering faculty awarded professorships

Carnegie Mellon University has awarded professorships to five exceptional faculty members in the College of Engineering.

Machine learning and extended reality used to train welders

Researchers apply machine learning to a lightly-modified off-the-shelf welding helmet and torch integrated with a Meta Quest headset and controller to train welders.

Infrastructure as a social sensor

A recent study examines the relationship between having access to broadband internet and unemployment during the pandemic, treating infrastructure as a proxy for bias rather than access.

Energy & Environment

Doctoral researchers shine in 3MT championship

College of Engineering students explained complex research and its importance in under three minutes in the annual Three Minute Thesis competition.

One student, two continents

CMU-Africa student Farida Eleshin (MSIT ’24) is concluding her master’s program with a final semester in Pittsburgh, where she’s working on several research projects in the CHIMPS Lab that focus on privacy and security.

Carnegie Mellon University

• Campus Life
• Type 4-year • Private
• Campus Life Medium • Urban
• Average Per Year After Aid $37K
• SAT Range 1480–1560
• Graduation Rate 93%

Carnegie Mellon University is a medium, 4-year, private university. This coed college is located in a large city in an urban setting and is primarily a residential campus. It offers bachelor's, certificate, master's, and doctoral degrees.

From the Institution

Interested in applying?

• Common Application

Learn More?

Contact information.

• 5000 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
• (412) 268-7838
• http://cmu.edu

Important Dates

Dates are subject to change so confirm important deadlines by visiting the college’s website .

Want to factor in your test scores?

See how your GPA, SAT, or ACT scores compare to enrolled students at each college.

Note: College profiles are based primarily on information supplied by the colleges themselves through participation in College Board's BigFuture College Profiles higher education data collection portal, with some data provided via federal and state agencies. Costs, dates, policies, and programs are subject to change, so please confirm important facts with college admission personnel.

Electrical and Computer Engineering

College of engineering, academic guide, program details.

The following applies to students entering Carnegie Mellon University Fall 2013 and later.

Minimum total units required for the BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering:  379

Cit general education requirements, general technical requirements.

1 The math/science electives may be satisfied by any course in the Mellon College of Science or Department of Statistics   except   for: 100-level courses in mathematics or statistics and courses designed for nonscience or engineering majors, such as (but not limited to) 03-132, 09-103, 09-104, 21-240, 21-257, 21-261, 21-350, 33-115, 33-120, 33-124, 33-106, 33-107, 36-200, 36-201, 36-202, 36-203, 36-207, 36-208, 36-209, 36-210, 36-247, 36-309, and 36-310. Mathematics courses of particular interest to students in ECE are: 21-228 (Discrete Mathematics), 21-241 (Matrices and Linear Transformations), 21-259 (Calculus in Three Dimensions), and 21-260 (Differential Equations).

2 This course can also be substituted by a combination of two of the following courses: 21-254, 21-259, 21-260, 21-241, 21-242, and 21-268.  

3  Effective Fall 2022. Prior to Fall 2022, 21-127 was 10 units.

4  Effective Summer 2023. Prior to Summer 2023, 15-122 was 10 units.

Core Requirements

ECE students are required to take the following Core Courses along with their co or prerequisites.

Area Requirements

To satisfy the ECE Area Requirements (36 units) :

• Two courses (24 units) must be taken from one of the areas
• One additional course from a second area (12 units)

The following topics are the five areas of study within the ECE Department:

• Device Science and  Nanofabrication :   Solid State Physics, Semiconductors, Electromagnetic Fields and Waves, Magnetics, Optics, etc.
• Signals and Systems : Digital Signal Processing, Communication Systems, Control Systems, Power Systems, etc.
• Circuits : Analog and Digital Circuits, Integrated Circuit Design, etc.
• Hardware Systems : Logic Design, Computer Architecture, etc.
• Software Systems : Programming, Embedded Systems, Data Structures, Compilers, Networks, Operating Systems, etc.

Device Science and Nanofabrication

*This can be subject to change periodically. Last updated August 2, 2024.

Signals and Systems

Note: 18-792, 18-793, and 18-794 satisfy Signals & Systems Area requirements for students who entered the university prior to Fall 2024.

Hardware Systems

Software systems, coverage requirement.

