University of Illinois MSc Electrical and Computer Engineering 2026:Admission,Fees,Scholarship and Placement

University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) is a 36-semester-hour, full-time on-campus degree without a fixed published completion duration. Applicants need a related bachelor’s and expected 3.00/4.00 final-60-hour GPA, roughly 65% to 70% or 7.0 to 7.5/10 for India. Fall 2027 tuition is unpublished; 2026-27 tuition and fees were US$38,478 (INR 36.53 Lakhs) for one academic year, as a prior-cycle reference.

The degree trains students across circuits, computing, communications, controls and related research through either a thesis or coursework-only route. The thesis replaces eight classroom credits with supervised research, while the coursework route suits applicants seeking broader technical depth and an optional co-op track.

• Students may organise electives around departmental tracks spanning hardware security, machine learning, robotics, signal processing, power systems and wireless communications.
• The coursework-only path permits up to eight approved non-ECE graduate credits, which can support a carefully planned computing or interdisciplinary emphasis.
• The GRE (Graduate Record Examination) is optional, so applicants can prioritise recent technical grades and preparation aligned with their chosen engineering focus.

Also Check: University of Illinois Chicago Admission

UIC Electrical and Computer Engineering Fees and Living Costs 2027

Fall 2027 tuition is not yet published, so applicants cannot establish a cycle-correct full-degree total. The table uses UIC’s 2026-27 one-academic-year estimate as prior-cycle planning context, while labelled application charges apply to Fall 2027.

All INR conversions in the article use a conversion rate of USD 1 = INR 94.9481 as of 26 October 2026. Rates fluctuate daily, verify before applying.

Source: UIC 2026-27 international student funding estimate and current international admission requirements.

UIC’s US$38,478 (INR 36.53 Lakhs) figure supports one academic year and an I-20 funding calculation, not the complete 36-hour degree. Because tuition uses semester credit ranges and the next schedule remains unpublished, multiplying this amount would create an incorrect Fall 2027 total.

The ECE fee waiver can remove the US$80 (INR 7,596) application fee when an MS applicant attends an information session and submits by 15 February 2027. However, UIC expressly excludes the separate US$100 (INR 9,495) international credential fee from that waiver.

Cost of Living in Chicago for Electrical Engineering Students

UIC’s 2026-27 international funding estimate combines living expenses at US$20,116 (INR 19.10 Lakhs) for nine months. The monthly and annualised values below are calculations from that combined amount, not a university rent or grocery breakdown.

The prior-cycle planning illustration is US$38,478 + US$20,116 + US$1,599 = US$60,193, or INR 57.15 Lakhs in total. Its INR inputs are 36.53 Lakhs, 19.10 Lakhs and 1.52 Lakhs. It covers tuition and fees, nine-month living expenses and books plus orientation for one academic year, not the full programme.

Read More: Cost of Living in USA for Indian Students

ROI reality: The prior-cycle one-year budget already reached INR 57.15 Lakhs, while MS funding is exceptional. Build financing around the published 2027-28 schedule when it appears, not a doubled prior-cycle estimate.

UIC MS Electrical and Computer Engineering Admission 2027

Fall 2027 applicants need a related bachelor’s degree and are expected to meet a 3.00/4.00 GPA across their final 60 semester hours. UIC evaluates applications individually, so meeting the published floor does not guarantee admission.

Indian equivalency is decided by UIC, because the programme publishes no country-specific grade conversion. Applicants should treat roughly 65% to 70%, or 7.0 to 7.5/10, as an approximate planning range rather than an official cutoff.

Applicants from India should not replace institution-issued records with a World Education Services evaluation, because UIC does not accept third-party evaluations in place of credentials. Certified English translations are required only when the original records are not in English.

The programme publishes no Fall 2027 class profile, acceptance rate or admitted-student GPA distribution. As a result, the 3.00/4.00 expectation is an eligibility benchmark, not evidence that a file near that mark is competitive.

UIC’s College of Engineering tied at 64th nationally in the 2025 U.S. News graduate engineering ranking. That school-level position is not an Electrical and Computer Engineering programme rank or a selection criterion.

English Language Requirements

Indian applicants normally need an accepted English test, and UIC expressly states that English-medium instruction alone does not create a waiver. Scores must remain valid when the application is submitted, and the programme publishes component floors as well as overall minimums.

• Choose IELTS Academic or PTE only after checking every component floor, because one weaker skill can make an otherwise sufficient overall score unusable.
• TOEFL test takers after 21 January 2026 must follow UIC’s published 1.0 to 6.0 scale and should not self-convert older scores.
• An English-medium Indian degree does not waive testing, so book a valid route unless UIC confirms another published exemption from study or employment.

Check Out: University of Illinois Chicago Courses

Tip for Indian students: Treat the GPA and English scores as floors, then use course preparation to prove fit for the chosen discipline. Missing circuit, computing or mathematics foundations can matter even when the numerical threshold is met.

UIC MS Electrical and Computer Engineering Application 2027

Fall 2027 applications are open, and international applicants have until 1 April 2027 to submit the application and all supporting material. The same live programme inventory also announces Spring 2028 with a 15 July 2027 international deadline.

UIC publishes dates without a portal cutoff time or timezone, so no reliable IST conversion is possible. The university also states that international applicants have no separate document deadline, which makes file completeness by the listed date essential.

The 15 February 2027 waiver date is the better planning target for Fall applicants because it can remove the application fee and leaves time to resolve credential issues. The live ECE page lists information sessions on 10 November, 17 November and 3 December 2026.

How to Apply

The application has two reviews: Graduate College first checks institutional requirements, then the ECE department evaluates academic fit. Start the official graduate application only under Electrical and Computer Engineering MS, because UIC warns against selecting another programme when the intended option is unavailable.

