How to Apply to Engineering at the University of Vermont: B.S. Programs in Electrical, Biomedical, Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, With No Application Fee and Test-Optional Review, and How Admission and Prerequisites Work for U.S., International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

At the University of Vermont (UVM), the engineering degrees sit in the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (CEMS). This guide follows UVM’s website and the 2026-27 Catalogue and is split into U.S. applicants, international applicants and applicants from China, with a section for transfer students. Computer science (a B.S. in the same college) has its own guide on this site, so it is not covered here.

1. Engineering degrees in the college

• Engineering B.S. degrees listed by UVM: Electrical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering (Department of Electrical and Biomedical Engineering), Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering), and Mechanical Engineering (Department of Mechanical Engineering).
• The non-departmental Engineering B.S. is for students who want a strong engineering-science base and an interdisciplinary specialty; the Catalogue says each student declares a concentration before finishing the first four semesters. There is also an Engineering Management B.S.
• The Catalogue also lists Computer Engineering (as a minor), Autonomy and Robotics (certificate) and Semiconductor Engineering and Physics (certificate). Computer engineering is a minor here, not a separate B.S.
• ABET: the college’s program page calls the Department of Electrical and Biomedical Engineering’s programs “ABET-accredited”, and the Electrical Engineering page ties its student outcomes to ABET Criterion 3. The pages read do not state accreditation for the other engineering majors; check each department page and the college.
• Credits (Catalogue): Electrical Engineering requires at least 129, though the table on the same page totals 128, so both are given; Biomedical Engineering at least 129 (table total 129–130); Mechanical Engineering at least 129; Civil, Environmental, Engineering B.S. and Engineering Management at least 128.
• College-wide requirements: the first-year seminar CEMS 1500, one credit of professional development and three credits of senior capstone (for example EE 4100/4200, ME 4010/4020, BME 4600/4650 or CEE 4950). Every CEMS program requires a laptop powerful enough for numerical analysis and CAD; specifications are on the college website.

2. How admission works and how you get into a major

• Choosing a major on entry: the admissions pages read do not say whether first-year applicants can enter as undeclared engineering students, or whether there is a cap or a sorting step. This is not published; ask Admissions or the college. The Catalogue’s transfer section mentions a “second major choice”; how first-year applicants indicate a major is not described in the pages read.
• Internal transfer into CEMS (Catalogue): students must be in good standing (not “on trial”) in their current college with no pending incompletes. For all engineering majors the minimum semester and cumulative GPA is 2.0, with at least 2.0 in engineering, mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry and computer science coursework; prerequisites are MATH 1234 with a B- or higher, or MATH 1212 with a B or higher, plus a lab science course with a C or higher.
• Timing: for a fall start, finish the process by July 1; for spring, by January 1. Inquiries are welcome all year.
• Guarantee and capacity: the Catalogue does not say whether internal transfer into an engineering major is guaranteed or capped. This is not published.

3. Prerequisites

• College requirement (admission requirements page): four years of mathematics including trigonometry or precalculus, and one year of chemistry and one year of physics for all engineering majors. Other majors need two years of lab science.
• University minimums (first-year page): four years of English, three of math (Algebra I, Algebra II and geometry or equivalents), two of one foreign language, three of natural or physical science including a lab science, and three of social science.
• Math placement exam: the pages read do not mention one. This is not published; confirm your starting calculus course with a CEMS advisor.
• AP and IB credit (international page): credit for AP 4 or 5 in most subjects and 3 in some; IB HL or SL scores of 5 or higher may earn credit without the full Diploma, up to one year of introductory credit per discipline. Which credits count toward required engineering courses depends on the Registrar’s charts, which were not read.