12 units of a Coverage Requirement are required for the ECE curriculum. Students may use this requirement to further specialize in their main area, or they may use this to explore some of the other areas within the department. Students are also encouraged to pursue undergraduate project units, or research, to fulfill this requirement.

Approved Coverage Courses

All courses offered by the ECE Department with the values 18-300 and higher are approved to count as a Coverage Requirement. You can see the ECE course list on our course list page .

Below are additional courses approved to count for this requirement that are offered outside of the ECE department.

Undergraduate research

Undergraduate ECE students are encouraged to incorporate undergraduate projects in their program. This engineering experience will enhance both their education and resume in pursuit of further education and professional employment. All undergraduate projects conceived to meet the ECE Coverage requirement must be conducted with a faculty member. Should you have any questions, please check with your academic advisor.

Visit the  Student Project Tracker guide  for more information on our undergraduate research program, including instructions on how to apply online.

Capstone Design Requirement

This requirement provides students with the opportunity for hands-on experience. Each student must complete at least one of the approved capstone design courses. The capstone design courses are intended to enhance the student's repertoire of professional problem-solving and engineering design skills in the context of realistic engineering situations. In the capstone design courses, students work in teams to formulate a problem, propose an engineering solution or a design in the presence of technical and socioeconomic constraints, and make sound professional judgments among alternative solutions. One course from the following list must be taken ( 12 units ):

Free Electives

For most students, the curriculum above will result in a remainder of 52 units of Free Electives to achieve the 379 required total units.

A Free Elective is defined as any graded course offered by any academic unit of the university. 

Up to 9 units of courses taken as Pass/Fail credit, such as physical education or StuCo courses, may also be used toward meeting the total units requirement.

Substitutions of courses from other high-quality universities may be accepted through submission of the  Transfer Credit Request form on the CIT webpage .

The large number of units without categorical constraints provides the student with the flexibility to design a rich educational program.

Adding Majors or Minors

Combining the ece degree with a major/minor.

ECE students may combine the ECE major with other studies in one of three ways:

• Earn two undergraduate degrees (dual degrees)
• Pursue an additional major (one degree, two majors)
• Augment a degree major with a minor

Combinations are possible with virtually all academic departments. Computer science, biomedical engineering, engineering and public policy, business, economics, foreign language, fine arts, music, and many others have all been paired successfully with the ECE degree. You can see more information on dual degrees, additional majors, or minors in the undergraduate catalog.

Majors and minors available

You can find information on specific programs on their individual websites.   Click here   to be directed to the list of CMU schools and colleges.

There are a number of additional majors and minors available within the College of Engineering exclusively to engineering students.   Engineering and Public Policy   and   Biomedical Engineering  are additional majors available exclusively to other engineering majors within CIT. CIT has a   list of minors   available only to students within the college as well.

Introduced in 2014, the   Integrative Design, Arts, and Technology (IDeATe)   network offers students the opportunity to become immersed in a collaborative community of faculty and peers who share expertise, experience, and passion at the intersection of arts and technology. Students will engage in active “learning by doing” in state-of-the-art maker spaces. The program addresses current and emerging real-world challenges that require disciplinary expertise coupled with multidisciplinary perspectives and collaborative integrative approaches. Students who participate in IDeATe will be uniquely able to take a “deep dive” into their chosen discipline while connecting to the diverse areas of knowledge and skill across the university. A student can choose to enroll in an IDeATe concentration (or minor) either in their sophomore or junior year. For more information, please visit the   IDeATe website .

Resources for Creating a Course Schedule

There are a number of resources available for you to plan your course schedule. It's recommended that you make at least a tentative course plan well ahead of time, particularly if you are planning on any additional majors or minors, in order to meet your graduation timeline.

The academic advising syllabus has a number of useful tools and resources, and we strongly recommend reviewing this document for tips.

Advisors and mentors

ECE assigns each student staff and faculty members to assist them with course planning, career questions, and general academic advice. While you are encouraged to build staff and faculty relationships throughout the department, college, and university, you also have assignments within ECE to assist you.