• Choose electrical engineering or computer engineering inside the application, matching the choice to prior coursework and intended graduate preparation.
• Combine all unconsolidated semester or yearly marksheets into one PDF while retaining failed attempts, grading keys and the reverse side of each page.
• Send TOEFL, IELTS or PTE results through the testing service early enough for UIC to match them to the submitted record.
• Monitor the checklist after submission, because UIC may add requests when an uploaded credential is incomplete or difficult to evaluate.

GRE scores, a personal statement and letters are not standard MS requirements in the current catalog, although the committee may request recommendations after review. The programme has published no Fall 2027 interview stage or decision date, so applicants should rely on the status portal rather than an assumed notification month.

Application tip: Aim for the 15 February 2027 waiver point, not merely the 1 April final deadline. That strategy lowers the application cost and protects time for UIC’s document review.

UIC MS Electrical and Computer Engineering Scholarships 2027

No general Fall 2027 ECE MS scholarship is published for new international entrants. Department policy reserves routine financial aid for full-time doctoral students, with assistance for MS students limited to a few exceptional cases.

The fee waiver below is confirmed for the target application cycle. The other awards are 2026 prior-cycle references for enrolled international students, because UIC has not announced their 2027 values or deadlines.

The Laurette Kirstein Scholarship is another post-enrolment route for full-time international students, but UIC has not published a 2027 amount or deadline. Its current rules require at least one completed UIC semester and a 3.5/4.0 UIC cumulative GPA, so it cannot finance initial arrival.

• Secure funding for the full I-20 estimate without assuming an assistantship, because the ECE department treats MS support as exceptional.
• Use the confirmed application-fee waiver first, while preserving the non-waivable international credential fee in the application budget.
• After enrolment, maintain the published 3.5/4.0 UIC benchmark and watch the spring announcement for the Laurette Kirstein Scholarship.

A thesis interest may strengthen a later conversation with faculty, but it does not create an assistantship entitlement. Applicants should therefore separate academic route selection from funding and choose the thesis only when supervised research supports their intended career or doctoral path.

Read More: Scholarships in USA for Indian Students

Scholarship reality: The only confirmed pre-entry saving is the US$80 (INR 7,596) fee waiver, while substantial MS support remains exceptional. Prepare proof of funds without counting an unoffered award.

UIC MS Electrical and Computer Engineering Salary 2027

UIC publishes no MS ECE salary, offer rate or dated employment cohort, so a programme-specific payback calculation is not defensible. Its live outcomes page instead provides a representative destination list covering combined MS and doctoral graduates.

Course-level destinations include AMD, Apple, Intel, Microsoft, Nvidia, Qualcomm, GE Research and Sandia National Laboratory. These names show past access across semiconductors, systems and research, but UIC does not identify hiring frequency, sponsorship or the share of graduates at each organisation.

External Salary Benchmarks

The latest federal benchmarks are occupation-wide US medians for May 2025, not starting salaries or UIC graduate outcomes. They help applicants test a career scenario, but they cannot establish an offer probability or repayment timeline.

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics occupation data, May 2025; figures are not UIC graduate salaries.

Gross pay differs from take-home income because federal, Illinois, payroll and benefit deductions depend on status and compensation. The Internal Revenue Service withholding estimator supports eligible resident taxpayers, while nonresident graduates should follow the tool’s separate guidance.

Return on Investment

The verified cost anchor is the prior-cycle one-academic-year budget of US$60,193 (INR 57.15 Lakhs), while the complete Fall 2027 cost remains unpublished. That mismatch makes qualitative risk analysis more useful than a numerical break-even forecast.

• The prior-cycle budget covers one academic year, so obtain the 2027-28 semester schedule before fixing a loan principal or disbursement plan.
• UIC reports destination examples but no MS salary or offer rate, so test employability through target roles, project evidence and sponsor availability rather than employer names.
• The US$120,630 (INR 1.15 Crore) electrical-engineer median is a workforce benchmark, so never use it as the first-year salary in repayment arithmetic.
• Eligible F-1 graduates can pursue 12 months of Optional Practical Training and a 24-month STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) extension, but qualifying employment remains necessary.
• UIC publishes no India-return salary evidence, so obtain role-specific Indian compensation ranges instead of converting US medians into a domestic payback claim.

The thesis route may justify the cost for applicants building evidence for research and development or doctoral study, while coursework-only students can pursue broader technical coverage. In either route, the financial case depends on funded capital, job-search execution and work authorisation, not the degree title alone.

ROI reality: UIC’s employer list demonstrates possible destinations, while the absence of a course salary cohort leaves repayment uncertain. Commit only after matching the new fee schedule to realistic role-level evidence.

USA Visa for UIC MS Electrical and Computer Engineering Students 2027

F-1 applicants currently pay a US$185 (INR 17,565) visa fee. The I-901 SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) fee is US$350 (INR 33,232), bringing the combined fees to US$535 (INR 50,797). Eligible graduates may apply for OPT (Optional Practical Training). This authorisation supports up to 12 months of degree-related work after completion.

• A qualifying engineering programme code can support a 24-month STEM OPT extension, but the job must remain degree-related with an eligible E-Verify employer.
• An H-1B specialty-occupation move requires the higher applicable actual or prevailing wage and may face cap selection, rather than one national salary threshold.
• An F-2 spouse or unmarried child under 21 may accompany the student, but an F-2 dependant cannot accept employment.
• The MS creates no automatic permanent-residence route or fixed settlement timeline, so employer sponsorship remains a separate decision after graduation.

Read More: Post-Study Work in USA

Visa reality: The possible 36-month OPT window can improve US job-search flexibility, but it is conditional rather than guaranteed. Verify the I-20 code and employer eligibility before treating that window as an ROI input.