Graduate FAQs

• Spring Semester: September 1
• Summer/Fall Semester: December 1

A completed application and all required documentation must be received prior to the deadline. Please note that if any items are not submitted by the deadline, your application is incomplete and will not be reviewed.

It is not required that a student have a petroleum engineering background. However, the program is very competitive and most of the students admitted do have petroleum engineering or other engineering backgrounds.

All admitted students are considered for any available fellowships and/or assistantships. There is no guarantee that you will receive financial support, but the majority of our students do have some type of financial assistance.

For more information on graduate funding opportunities, visit the Cockrell School of Engineering website.

You must submit an online application and pay the application fee. GRE scores should be sent to the Graduate & International Admissions Center by the ETS testing center, using university code 6882.

You will also be required to provide a copy of your official transcript(s), an official transcript will also be required once you are admitted. PGE also requires a written statement of purpose and three (3) letters of recommendation. Your statement of purpose should be no more than 1–2 pages. All documents are submitted online. Carefully read the instructions and guidelines posted online at by UT’s Graduate School.

All prospective candidates will compete for admission. There are no set minimum requirements as candidates are considered on their full application. However, applicants closer to the admittance averages are usually more competitive. Most students admitted to the program usually have at least a 3.5/4.0 GPA. See the requirements page for average scores of students admitted.

Every prospective applicant is required to take the GRE as part of their application. GRE scores are valid for 5 years. If you have previously taken the GRE and your scores have expired, you are required to re-take them to meet the application requirement.

There are no alternative options to the GRE requirement.

For international students, a TOEFL score is also required for your application. If you hold a bachelor’s degree from a U.S. institution, you will receive a waiver of the TOEFL. The requirement will be not waived if you earned only a master’s degree or Ph.D. from a U.S. institution. TOEFL scores are valid for 2 years. If you have taken the TOEFL and your scores have expired, you must re-take the exam to meet the application requirement.

More information about meeting foreign language requirements and test scores can be found on the UT Graduate School website.

Our department policy is to first review applicants for admission and then forward the names of admitted students to the faculty for research opportunities. During the application process, your first point of contact should be with Amy Stewart by emailing our office at pgegradoffice@mail.utexas.edu if you have any questions.

Currently, we do not offer standard graduate courses online nor do we offer online degrees. The M.S./Ph.D. program is not ideal for working professionals or people living outside of Austin. Nearly all of our graduate students are enrolled full-time and taking classes on campus, Monday–Friday, 8AM–5PM.

However, the online Petroleum Engineering Graduate Certificate program is offered through Texas Engineering Executive Education.

A master’s degree will take 2–3 years to complete. A Ph.D. will take 3–5 years to complete.

There are no prerequisite courses required for admission to the Master’s program. If a prospective student does not have a PE degree, the Graduate Advisor will evaluate your college transcript(s) during your first semester enrolled and any background courses needed are determined by the Graduate Advisor only after a student is admitted.  Those courses will be taken here while the student is working towards their degree. We will not evaluate your transcript(s) before admission.

The UT Libraries collects dissertations, theses and master’s reports written by UT Austin students. Please visit their online collection for e-files of completed work, or to request a physical copy of older works not electronically catalogued.