• Meet with your Pittsburgh BS/MS staff advisor
• Your faculty advisor   is an ECE faculty member assigned to you for the duration of your sophomore year (in addition to your academic advisor). Your faculty advisor can help you decide what areas within ECE are related to your interests, choose courses, and plan a course timeline within ECE. You are emailed information about your faculty advisor late in the spring semester of your freshman year after you have declared your ECE major. Your faculty advisor information is listed in SIO.

Sample Curriculum

Stellic academic audit.

The academic audit is a powerful tool to help you stay on track for graduation. As of 2018, CMU has adopted a new audit/schedule planning tool named " Stellic ." You can access Stellic by visiting SIO > Course Schedule and clicking the link under "Stellic Degree Audit Application."

Frequently Asked Questions

Below is a list of frequently asked questions by ECE students. You can scroll through the page, or click on a question in the list below to be directed to that question directly.

What courses count for the math/science elective requirement?

What is Experiential Learning?

How many units do I need to graduate with a BS in ECE?

What is the minimum QPA needed to graduate?

What is the overload policy in ECE?

How do I find research opportunities as an undergraduate student?

What is the difference between my staff and faculty advisor?

How do I schedule an appointment with my advisor?

What is the IMB (Integrated Master's/Bachelor's) program, and how do I apply?

How can I find information on scholarships?

Where can I find information on transferring credit from another university?

Q: What courses count for the math/science elective requirement?

A:   The math/science electives may be satisfied by any course in the Mellon College of Science or Department of Statistics   except for : 100-level courses in mathematics or statistics and courses designed for nonscience or engineering majors, such as (but not limited to) 09-103, 09-104, 21-240, 21-257, 21-261, 33-115, 33-120, 33-124, 36-201, 36-202, 36-203, 36-207, 36-208, 36-209, 36-210, 36-247, 36-309, and 36-310.

Mathematics courses of particular interest to students in ECE are: 21-228 (Discrete Mathematics), 21-259 (Calculus in Three Dimensions), and 21-260 (Differential Equations).

Q: What is Experiential Learning?

A:  You can find information about Experiential Learning on the  CIT webpage . Your Experiential Learning advisor and a list of some of the approved events to complete this requirement can be found on the course Blackboard page. Please remember that you must register for Experiential Learning (39-210, 39-220, 39-310) in order to access the Blackboard page and complete the paperwork for this requirement.

Q: How many units do I need to graduate with a BS in ECE?

A:   The ECE undergraduate curriculum is 379 units. This includes 143 units of CIT general education electives, 61 units of general technical requirements, 121 units of ECE coursework, and (typically) 54 units of free electives. Up to 9 units of pass/fail or ROTC coursework may be applied to free electives.

Q: What is the minimum QPA needed to graduate?

A:   ECE students must have a cumulative, CIT, and ECE QPA of at least 2.0 in order to graduate. Your cumulative QPA consists of all factorable courses you have taken as a student at CMU. Your CIT QPA consists of all factorable courses you have taken at CMU after your first year. Your ECE QPA consists of the 121 units of ECE coursework. Please see your academic advisor if you need clarification on this policy.

Q: What is the overload policy in ECE?

A:   ECE students may not overload in their first semester of sophomore year. After their first semester, ECE students must have a cumulative QPA of 3.5 or higher in order to overload (which increases your max units to up to 66 units). Students with a cumulative QPA of less than a 3.5 must attain a semester QPA of 3.5 or higher to overload and therefore need to wait until after final grades are released for the semester. Please note that overloading is not a recommended strategy - please talk to your academic advisor before overloading your schedule.

Q: How do I find research opportunities as an undergraduate student?

A:  The best way to find a research opportunity is to visit the Student Project Tracker (SPT) website. ECE students can view, apply, and accept research projects on this website. If students are interested in research that is not already posted on this website, you can reach out to the faculty you are interested in working with directly to have the project posted online.

Q: What is the difference between my academic advisor and my faculty advisor?

A: We have outlined this difference on our website in the Resources for Creating a Course Schedule section .

Q: How do I schedule an appointment with my advisor?

A:  To schedule an appointment with your academic advisor, please click the link available in any of the emails from any of the academic advisors, or by scheduling here . 15- or 30-minute appointments are available most days.

Q: What is the IMB (Integrated Master's/Bachelor's) program, and how do I apply?