4. Rounds, materials and testing

• Application: Common App or Coalition App with Scoir, with no advantage either way; there is no application fee.
• Dates (the admissions deadlines page, which prints years): Early Action and Early Decision I are due November 1, 2026 with the application complete by November 13; Early Decision II and Regular Decision are due January 15, 2027 with completion by January 29. The $500 non-refundable acceptance fee is due May 1, 2027 for Early Action and Regular Decision, December 11, 2026 for Early Decision I and February 22, 2027 for Early Decision II. These dates belong to the cycle for fall 2027 entry; still confirm them on UVM’s site.
• Decision timing, two versions: the deadlines page says late November for ED I, typically late December for EA, February 4, 2027 for ED II and typically late February for Regular Decision; the Catalogue says generally early December for ED I, mid-February for ED II and early March for Regular Decision.
• Materials: an official secondary transcript sent by your school (with English translation), first-quarter or mid-year grades, at least one recommendation (preferably a teacher) and English test results if English is not your first language. Review is holistic: rigor, grades and trends, plus essays, recommendations and life experience. Whether the college has a supplemental essay is not stated in the pages read; this is not published.
• Testing: SAT/ACT is optional. Applicants may self-report scores and send official scores only if they enroll; those who do not submit are not disadvantaged for admission or scholarships. The published figures are university-wide: about 45% of applicants submitted scores, with a middle 50% of SAT EBRW 670–740, Math 650–740 and ACT 31–34. Whether engineering has a separate testing expectation is not stated in the pages read.
• Admitted profile: the international page gives an average GPA of 3.8 (4.0 scale) for fall 2024 admitted first-years; the first-year page gives 3.5–3.8. Both are given here, and both are university-wide rather than engineering-specific.
• Honors College: the Patrick Leahy Honors College requires admission to one of UVM’s seven undergraduate colleges and is by invitation, with no application.

5. U.S. applicants

• Tuition (2026-27, per semester, 12–19 credits): Vermont residents $8,469 and out-of-state students $23,327.50, plus a $1,529 comprehensive fee and a $500 program fee for students in CEMS (and in Nursing and Health Sciences and the business school). Average on-campus food and housing is $7,342 per semester.
• Residency is set at admission and generally stays the same. UVM’s costs page says “50% of Vermonters attend tuition free” (UVM’s wording). Whether in-state applicants get priority or guaranteed admission is not stated in the pages read; this is not published.
• Aid: need-based aid requires the FAFSA, with priority dates of November 15, 2026 for EA and ED I and February 1, 2027 for ED II and Regular Decision. UVM says 92% of undergraduates receive scholarships or aid.
• Scholarships: all applicants are considered automatically for merit scholarships; applicants for fall 2027 and fall 2028 who take an official in-person campus visit through Admissions by November 1 of senior year receive a $1,000 annual Visit Award, renewable for up to four years.
• Regional Tuition Break: from fall 2027, residents of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island get reduced tuition in selected majors. Within CEMS the page lists only Data Science, and no engineering major; the estimated 2027-28 rate is $30,240, subject to Board of Trustees approval.

6. International applicants

• Who counts: UVM defines international students as applicants who are not U.S. citizens, permanent residents, refugees or asylees.
• English minimums: Duolingo 110, TOEFL 80 (4.5 on the new scale), IELTS 6.5, ACT English 22, SAT EBRW 550 or Cambridge English 180. MyBest TOEFL is not accepted. Students with TOEFL 80–89 (4.5 new scale) or equivalent take an English course for non-native speakers (ENGL 1001) in their first semester.
• Waivers: applicants who believe they qualify email Admissions. The Catalogue says Admissions may waive the test case by case after three or more years at a U.S. institution or an English-medium school, or on a combination of evidence. No list of exempt countries appears in the pages read; this is not published.
• Transcripts and credentials: official original transcripts of all secondary and postsecondary education, including final exam results, with certified translations arranged by the applicant. Whether a third-party credential evaluation is needed is not published.
• Proof of funds: you must show the minimum expenses for one year, most commonly a bank statement dated within six months. The 2026-27 I-20 estimate is tuition and fees $50,713, living expenses $17,724 and other expenses (books, health insurance, personal) $10,575, for a total of $79,012. The I-20 and visa process starts after the $500 acceptance fee is paid.
• Tuition status: students on non-immigrant student visas pay out-of-state tuition.
• Scholarships: international merit scholarships of up to $30,000 a year, considered automatically with no separate application and announced at admission. The Presidential Scholarship section of UVM’s scholarship page describes a four-year (eight-semester) award of up to $30,000 a year for the highest-performing admitted out-of-state or international first-years, renewable with 12 credits per semester and a 3.0 cumulative GPA. Whether international students can receive need-based aid is not published.

