CS/ECE Master's Admission Rates, GPA and TOEFL: 1,497 Application Results

Across 1,497 application results for electrical and computer engineering master's programs (CS, ECE, EE) on OfferLand, the overall admit rate is 57%. Admitted students have a median GPA of 3.68 (on a 4.0 scale) and a median TOEFL of 100. School ranking is the biggest divide: QS top-50 schools admit only 36%, while schools outside the QS top 100 admit 66%. Students admitted to the top 100 have GPAs and TOEFL scores of roughly 3.72 and 102–103.

Key takeaways

• 95% of the sample is US schools (1,422 results), with an overall admit rate of 57%; the UK has 41 results and Canada 25, with admit rates of 68% and 60%.

• Admitted students' median GPA is 3.68 (4.0 scale, 128 people) and median TOEFL is 100 (234 people); among those admitted to a QS top-50 school, the median TOEFL is 103.

• The QS top 50 admit 36%, QS 51–100 admit 54%, and other schools 66%. Counting only the 125 people who reported results from 5 or more schools, the three tiers are 28%, 47% and 59%.

• People who reported 5 or more results applied to a median of 9 schools and got 5 admits; on average about 17% of their applications went to the QS top 50 and 53% to schools outside the top 100.

• The most-reported schools are UCSD (105 results), USC (102) and UIUC (93), with admit rates of 55%, 72% and 47%.

Countries and popular schools: almost everyone applies to the US

Applications for these master's programs are heavily concentrated in the US. Samples for other countries are small, so treat them only as a reference.

Admit rates vary widely among the schools with the most applicants. Popular schools like UCSD and UIUC are close to a coin flip, while USC, Rice and Columbia admit around 70% in our sample.

The table below lists the schools with the lowest and highest admit rates (10 or more results):

Programs at the same school differ a lot. UCSD's Computer Science and Engineering admits 47% (59 results), while ECE at the same school admits 65% (46). UIUC's M.C.S. admits 40% (58), and its ECE M.Eng. 60% (35). CMU's ECE admits 73% (26), but CS only 29% (17). USC's Computer Engineering M.S. admits 61% (54). Overall, CS programs are generally harder to get into than ECE/EE at the same school.

Schools with 5 or more final decisions (students who chose to enroll): USC 11, UIUC 10, UCSD 9, Arizona State 6, and Columbia, NYU and Northeastern 5 each.

GPA and TOEFL of admitted students, by QS ranking tier

The figures below count people: anyone admitted to at least one school in a tier counts once, using their highest GPA and TOEFL. Admitted students in the two top-100 tiers have almost identical scores; the gap shows up mainly outside the top 100.

GPA is on a 4.0 scale. Many users on our site entered a 4.3-scale GPA (139 admitted students); those are shown separately below, without conversion:

54 admitted students entered a GRE score, with a median Quant of 169; 31 entered an IELTS score, with a median of 7.0. Almost everyone who submitted the GRE scored near the max on Quant, so it works more like an entry ticket than something that sets applicants apart.

Admit rates follow ranking; GPA explains only part of it

Split into three QS 2027 tiers, the higher the ranking, the lower the admit rate. Since many people report admits but not rejections, a second column shows people who reported results from 5 or more schools, which is closer to the real success rate.

Splitting GPA (4.0 scale) into three bands and looking at admit rates by tier, the gap is clearest in the QS top 50: 63% at 3.80 and above, but only 39% at 3.50–3.79. At 51–100, all three bands fall between 41% and 48%, so GPA doesn't separate applicants. Outside the top 100, all three bands are above 60%.

With a very high GPA, your chances at the top 50 are noticeably better; at mid-tier schools, research, internships, recommendation letters and the program's own capacity (CS being harder than ECE, for example) matter more. Rejected applicants' median GPA (3.72, by result) is also about the same as admitted students', so in this range GPA alone can't predict the outcome.