A:  The Integrated Master's/Bachelor's program (otherwise known as the IMB program) allows students who excel academically to achieve both a bachelor's and master’s degree in ECE through our Professional MS degree program without needing to apply separately. If you are a second-semester junior, have completed 270 units, and have a 3.0 or higher cumulative QPA, you must attend an IMB info session in order to sign up for the program. You can find more information on the IMB page .

Q: How can I find information on scholarships?

A:  T he CMU Student Financial Aid page has a list of useful links and resources. The CMU Fellowships and Scholarships Office is another helpful resource for students.

Q: Where can I find information on transferring credit from another university?

A: Please refer to the college's information on transferring courses from other universities . If you wish to take ECE major-specific courses at another university, please consult with your academic advisor.

Helpful links

• Curricular practical training

Are You Ready to Turn Tartan?

Are you ready to join our community of big thinkers striving for the betterment of humankind.

We can't wait to review your application and learn more about you. We know that applying to college takes time and effort, so be assured that we appreciate that effort and will give your application the careful consideration required to gather a community of all kinds — those who are brilliant and curious, quirky and questioning, creative and collaborative.

Carnegie Mellon is where the best minds come together to discover unique and beautiful solutions.

Application Process

Carnegie Mellon uses the Common Application exclusively, and all applications must be submitted online .

Before You Apply

Please review our application plans and deadlines and our admission requirements .

• Applicants to the Schools of Architecture, Art, Design, Drama and Music should also review our College of Fine Arts applicant information .
• Please note that the Schools of Drama and Music have an earlier Regular Decision application deadline of December 1.
• You must be at least 13 years old when you submit your application.

After You've Applied

Within one to five business days of submitting your Common Application, the Office of Admission will send you an email notifying you that we've received your application. You can then visit your Where Am I in the Process? portal to track admission and financial aid documents that we’ve received from or sent to you.

Connect with Us

Do you have additional questions? We’re here to help! Please contact the Office of Admission via email, phone or chat during normal business hours, and our admission staff will be happy to assist you.

Master of Software Engineering Programs

Software and societal systems department.

All aspects of the candidate's packet are given equal weight and consideration. No single admission criterion overshadows another; rather, it is the composite of all of the application materials that determines the admission decision. The ability to perform graduate-level work, a solid undergraduate background in computer science or related disciplines, software development maturity, and industry experience are several factors considered for admission. In some cases, excellence and promise can balance a lack of formal preparation. 

Word to the Wise

We encourage all prospective students to review important  consumer information  regarding study at Carnegie Mellon; this information is available via  The Hub .

START MY APPLICATION

Admission requirements.

MSE for Recent Grads

• An undergraduate degree in Computer Science or other scientific or technical discipline.
• Cumulative QPA higher than 2.5.
• Less than two years of industry experience. Preference is given to applicants with at least one year of experience, such as an internship in a software development role.
• Knowledge — at least at the level of an undergraduate course — of discrete mathematics, algorithms and data structures, and programming languages.
• Skills in programming-in-the-small, as well as competence in using imperative block-structured or objective-oriented languages such as Java, C++, and Python.

MSE for Professionals

• An undergraduate degree, preferably in Computer Science or other scientific or technical discipline.
• At least two years of industry experience in one or more software development roles, including the ability to describe specific tasks performed in those roles.
• Knowledge — at least at the level of an undergraduate course — of discrete mathematics, algorithms and data structures, and programming languages.
• Statement of Purpose: Your statement should include specific details about your professional goals and about your software engineering experience on teams and projects. The Statement of Purpose guidelines can be found here .
• Letters of Recommendation: At least three letters of recommendation should be submitted on your behalf from academic and/or industry personnel who have worked closely with you recently. Letters are typically written by faculty and supervisors. It is encouraged that you contact your recommenders as soon as possible in order to allow them enough time to compose your letter. The deadline for recommenders to submit your letter is approximately one week after the application deadline.
• Video Essay: Prepare a personal video, no more than 3 minutes in length, that covers one of the following prompts from the guidelines which can be found here .
• Unofficial Transcripts: You are required to upload electronic transcripts from each college/university that you attended in which you completed coursework. Do not send official transcripts at this time.
• Unofficial GRE Scores (optional) :  GRE scores are optional. An application without GRE scores is not at a disadvantage; however, applicants who have taken the GREs are encouraged to submit their scores. The GRE at Home Test is accepted. 
• If you have not received a bachelor’s degree in the U.S., you will need to submit an English proficiency score no older than two years. (Scores from exams taken before Sept. 1, 2022, will not be accepted.)
• If you are currently working on or have received a bachelor's and/or a master's degree in the U.S., you may submit an expired test score up to five years old. (Scores from exams taken before Sept. 1, 2019, will not be accepted.)
• Online Coding Assessment: Invitations will be sent out two days after the application deadline. Applicants have approximately one week to complete the assessment. Previously, there have been anywhere from 3-4 coding tests of varying levels of difficulty that candidates must complete. There is a time limit, but it is rare for an applicant to run out of time. Additionally, applicants may have the opportunity to complete a practice test. Tests may be submitted in any coding language. Instructions on how to access and complete the assessment will be included in the invitation. This test is only an assessment, students are accepted with both strong and weak programming ability. Any evidence of cheating will result in rejection of the application.

