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Admissions
The SCE Academic Advisors offer the following explanation of procedures involved in the admission and acceptance process.
Admission/Admitted
Students who have applied for admission to UHCL and who meet general university documentation and admission requirements are admitted and will be notified when they are eligible to register for classes. Students receive several letters from the Admissions Office prior to registration.
Acceptance/Accepted
Once students have completed their admission files and have included all documentation, SCE reviews their files for acceptance into their particular degree program. When SCE accepts students, this means the applicants have met general university requirements for admission, the requirements for specific program foundation, and the requirements for GPA and test scores.
Students receive a formal letter signed by the Associate Dean of SCE notifying them that they are accepted, or, if denied, the reasons for denial, and procedures they must follow to initiate a second review. The acceptance letter gives students important information about their next step toward establishing a Candidate Plan of Study (CPS).
Candidate Plan of Study (CPS)
All accepted students pursuing a degree must file a Candidate Plan of Study (CPS) during the semester in which they are accepted into their degree program. Their candidacy is pending until they complete an approved CPS. The rules published in the UHCL catalog govern the inclusion of UHCL credit.
Admission and acceptance processes for undergraduates and graduates differ slightly. The following general guidelines instruct students in the formal admission and program acceptance process.
For Undergraduates
Apply for admission to UHCL and submit official transcripts, and appropriate test scores and pay the appropriate application fee. If, at this point, you have any questions about the process, or you need help deciding which program best fits your academic background and career goals, please contact us at
sceadvising@uhcl.edu.
Once the Admissions Office file is complete, the transcripts and transcript evaluation will be forwarded to the School of Science and Computer Engineering for review and acceptance into the degree program. (This process can take from 4-6 weeks, depending on the time of year and how quickly you complete your file. If you apply at the last minute, your file may not arrive in our office until after you have enrolled in classes, so we encourage you to apply and complete your admission -- file early!) We strongly recommend that you schedule pre-registration advising; contact an academic advisor.
The advising office will set up a student’s file and prepare it for committee review. The committee will review the student's transcripts for transfer hours, core curriculum and program foundation courses completed, and GPA. (Undergraduate students who have completed most or all of their lower-level program foundation courses, should encounter no difficulties during the acceptance review process. This particularly applies to courses which have no equivalent at UHCL, such as Calculus I or General Chemistry, in which prospective students have earned a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher,.)
Once a student is formally accepted into a bachelor's program, the student will receive an acceptance letter signed by the Associate Dean. This letter will instruct the student to set up an appointment with an advisor to draft the Candidate Plan of Study (CPS). The student must complete the CPS draft within the first semester of enrollment in the degree program.
Return to the SCE Advising Homepage for more information about CPS procedures.
For Graduates
Phase One: Applying to a Degree Program
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT for SCE GRADUATE STUDENTS:
Complete Admission file is required prior to first semester of enrollment!
Starting Fall 2008, graduate students whose admission files are still incomplete on the 12th class day (September 8, 2008) will lose graduate status and will incur an Admission Hold that will prevent further registration until missing official documents have been received by Admissions and logged into the student's file by Admission staff. SCE students must submit official GRE scores (GMAT is acceptable for Computer Information Systems program only) and official transcripts from all institutions attended. Additionally, a personal statement (essay) is required for the MS Environmental Science (all sub-plans) and two recommendation letters are required for the MS Biotechnology.
Students whose graduate status is temporarily rescinded because of missing documents will not be withdrawn from classes, but the change of status may affect financial aid.
Review graduate program requirements in the UHCL catalog and on the SCE program website.
- Submit the application for admission and pay the application fee.
- Submit your official General GRE score (Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical Writing). General guidelines for GRE: total score 1000 or higher; all scores should be in the 10th percentile or higher; verbal score 350 (400 for Software Engineering). Official scores are those received directly from the Educational Testing Service. (Students who have already earned a master's degree in a related field of study from an accredited university in the U.S. may request a waiver of the GRE requirement by writing a petition to the Associate Dean. See UHCL Catalog for detailed information.) Note: GMAT is acceptable for the Master of Science in Computer Information Systems only.
- International students should also submit official TOEFL scores (minimum score is 213 or equivalent in other test formals) and other required documents. Contact an International Student Advisor for details. (The Admissions Office considers a waiver of the TOEFL requirement for applicants who hold at least a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution of higher education. The UHCL catalog outlines other criteria for waivers.)
- Request official transcripts from all colleges and universities you have attended. Have the schools send the transcripts directly to the Office of Admissions.
- Submit "Letters of Intent," "Letters of Recommendation" or other such documents to be reviewed by the Program Admission Committee by sending them directly to: (Specific Program/Plan Name) Program Admission Committee, School of Science and Computer Engineering, 2700 Bay Area Blvd., Suite 3611, Houston, TX 77058.
Phase Two: Program Acceptance and Faculty Advisor Assignments
- The Admissions Office forwards completed graduate application files to SCE, where they will be prepared for review by a program acceptance committee. The committee is comprised of faculty members.
- The faculty committee reviews transcripts for appropriate academic background and foundation for the program, for GPA of 3.0 in the 60 hours completed most recently, and for satisfactory test scores. Course description or syllabi are extremely helpful.
- Students are notified of their program acceptance status by letter from the Associate Dean of SCE.
- If you are accepted into the master's program, committee recommendations (if any) and faculty advisors will also appear in the program acceptance letter. Faculty advisors are assigned during the review process; they consider student requests for specific assignments.
- Six weeks into the first semester in which a newly accepted graduate student is enrolled, academic advisors will draft the master's degree CPS worksheet. The advisors then forward the worksheet to the student's faculty advisor. Finally, the academic advisors send an e-mail directing the student to make an appointment to meet with the faculty advisor to begin drafting the CPS.
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