Doctoral Admissions
Students applying to the Ph.D. program in Computer Science or interdisciplinary degrees in Pittsburgh and those applying to the Portugal program must apply online.
Apply to the Ph.D. in CS & Interdisciplinary Degrees
To apply to the Ph.D. in CS program you need to use the School of Computer Science Online Application.
To apply to an Interdisciplinary degree program you need to apply via the online application for the Ph.D. in CS and select the interdisciplinary program in the appropriate section of the online application.
Portugal Dual Ph.D. in CS
Students should select "Ph.D. in Computer Science/Dual Degree" in the SCS online application and must also apply to a Portuguese partner institution program following their application guidelines. Please refer to CMU Portugal's website for a current list of institutions and their admissions requirements
Students are admitted for the fall semester and cannot begin in the spring.
Applications for all programs and all supporting documents, including letters of recommendation, must be received by the final deadline of December 12, 2022.
You may continue to edit your application until the final deadline of 3 p.m. EST, December 12.
| Important Deadlines | Application Fees |
|---|---|
| The application is currently closed. Dates will be updated for Fall 2023 (late August - early September) | Deadlines and fees are the same for all CSD Ph.D. programs. |
| Early Deadline - The application is currently closed. Dates will be updated for Fall 2023 | Early application deadline fee $80 per program. |
| Final Deadline -The application is currently closed. Dates will be updated for Fall 2023 | Application fee after November 29, $100 per program. |
| Applications must be completed, including all supporting documents and letters of recommendation by the final deadline to be considered for review for admission. | We expect all applicants to submit payment with their online application. However, we do waive the required fee under certain circumstances. Fees for application to a limited number of our programs can be waived for participants in certain programs. In addition, if you are unable to pay the application fee, SCS will consider a fee waiver request. Visit the SCS Fee Waivers page. |
| You must submit the following with your application: |
|---|
| Graduate Record Exam (GRE): GRE scores are highly recommended. If GRE scores are not submitted, please briefly explain in the statement of purpose section of your application. |
| Language Exams: If you are an international applicant and your native language (language spoken from birth) is not English, an official copy of an English proficiency score report is required. The English proficiency requirement cannot be waived. We strongly encourage applicants to take either the TOEFL or IELTS. In cases where these are not available it is acceptable to take the Duolingo test. We discourage the use of the "TOEFL IPT Plus for China", since speaking is not scored. Additional details are provided on the SCS Frequently Asked Questions page. |
| Transcripts: A PDF of your most recent transcript from each college and/or university you attended, even if no degree was granted. |
| Resumé/CV: Your resumé or curriculum vitae in PDF format. |
| Statement of Purpose: Include a concise one- or two-page essay describing your primary research interests, related experiences and objective in pursuing a Ph.D. in computer science. |
| Statement of Purpose - Dual Portugal: In the statement of purpose, you must also indicate the Portuguese institution you are applying to. |
| Letters of Recommendation: We request 3 letters, at least two of which are from faculty or recent employers. |
Contacts and Additional Information
For more on the application process, please refer to the SCS Online Graduate Application Instructions.
For questions specific to admissions for the Ph.D. in Computer Science email: csd-phd-admissions@cs.cmu.edu
For general questions about applying to doctoral programs in the School of Computer Science: https://www.cs.cmu.edu/about-scs/contact; select "Graduate Programs and Admissions".