Applicants must be UC Berkeley undergraduates who have majored in Mechanical Engineering, the Mechanical Engineering/Nuclear Engineering Joint Program, or the Mechanical Engineering/Materials Science & Engineering Joint Program.
Strong preference is given to applicants with a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher. Junior transfers who are applying should combine their transfer school GPA (the courses that are being used towards their MechE requirements) with their UC Berkeley GPA to calculate this number.
Application Eligibility for 5th Year MS Program
Applications are only reviewed during the fall admission cycle.
All students must apply in the fall semester of the prior academic year they intend to enroll in the 5th Year MS program. There is no spring admissions cycle. Please see table below for application due date based on your Expected Graduation Term (EGT) and Expected Start Term (EST).
Students may apply in their final semester with the understanding that they will enroll in the subsequent academic year, their application is also submitted and reviewed in the prior academic year before enrollment. Admission deferrals due to internships are rare and are subject to approval by the Vice Chair of Graduate Studies.
| EGT | EST | Apply |
| Fall 2020/Spring 2021 | Fall 2021 | Fall 2020 |
| Fall 2020 | Spring 2022* | Fall 2020 |
| Fall 2021 | Spring 2023* | Fall 2021 |
*Request official deferral, admission cannot be further deferred.