How to Apply to Engineering at Lamar University: BS Degrees in Chemical, Civil, Computer, Electrical, Industrial and Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Technology, Applying to the University Directly, for Domestic, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

Lamar University is in Beaumont, Texas. Undergraduate engineering is taught in the College of Engineering, which describes itself as one of the oldest programs on campus (the university began in 1923, and four-year engineering degrees began in 1951). Computer science is in the College of Arts and Sciences; this site has a separate article on it, so it is not covered here. The sections below cover domestic students, international students (with a separate section for applicants from China) and transfer students.

1. The undergraduate engineering programs

• Degrees: the degrees page lists BS programs in chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering and industrial technology.
• Departments: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Civil and Environmental Engineering; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Industrial and Systems Engineering; and Mechanical Engineering.
• ABET: the college page says the bachelor’s degrees in all five departments are accredited by ABET’s Engineering Accreditation Commission, and the mechanical engineering page says its BS is accredited. Whether industrial technology and computer engineering are separately accredited is not stated in the pages read; ask the college.
• Credits: the mechanical engineering program page lists 126 hours. Totals for other majors were not checked. The full catalog is at catalog.lamar.edu, which was not accessed (see the note at the end).
• Certificates and graduate study: undergraduate certificates include Fermentation Science and Engineering, Industrial Automation and Robotics, and Instrumentation and Control. Master’s and doctoral programs are not covered here.

2. How admission works

• You apply to the university. The pages read do not describe a separate college application, extra essay or recommendation letters, a “pre-engineering then sort into a major” system, a GPA threshold for entering a major, or limits on places. These are not published in what was read, so ask the college (engineering@lamar.edu, 409-880-8714).
• Changing into the college from another Lamar major: the conditions are not published here; ask the college or the undergraduate advising center.
• University freshman requirements: a diploma from an accredited high school; at least 14 college-preparatory credits (4 English, 3 math, 2 lab science, 2.5 social science, 2.5 electives); the Texas Uniform Admissions Policy; and either the test-optional criteria or minimum ACT/SAT scores through secondary review.
• Test-optional criteria: students in the upper 50% of their class are guaranteed admission; others, and students from unranked schools or home schooled, have their transcripts reviewed; students with 18 college credit hours and a 2.0 college GPA at the time of application are guaranteed admission. Students not admitted this way can submit scores for secondary review: SAT 1080 or ACT 21 for the third and fourth class quartiles, and SAT 1040 or ACT 20 for unranked and home-schooled students.
• After admission: the college runs a week-long First-Year Engineering Math Bootcamp (the page lists August 10–14, 2026) with refresher math from the math faculty, and an application-based N.E.S.T. leadership and mentoring program. The first-year page recommends Windows computers and says macOS is not recommended because engineering software is often not compatible.

3. Preparation

• High school courses: of the 14 required credits, 3 are math and 2 are lab science. The college pages do not add a separate high school calculus, physics or chemistry requirement; this is not published.
• Texas Success Initiative (TSI): new students at Texas public universities take the TSI assessment unless exempt (qualifying SAT/ACT scores can exempt you); confirm with the Undergraduate Advising Center (409-880-8822, advising@lamar.edu).
• Math placement and AP/IB credit: not described in the pages read, so not published here.
• Where the curriculum starts: the mechanical engineering page describes introductory design (SolidWorks and similar), introductory programming, statics, dynamics and mechanics of solids. The prerequisite sequences for each major are in the catalog; check there.

4. Dates and materials

• How to apply: freshmen use ApplyTexas or the Common App; international undergraduates and transfer students use ApplyTexas.
• Fee: $25 for freshmen and transfers (non-refundable, waivers available) and $75 for international undergraduates (a payment link is emailed after you apply). The site also lists Texas’s Free College Application Week, October 12–18, 2026, when applying through ApplyTexas is free.
• Deadlines: the freshman page shows fall 2026 (application July 28, documents August 4); the transfer page shows fall 2027 (July 27 and August 3); the international page shows fall (August) priority April 15 and final July 1, spring priority September 1 and final December 1, with no year. Check whether the international dates apply to fall 2027.
• Processing: the site says applications take 2 to 3 weeks to process, after which you receive your Lamar ID (L Number) to check status.
• Essays and recommendations: not required on the freshman and international undergraduate pages; whether the college asks for more is not published.
• Test scores: the university is test-optional for freshmen, but the international undergraduate page says international freshmen and transfers “should have SAT and/or ACT scores issued” to Lamar. The two statements differ, so confirm with international admissions (internationaladmissions@lamar.edu) whether they are required.

5. Domestic students

• Tuition: the cost-of-attendance page (no year printed) gives full-time undergraduate tuition and fees of $5,447 per semester for Texas residents and $11,867 for non-residents, and total budgets including housing, food, books, transportation and personal expenses of about $14,184 per semester for an on-campus resident and about $20,604 for an on-campus non-resident. It does not mention an engineering differential or college fee; this is not published there.
• Aid: file the FAFSA or TASFA with school code 003581.
• Freshman scholarships (by high school GPA and rank or SAT/ACT): Presidential $100,000 (full ride; application and interview); Southeast Texas Legends $100,000 (last-dollar award; FAFSA and financial need); Smith-Hutson $74,000 (achievement and need; FAFSA, essay and two recommendations); Cardinal Elite $40,000, Academic Excellence $32,000, Distinguished $20,000 and University $8,000, which need no application and are considered automatically after admission. Most priority dates are January 15.
• Engineering scholarships: the college page lists endowed scholarships of $500 to $6,000 for first-time students through myScholarships with a February 1 priority date, and says current undergraduates need a 3.0 GPA. It also says the college awards more than $4 million in endowed scholarships each year.
• Resident preference: the pages read mention only the Texas Uniform Admissions Policy and no resident preference or guarantee for engineering; not published.