How to split reach, target and safety schools

The 125 people who reported 5 or more results applied to a median of 9 schools and got 5 admits; only 1 was rejected everywhere. On average, they split their applications like this:

Ranking tiers are only a starting point. Georgia Tech (QS 142) admits 29% and UCLA (QS 49) 17%, both harder than their rankings suggest, while USC, Rice and Columbia admit around 70% in our sample. When sorting schools into tiers, look at each program's admit rate first, then the ranking.

How to use this data

• Start by seeing where you stand. A GPA around 3.70 on a 4.0 scale and a TOEFL of 100 or more puts you roughly in the middle of admitted students. If your GPA is below 3.60 or your TOEFL is under 100, keep reach schools to 1–2 and add more safeties.

• Get your TOEFL to 100 or above first. Among people admitted to a top-100 school, the 25th-percentile TOEFL is 99; for those admitted only outside the top 100, the median is 97. The gap is small but consistent, and it's the easiest thing to improve.

• Compare ECE/EE with CS at the same school first. At UCSD, UIUC and CMU, ECE programs admit 18 to 44 percentage points more than CS. If the coursework works for you, it's the more practical choice.

• Make sure your safeties are actually safe. In our sample, Arizona State, NC State, Northeastern, UC Riverside and UT Dallas all admit over 80%, so they can serve as safeties.

• Applying to 8–10 schools is common. People who reported complete results applied to a median of 9. A reach:target:safety split of about 2:3:5 is the average approach in our sample.

• To look up results for specific schools, programs or applicants with a similar background, filter them in admission results.

These numbers only describe past applicants. They don't reflect this year's admission standards and can't guarantee an admit.

FAQ

What GPA do I need for a CS master's?Admitted students on our site have a median GPA of 3.68 (4.0 scale), with the middle half between 3.41 and 3.86. Among those admitted to a QS top-100 school, the median is 3.72. Applicants with a GPA below 3.50 have also been admitted to top-50 schools, but their admit rate is only 33% (15 results).

What TOEFL score do I need for a US CS master's?The median TOEFL of all admitted students is 100. Among those admitted to a QS top-50 school, the median is 103, with the middle half between 99 and 106; for those admitted only to schools outside the top 100, the median is 97.

How many schools should I apply to for an ECE/CS master's?People who reported 5 or more results applied to a median of 9 schools and got 5 admits. About 17% of applications went to the QS top 50, 30% to 51–100, and 53% to schools outside the top 100.

Which schools' CS/ECE master's programs are easier to get into?In our sample, Arizona State (94%), UC Riverside (93%), UT Dallas (90%), University of Florida (83%), Northeastern (81%) and NC State (80%) have higher admit rates; Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA and UT Austin are all below 20%.

About the data

• "Taiwanese students" means OfferLand users: most users on our site are students from Taiwan. The data is self-reported by users, there is no nationality field, and it is not official school data.

• Sample: master's application results reported by OfferLand users whose program's main field is Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS, including CS, ECE, EE, software engineering, etc.). 739 admits, 117 admits where the student chose to enroll (decision), and 641 rejections, for a total of 1,497 results from 316 applicants and 108 schools. 2 waitlisted and 2 pending results are excluded.

• Time frame: result dates range from 2016 to 2026, with 86% in 2023 and 2024.

• Admit rate = (admits + enrolled) ÷ (admits + enrolled + rejections), counted by application result.

• GPA uses only self-reported data on a 4.0 maximum with values between 0 and 4; the 4.3 scale is listed separately and other scales are excluded. TOEFL, IELTS and GRE use each person's highest total score. Score tables count people; the GPA-band admit rate table counts application results.

• Rankings use QS 2027. Schools without a QS ranking are grouped under "outside the top 100."

• Every cell has at least 5 results; countries with fewer than 5 are merged into "Other."

• Many people report admits but not rejections, so the admit rate across the full sample runs high; the "5 or more results" column is closer to reality.

• These are statistics from OfferLand's own sample, self-reported by users, not official school data.