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Prospective Graduate Student Chat, Nov 21, 2019
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AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:00
Good day, all. My name is Will Fenton and I'm the Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions at Penn Engineering. I'm here to answer questions you may have about our Graduate Programs, life as a graduate student at Penn and living in Philadelphia.
10:01
Where do you live?
United States (42.9% | 6 votes)
 
China (21.4% | 3 votes)
 
India (7.1% | 1 vote)
 
Europe (0% | 0 votes)
 
Middle East (7.1% | 1 vote)
 
Another Region (21.4% | 3 votes)
 
Total Votes: 14
Here are some links that you may find useful:
Liang Li
10:02
Good morning, Will! I have a question concerning the review process. After the deadline of master’s program application, the admission committee starts to review all the materials. What is the order of the review of each applicant? Is it determined by the order of application submission (e.g. an application submitted at 20th, January would be reviewed prior to an application completed at 29th, January)? Does the sequence of review influence the results of admission? Thank you!
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:04
No, most of our programs don't start reviewing until all of the applications are in. Once they're gathered they break it out however they see fit. But to our knowledge ones that are sent in earlier are no more or less likely to be admitted compared with ones sent in later.
Ethar
10:02
Hi,

I am interested to pursue my graduate study and I would like to ask some questions regarding PhD of CIS program .

1) Is there any fee for submitting the online application?

2) Because of time constraint of application deadline and If I could take the GRE exam by the time of application deadline, I reserved an exam seat on 4th of December , can I still apply for PhD application ?

3) I have MSc degree and I graduated from a university which English is the language of instruction for undergraduate and graduate programs, is it possible to waive the TOEFL in this case ?

4) What are the evaluation criteria for international applicants and do you offer scholarships for them to study CIS PhD program?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:06
Hi Ethar, here are answers to your questions:
1) Yes, it's $80 per application.
2) Yes, as long as you have taken the GRE by the application deadline.
3) Yes, we would most likely waive the English Proficiency requirement once we receive your application materials and review them.
4) We fully fund admitted PhDs for a minimum of 5 years, as long as they are making "good academic progress." I can't share with you the evaluation criteria, except to say that we take a holistic approach to the review process by evaluating the entire application and all materials submitted.
Sara
10:02
Hi Will! I’m applying to the Integrated Product Design program and had some questions.
1)What are the differences between M:IPD and MSE:IPD. From the website it looks like the curriculum is almost exactly the same. My undergrad is in Mechanical Engineering so I could potentially do either. What are the advantages of each program?
2)How many students are typically in the IPD programs each year?
3)Can students take more than 3 classes a semester? The course outline only shows 3 classes per semester but there are a lot of classes in the list of electives that I would like to take in addition to this. Is it possible/advised to take 4+ courses at a time?
4)Can students attend the IPD program straight after finishing undergrad? Or is work experience required?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:09
Hi Sara. Here are answers to your questions:
1) The M:IPD is a Master's in Integrated Product Design and the MSE is a Master's of Science in Engineering in IPD. The MSE has more of a specific engineering direction. However, I recommend you explore the websites, as they do a better job articulating the differences, https://gradadm.seas.upenn.edu/masters/integrated-product-design/.
2) It is a very small cohort, usually no more than 25-30 total.
3) Yes, you can take more than 3 courses, but this is usually up to the Advisor and the student - most, to my knowledge, do not.
4) Yes, they can and the are encouraged to apply.
Mateo
10:04
Hi, I am applying for a PhD in CS with a focus in robotics, but I am also interested in working with faculty from the MechE department. If I were to get in, would collaborating across departments be possible? How can I state this in my application?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:09
Mateo, yes, this can be done. Your best way to emphasize this interest would be in your personal statement.
Andrew Miller
10:04
Hi Will. I'm currently q s
10:05
Hi Will, I am currently a software engineer working in the Philly area. I am interested in the data science program. How open is that program to part time students?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:11
Hi Andrew, great question. The program is open to part-time students, but the vast majority are full-time. The vast majority of classes are set during the "working hours," and there are very few, if any, evening classes per semester.
Omar
10:06
Hi, will. I'll be applying for MEAP PhD program. I was wondering if you offer fee waivers to McNair Scholars.
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:11
Hi Omar, we do. You can email Alyse Edwards, at aedwards@seas.upenn.edu for instructions about waivers.
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Ruhit SInha
10:06
Hi Will,
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:11
Hi Ruhit
Guest
10:07
Hi Will,
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:12
Good morning, guest!
Ethar
10:09
How many years of study for the CIS PhD program?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:12
The majority of the folks usually complete it between 6-7 years.
Ruhit SInha
10:09
I am a prospective PhD applicant in Mechanical Engineering. I just saw a opening in Dr. Boerckel's Lab (medicine).https://www.med.upenn.edu/orl/boerckellab/open-positions.html                                 Do you think, i will be able to opt him as my advisor ?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:14
Ruhit, you can definitely apply and mention that in the application and your personal statement. There of course is no guarantee that you would be selected. But you are encouraged to apply.
cool 1
Guest
10:09
I am planning to apply for MS in Electrical course. Is there any priority deadline for this course? I know there was a priority deadline for CIS and some more courses but I couldn't find it for Electrical.
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:16
Guest, no there is no early deadline for the EE program. You can find all of the deadlines here: https://gradadm.seas.upenn.edu/how-to-apply/ .
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Caroline
10:14
Hi Will, Are there any fee waivers available for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:17
You can indicate this on your application, Caroline. You can also email Alyse Edwards at aedwards@seas.upenn.edu for instructions.
cool 1
Guest
10:15
Hi.  I am a Penn Employee  in the Gene Therapy Program working in upstream process development.  Although I do have a BSChE, furthering my education would be helpful.  There is a MasterIs there any way to take Master's Level Engineering classes without being enrolled in the Master's program at the Engineering School?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:19
Guest, there are some courses through the College of Liberal Arts and Continuing Studies. Unfortunately, we don't offer courses for non-matriculated students at this time.
Guest
10:15
sorry about not completely finished my question.
Andrew Miller
10:16
For part time. Is there a course listing showing when classes would typically be?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:21
Andrew, here's the course catalog. You should be able to find that info https://catalog.upenn.edu/courses/.
Yaxin
10:16
Hi Will. Will it influence my admission to the program if I have a professor in the preference list who does not show interests in recruiting? If so, would you suggest me to consult with any professor I’m interested in? Will they have time on our consulting since it has already been so close to the application deadline?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:23
Yaxin, you can always reach out to a professor before or during the application process. However, we can't guarantee that they'll be able to respond. I can't say a definite yes or no, but we recommend being as specific as possible in your personal statement and in selecting a potential advisor, because it gives the faculty review committees the best idea of what you want do to here at Penn. The more information they have enables them to make the best decision possible.
Guest
10:16
I know about the Master's program designed for stafft but do not see classes I would like to take associated with that.  I would really like to take some of the Master's Level classes at the Engineering school.
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:24
Guest, I understand that, but we do not allow for non-matriculated students to take courses in the Engineering school. That is the current School policy.
Ruhit SInha
10:19
Thanks Will for your reply. I will probably email him now with my CV etc. Since I have started filling up my application, I can see there are only two slots to mention prospective advisors. Can't I mention the third prosepctive advisor in case the first two (filled in the application) doesn't approve me. ? If yes, how?
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