Admissions Timeline

* Invitations are sent to the email listed on your application. If you submitted an application but do not receive a coding invitation on December 13th, please contact [email protected] as soon as possible. The deadline to submit a coding test is December 19th.

Should I send official transcripts and score reports?

If accepted into the program, you will receive instructions for submitting official transcripts and test scores (if applicable). Please note that official documents cannot be tracked or accepted during the initial application process. You only need to provide official transcripts and test scores after being admitted to the program and receiving instructions.

How do I calculate my years of experience?

The cutoff date to use in your calculation is December 2024 which is the month in which this application is due. For example, if you started working at a company in March 2021 and you currently work there and intend to continue working there until August 2025, you would calculate the start date as March 2021 and the end date as December 2024. You would report on the application that you worked at the company for 3 years, 9 months.

Should I include internships in my years of experience calculation?

It is reasonable to include software engineering internships in your calculation as long as the internship was with a legitimate company and led to an increase of knowledge in software engineering.

Is there an application fee?

Yes, the application fee is $100.

Is it possible to take courses without being admitted to a program?

Non-degree seeking students may take a maximum of 36 units (three full-semester courses). To continue taking courses beyond the 36 unit limit, the non-degree student must formally apply and be admitted to one of the graduate software engineering programs.

Can I see a sample SOP?

Although we do not provide samples, we do have  guidelines [pdf] which you should read before you start writing your SOP.

Is it possible to get an MSE degree online?

Yes. You can find information about the MSE Online program and application requirements in the MSE Online section of the website.

Ask me anything!

Have questions about the application process? Senior Admissions Officer Marlana Ivey is here to help. Get in touch.

• Family Engagement

Family Weekend is September 27-28, 2024.

Family weekend at cmu.

Family Weekend brings together Carnegie Mellon undergraduate and graduate students and their families and friends for a weekend of events that showcase the vibrancy of the campus experience. Family Weekend features academic welcomes, information sessions, campus tours, student performances and other events. We also encourage students and their families to use this time together to explore the city of Pittsburgh and learn why it's consistently been ranked among the Most Livable Cities in the United States.

Please register by September 20 . Attending Family Weekend is free, however some events require registration or purchased tickets. 

We invite family members to travel to Pittsburgh on the morning of Friday, September 27, as programming will start on Friday afternoon through Saturday evening. 

A high-level overview of the Family Weekend schedule can be found below. The full detailed schedule will be available on the CMU Events App  by September 20.

Family Weekend Registration

• Register by September 20

Download the CMU Events App

• Download on the App Store
• Get it on Google Play

Friday, September 27

Saturday, september 28, division of student affairs.

• Athletics, Physical Education & Recreation
• Career & Professional Development Center
• Center for Student Diversity & Inclusion
• Civility Initiatives
• Cohon University Center
• Community Health & Well-Being
• Community Responsibility
• Conference & Event Services
• Counseling & Psychological Services
• Dean of Students
• Dining Services
• First-Year Orientation
• Fraternity & Sorority Life
• Housing Services
• Pre-College Programs
• Residential Education
• Student Leadership, Involvement, & Civic Engagement
• Student Support Resources
• University Health Services
• Wellness & Meaning-Making Programs