Frequently Asked Questions

Students who wish to study at the Clark School apply for admission to the University of Maryland; there is not a separate application for the Clark School. When filling out the university application, you may choose one of the engineering majors, or, if you're not sure exactly which one you want, you may choose "Undecided Engineering" and select a major later (usually after your first two semesters). If you don't yet know which major is most interesting to you, don't worry—30 to 35 percent of our incoming students are typically in the "Undecided" category. And, since the first year of each major is very similar, it's fairly easy to change majors.

You can learn more about transferring to the University of Maryland and the Clark School of Engineering here. Please feel free to contact us at transfer_engr@umd.edu if you have any questions.

We welcome applications from current UMD students for fall and spring semesters. More information is available at our website and by contacting us at transfer_engr@umd.edu.

Please consult the International Student & Scholar Services website for a comprehensive overview.

Students who applied to the University of Maryland by the early action deadline will be notified of their admission decision by February 1. Applicants will be notified of their admission decision electronically, and they will receive a letter in the mail from the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Applicants who are directly admitted to an engineering major (including the “Undecided Engineering” major) will receive a welcome email from the Clark School in mid-February.

This means that you were admitted to the University of Maryland, but due to space restrictions you were not admitted to your major of choice. As such, you would not enter the University of Maryland directly as an engineering major, but instead you would start as a student in our Letters and Sciences division (please visit www.ltsc.umd.edu for more details on this office). Please note that the Office of Letters and Sciences is a division with wonderful resources to advise students who eventually plan to move into a specific program on campus, such as Engineering or Business.

The Clark School of Engineering receives approximately 5,200 applications each year from talented students who have been admitted to the University of Maryland. Engineering is a Limited Enrollment Program (LEP), and due to class size restrictions and other resource limitations, is not able to admit every student who applies to be an Engineering major as a freshman. As such, the Clark School will typically only admit between 2,600 and 2,800 students each year as direct freshmen admits.

Each application to the Clark School of Engineering undergoes a thorough, holistic review. There is no test score or GPA that "guarantees" admission to the Clark School. Please visit our Office of Undergraduate Admissions website for a full description of admission review factors.

Students who were not originally admitted to the Clark School will not be given space in the engineering first-year class if other students decline their offers. The Clark School does not maintain a wait list. Students interested in joining the Clark School as current UMD students can learn more here.

Some students are admitted to the University of Maryland for the spring semester. In this case, students may choose to take fall classes through the Freshmen Connection program.  Feel free to contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at 301-314-8377 if you have questions about this program or how students were selected for spring admission. Please note that students admitted to the University of Maryland for the spring term are not eligible for direct admission to the Clark School, but they may choose to apply to the Clark School later as internal transfer applicants.  

If a student has already completed the courses listed on the website above through Advanced Placement examinations or prior college coursework, s/he would be eligible to apply for transfer to the Clark School as early as the Spring 2023 semester, provided that all other criteria listed are met. Students who have taken the courses listed are not eligible to take engineering courses during their first fall semester, but can start by taking other helpful courses such as required classes in math and science.

Scholarships are offered both at the campus level and at the college level in many cases.  As such, admitted engineering students may first receive campus-level awards in March. Please contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at 301-314-8377 about the possible scholarships that are administered. Students do not need to apply for these scholarships; they can be automatically considered and reviewed based on application materials that they have already submitted.  

Approximately 59% of all students who begin their academic careers in the Clark School complete their Engineering undergraduate degrees in four years. This percentage is above the national average, and reflects the fact that numerous students participate in extra-curricular experiences in college including co-ops and study-abroad experiences.  

 To determine if any of your prior coursework will transfer to the University of Maryland, please refer to the Transfer Credit Services website. You may also wish to visit our Undergraduate Advising and Academic Support office’s website at www.eng.umd.edu/advising to view sample four year plans, which list the specific engineering, math and science courses required for engineering students in each of our majors. If you intend to have any courses that you have or will take transfer to the University of Maryland and count toward your B.S. in Engineering degree, please make sure that you visit these websites.