Question: I am very interested in joining your graduate program and am attaching my resume and information regarding my qualifications. Could you please review these and indicate whether I will be admitted into your program? We are not able to answer your question about admission directly, as admissions and assistantships are awarded on a competitive basis from semester to semester. We have a Graduate Admissions Committee that reviews the applications submitted each semester and decides which applicants meet the necessary qualifications for admission. Generally, if you have a degree in Agricultural Engineering or another engineering discipline, have suitable TOEFL and GRE scores (if required), have satisfactory undergraduate and graduate grade point averages, submit a complete application package, have research interests that match with ongoing faculty research programs, and have three favorable recommendation letters you will likely meet the minimum qualifications for admission. However, the Admissions Committee makes all final decisions regarding admission. You can find the admissions qualifications on our website at http://www.abe.psu.edu/program/grad/program.htm Question: What are the costs for attending your graduate program? The costs for attending the university are basically related to tuition costs, which may be found at the following Graduate School web link: http://tuition.psu.edu/ For the period beginning Fall Semester, 2005 the Non-Pennsylvania tuition for full-time enrollment in graduate engineering programs is approximately $22,000 per year. For in-state students, the tuition rate is $12,016 per year. Other costs are associated with room and board and are highly variable depending on lifestyle choices and location. Question: How can I obtain a tuition waiver so as to lessen my costs for attending graduate school? At this point in time the only way to get tuition waiver is to be a recipient of an assistantship or be on a wage-payroll position with the department. Thus, you need to apply for and receive an assistantship so as to obtain a tuition waiver. Unfortunately, we have very few Departmental assistantships available and we have many very good applicants. Thus, obtaining a Departmental assistantship with a tuition waiver is quite competitive. You may also contact faculty members in your interest area directly to see if they have any contract funding that is available to support students. This changes on a continuing basis, depending on faculty success in obtaining proposed project funding. Question: How are assistantships awarded and what are the qualifications needed to receive assistantship funding? Basically, there are two ways to obtain assistantship funding. Our Department has a limited number of Departmental Assistantships that are awarded on a competitive basis among admitted students. Individual faculty members may also have Project Assistantships that are associated with some funded research project. To apply for either of these types of assistantships, you need to complete the Application for Assistantship Form, which is available on our website under How to Apply. You also need to file a complete application package to be considered for admission, and you must meet admission requirements before you will be considered for an assistantship. When applying for either the Dept. Assistantship or a Project Assistantship, the first step is that the Graduate Admissions Committee reviews your application and decides whether you meet the necessary qualifications for admission. Once the Committee decides that you meet the qualifications for admission, they then consider students for receipt of Departmental Assistantships. There are always fewer assistantships available than there are student applications. The Committee ranks the students as to research interests, qualifications, interest in ongoing faculty research, etc. Depending on the semester, the students applying, the number of assistantships available, etc. you may or may not be selected for a Departmental Assistantship offer. If you meet the qualifications for admission but do not receive a Departmental Assistantship offer, you may also be eligible for available Project Assistantships. Decisions about which students may receive these assistantships rest with the individual faculty members who have the funded projects and the Department Head. Thus, you need to contact directly those faculty members in your area of specialization/interest area, as to whether any such assistantships may be available. The Graduate Admissions Committee will notify all faculty of those applicants who meet the qualifications for admission into our program. Those faculty who have available assistantship funding may then choose the student(s) to whom they wish to offer such funding. Question: I am very interested in applying to your Agricultural and Biological Engineering program. Would it be possible for you to send a catalog or brochure to me? The Graduate Programs Bulletin for the University is available at: This provides all the details about pursuing graduate study at Penn State University. You may also find further information about our specific Agricultural
and Biological Engineering graduate program by looking at our Graduate
Syllabus available at: Question: I want to know if there is any separate form for the Letters of Recommendation. If yes, please, send me a form thru e-mail (or let me know where from I can download it). Is the recommendation on an official letter-head ok? There is no "official" recommendation form. Rather, we ask that recommendation letters be written by individuals familiar with your professional and educational qualifications and achievements and your character -- particularly as these relate to your potential for advanced graduate study. The letters should be written on stationary that has a letterhead from the organization or institution with which the person writing the letter is affiliated. Also, the letters should be sent directly to our Department. Three letters of recommendation are required; additional letters may be beneficial. Question: Is there a deadline for graduate assistantship and application for admission into your graduate program? If you are only applying for admission into the program, there is no specific deadline date. Generally, the Graduate Admissions Committee meets in early January and late August to consider applications for fall semester and spring semester, respectively. However, if applications are received at other times, the Committee may take action to decide if the student should be admitted. If you are applying for assistantship funding and/or University Fellowships
and Scholarships, we will need your complete application materials
by the following deadlines: Are you interested in a graduate program or an undergraduate program in engineering? I ask that question, because an undergraduate engineering degree (or equivalent) is required for full admission into our graduate program. If a student does not have an undergraduate engineering degree and applies to our graduate program then we are only to admit the student provisionally and without financial assistance and the student is required to take several "remedial" courses related specifically to engineering. Complete information about our Graduate (and Undergraduate) Program is available on our website at: http://www.abe.psu.edu/program/grad/program.htm Question: What is your recruiting plan? Is it the same every year? Our approach is to basically consider all applications that are sent to us. If individual faculty members have specific projects for which they are trying to find graduate students then they will actively recruit students with specific credentials. Many of our applicants are students who inquire about our program and have an interest in joining our program. Question: How many students apply to the department/program every year? How many international students will be admitted? Typically we have about 40 to 60 students who apply to our program each year -- some of whom never complete or send all materials to us. Of this total probably 80% are international students. Depending on funding conditions and the number of enrolled students, the number of new international students admitted for any semester varies from 1 or 2 to maybe 6 or 7 -- but we never are able to fund all of these students. Most students don't arrive if they don't receive funding. This varies considerably from semester to semester. ON average about 50% of our total graduate students are international students. Question: What is the main source of your finance? And what is the main type of finance aids for international students? The largest percentage of our funding for assistantships comes from two sources; one source is from grants and contracts that individual faculty members obtain and the second is from University and government-sponsored assistantships that our Department receives. International students are eligible to receive both types of funding and we have students being supported from both sources.
We are looking for the best qualified students whose research interest matches with our ongoing projects and faculty interests. Each aspect of the application materials is important and we consider all parts equally. Thus, it is important that a student have a very strong academic record, that the student has shown that he/she is productive and technically competent, that the GRE and TOEFL scores are strong, that the student have a reasonably good GPA, that the student presents a strong, specific, and focused Statement of Purpose, that the recommendation letters are strong and individual, and that the entire package is complete, comprehensive, and strong. The Graduate Admissions Committee considers all aspects of an individual's application and then we select those whom we think are the best potential students to admit and to offer financial assistance. Thus, there is not really some magic formula.
Exact statistical data on GPA, TOEFL and GREs are not the issue – as admission decisions are not based solely on some exact number on the GRE or TOEFL or GPA. There is a minimum TOEFL score of 213 (computer based test) that must be satisfied for admission to Penn State. GREs and GPAs vary -- we generally desire undergraduate GPAs to be above 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) and, of course, often the higher, the better -- at least as an indication of academic capabilities from the standpoint of taking courses. GREs are often above 1800 (total on old GRE exam) though again that is not a minimum cutoff. |
Contact: Dr. Herschel Elliott
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