ECEE PhD Fall 2026 Admissions Cycle

Welcome! 

Thank you for your interest in joining the CU Boulder ECEE PhD community. We hope you enjoy your virtual visit experience!

If you have any questions or access issues, contact Lori Meehan, Sr. Graduate Program Manager, lori.meehan@colorado.edu

Information & Resources

• Read or watch our Fall 2026 PhD Informational Webinar
  • PDF Slides
  • Video Recording
• Read our tips on how to best prepare for our visit.
• Read our Boulder Living Guide Made by Students, Faculty & Staff.
• Walk through our PhD Degree Requirements
• Watch an ECEE PhD Alumni Panel featuring:
  • Dr. Wallace Kenyon, encoord
  • Dr. Laila Marzall, Research Assistant Professor, CU Boulder
  • Dr. Vivek Sankaranarayanan, Tesla
  • Dr. Rob Streeter, Polar Field Services & LumenAstra
  • View the 2024 panel.
• Check out the 2021 and 2023 GradSERU surveys to better understand student satisfaction with our program.
• One-on-One Interviews
  The faculty members in your research area of interest may have already contacted you about an interview time though one-on-one interviews with faculty may continue throughout February, as communicated by the faculty member or research area or as dependent based upon your current time zone and availability.
• See the early draft of the PhD visit agenda!
  • Please note: This is a nearly final draft that will be updated with new and important information. More detail, including specific interview schedules, will be released via email in the week prior to the visit.
• Reimbursement information.
• Dress Code, Colorado Casual: Generally, jeans and a T-shirt/sweater or athleisure are appropriate; we are an
  informal department. We will be walking around quite a bit so comfortable shoes are a must. There may
  be snow or sunshine, so be sure to pack/dress for the weather.

Decisions

All admissions decisions are made prior to April 15. We do offer limited early offers to some applicants, and those people may receive an offer of admission in late January to mid-February. The majority of all decisions are usually made the first two weeks of March. 

Please note this variability on admission offers is because our faculty make individual admission offers to specific students with their own research funding, as opposed to decisions made by a larger committee with overall department funding. It is in no way a reflection on candidate abilities but instead is focused on faculty research needs, and it is what allows our PhD students to move right into being a Research Associate as opposed to departments that start all admittees as Teaching Assistants.