6. International students

• Admission standard: international freshmen must submit all documents and show a 2.5 cumulative GPA on all secondary school work.
• Transcripts: an official report of course-by-course evaluated transcripts of all secondary and post-secondary work must be sent to Lamar directly by the evaluating agency. Lamar has no internal evaluation service and says you do not need to send official transcripts yourself. The pages read name no approved agencies.
• English (the undergraduate column; the page splits graduate requirements into two categories by college but gives undergraduates a single column): TOEFL iBT 71 or 4 on the new 1–6 scale; IELTS 6.0; Duolingo 105; PTE 59. TOEFL and PTE are sent by the testing service (school code 6360); an IELTS score card can be emailed to admissions@lamar.edu.
• Waivers: applicants from an English waiver country; with 48 credits of secondary or post-secondary study in a waiver country; with 48 credits taught in English; who completed level 112 of an intensive English program at a U.S. institution; or who completed English Composition I and II with a B or better at an accredited U.S. institution. The list includes Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and the United Kingdom among others, and Cameroon, Lesotho and Kiribati are reviewed case by case. China is not on the list.
• Financial documents after admission: for the I-20 or DS-2019, an original financial statement form with bank verification and a passport page; scholarship offer letters if you have one, with any remaining expenses covered by your guarantee. The amount required is not given in the pages read. The SEVIS fee must be paid before the visa interview.
• Scholarships: the scholarship page says international students must submit SAT 1330+ or ACT 29+ for Presidential and Cardinal Elite consideration; for Academic Excellence, SAT 1200–1320 (the ACT range printed, 25–18, looks like a typo); Distinguished, SAT 1080–1190 or ACT 21–24; University, ACT 19–21 (the SAT range is printed as 1010–1170 in one place and 1010–1070 in another). Whether international students can apply for Smith-Hutson and Legends is not stated.

7. Applicants from China

• Gaokao: the pages read do not say how gaokao scores are used; not published, so ask international admissions.
• Transcripts and credential evaluation: a course-by-course evaluation from an evaluating agency, sent directly to Lamar (see above). No China-specific country page, interview or exam-certificate requirement was found.
• English: China is not on the waiver list, so submit TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo or PTE.
• SAT/ACT: the international page says to send them, and they are needed for the freshman scholarships described above.

8. Paid co-op

• The college’s cooperative education program helps students find paid co-op and internship positions in chemical and biomolecular, civil and environmental, computer, electrical, industrial, industrial technology and mechanical engineering.
• Conditions: after the first year (typically 30–45 semester hours) students may alternate semesters of study with paid work; engineering majors need a 2.5 overall GPA (industrial technology 2.75); transfer students need one full semester of engineering; students enroll in a career development course in each semester they work; jobs are obtained through interviews; each department decides whether elective credit is given.
• The page also warns that students with student loans can fall into repayment if they enroll in fewer than six hours.

9. Transfer students

• Standard: a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale for all work attempted, and eligibility to re-enter all previous institutions; students transferring fewer than 18 semester credit hours also send a high school transcript and meet freshman criteria. The pages read do not give a separate engineering transfer GPA or a required calculus, physics and chemistry sequence; this is not published, so ask the college.
• International transfers currently at an accredited U.S. institution need a 2.5 GPA with fewer than 48 credit hours, or 2.0 with more.
• 2027 dates: fall application July 27, documents August 3; spring documents January 5 (the application date is printed as “December 39”, apparently a typo); summer application May 11, documents May 18.
• Credit transfer: the university has a transfer equivalency guide and a list of transfer pathway partnerships; see the transfer page.
• Aid: transfer scholarships, Smith-Hutson (for transfers with 50 credit hours or an associate’s degree, up to two years) and the Texas Transfer Grant.

Checklist

Domestic students:

• Check the fall 2027 application and document deadlines; complete 14 college-preparatory credits (4 English, 3 math, 2 lab science and so on)
• Apply by January 15 (university scholarships) and February 1 (engineering scholarships); file the FAFSA/TASFA (code 003581)

International students (including those from China):

• 2.5 secondary GPA; have a credential evaluation agency send the course-by-course report; priority April 15 and final July 1 (verify the year)
• TOEFL 71 (new 4), IELTS 6.0, Duolingo 105 or PTE 59, or a waiver; ask whether SAT/ACT is required
• After admission, prepare the financial statement and bank verification for the I-20

Transfer students:

• 2.0 cumulative GPA (international transfers 2.5 or 2.0 depending on credits); fall 2027 application July 27; ask the college about course requirements for your major

Sources: Lamar University, College of Engineering; Degrees and programs; About the college; First-year engineering students; Engineering scholarships; Cooperative education; B.S. Mechanical Engineering; Freshman admission; Test-optional admissions; International admissions and deadlines; International undergraduate admission; English language proficiency; SEVIS and the I-20; Transfer; Incoming freshmen scholarships; Estimated cost of attendance. Some pages show no year. Check Lamar’s website for the latest.