7. Applicants from China

• Gaokao: the admissions pages read do not mention the gaokao or set a separate score requirement for Chinese applicants. This is not published; ask Admissions (admissions@uvm.edu).
• Transcripts and exams: submit your Chinese high school’s official transcript, including final exam results, with a certified translation, as in section 6. Whether academic proficiency exam (huikao) records are needed is not published.
• Curricula: IB and AP credit rules are in section 3; A-level treatment is not published.
• English and funds: follow section 6.
• Country-specific guidance: UVM has no page, interview or credential-agency requirement for Chinese applicants in the pages read; rely on Admissions’ answer.

8. Engineering fees and internships

• CEMS adds a $500 program fee each semester (see section 5).
• Internship credit is run by the CEMS Career Readiness Program: each credit needs at least 45 hours, graded S/U. CEMS 2991 counts for up to 3 credits of electives for Civil, Electrical, Engineering B.S., Engineering Management and Environmental Engineering, but not for Biomedical or Mechanical Engineering.
• International students must meet the Office of International Education about how immigration status affects paid internships before requesting internship credit.
• The pages read do not describe a required co-op program; this is not published.

9. Transfer students

• Deadlines: fall 2027 transfer June 1, 2027 (the admissions page shows applications opening August 1, 2026) and spring November 1; rolling notification on a space-available, competitive basis. SAT/ACT is not required for transfers.
• Engineering prerequisites (Catalogue): at least one semester of college calculus and one lab-science course; AP and CLEP credits are acceptable. Applicants who fall short may be considered for their second-choice major outside CEMS and can transfer internally with a CEMS advisor once prerequisites are met.
• GPA: the Catalogue says a 2.8 or above is generally recommended to be competitive (a university-wide statement); a separate minimum for engineering is not published.
• Review: with fewer than 21 college credits, your high school record is reviewed alongside college work; after that, college GPA and course selection matter most.
• Credit: no credit for grades below C; in general 30 of your last 45 credits must be taken at UVM. International transfer students send course descriptions and outlines, with English translations, to the Office of Transfer Affairs after admission for a credit evaluation.

Checklist

U.S. applicants:

• Take four years of math including trigonometry or precalculus, plus a year each of chemistry and physics
• Apply by November 1 (early) or January 15 (regular); no application fee; file the FAFSA if you need need-based aid

International applicants:

• Prepare TOEFL 80 or IELTS 6.5 (or ask about a waiver), translated transcripts and a bank statement

Applicants from China:

• How the gaokao and proficiency-exam records are used is not published; ask Admissions before applying

Transfer students:

• Apply by June 1 for fall, with one semester of college calculus and a lab science completed

Sources: University of Vermont, CEMS undergraduate programs; CEMS undergraduate admissions; 2026-27 Catalogue: the college; Electrical Engineering; Biomedical Engineering; Civil Engineering; Environmental Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Engineering B.S.; Engineering Management; Admission requirements by college; How to apply: first-years; How to apply: international students; Catalogue: international students; Application deadlines; Catalogue: deadlines and notification; Catalogue: transfer students; Costs, financial aid and scholarships; Undergraduate tuition and fees; Out-of-state and international scholarships; Regional Tuition Break. Check UVM for the latest dates, tuition and I-20 estimates; costs shown are for 2026-27.