Carnegie Mellon University Bridge Program for African Students 2025

 

Applications are currently open. Apply today!

Carnegie Mellon University offers a program for undergraduates in their final year of study that provides a bridge to graduate study. The free, six-week intensive graduate study preparation program is intended for promising and motivated students who are interested in studying in one of the following areas: electrical engineering, computer engineering, information technology, telecommunications, networking, big data, artificial intelligence, or software engineering at a master's level.

Carnegie Mellon University offers a program for undergraduates in their final year of study that provides a bridge to graduate study. The free, six-week intensive graduate study preparation program is intended for promising and motivated students who are interested in studying in one of the following areas: electrical engineering, computer engineering, information technology, telecommunications, networking, big data, artificial intelligence, or software engineering at a master’s level.

Program Overview

The program will:

• Give you a feel for the graduate study experience
• Raise your awareness of the specific academic skills required for successful graduate study
• Deliver training on embedded system project development, incorporating IoT connectivity and AI capabilities

Requirements for Bridge Program Qualification

• Must be a Mount Kigali University Rwanda, University of Kigali, University of Rwanda, African Leadership University, Adventist University of Central Africa or UNILAK student currently in their final year or recently graduated. Must be studying information technology, computer science, computer engineering, information systems, electronics and telecommunication engineering, or electrical engineering.
• Format: in-person at CMU-Africa
• Program duration: September 29-November 14
• Time commitment: 10 hours per week (Monday-Thursday 5:30-7:30 pm CAT and Friday 4-6 pm CAT)
• Transport: Transportation to and from CMU-Africa will be provided
• Refreshments provided
• Cost: Free for all admitted students

Application Deadline

August 31, 2025

How to Apply

You will need these documents to fill out our written application:

• Unofficial transcript: You do not need a notarized official transcript from your university to apply. If you are in your final year of study toward a bachelor’s degree, please upload your unofficial transcripts up until the most recent semester. Upon admission to our programs, you will be requested to bring your official transcript to verify your credentials.
• Essay or statement of purpose: This is an opportunity to tell the admissions team about yourself and explain why you want to attend CMU-Africa. Students at Carnegie Mellon are engaged in intellectual activity consistent with the highest standards of the academy. For this reason, plagiarism will not be tolerated and any applicant found to have committed plagiarism will be denied.
  • The Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering program requires a statement of purpose, submitted through your application portal, where you will be asked why you want to join the MS ECE program. There is no word limit, but you should be clear and concise.
  • The Master of Science in Information Technology and the Master of Science in Engineering Artificial Intelligence programs require you to answer three short essay questions (with an optional fourth question), submitted through your application portal. The maximum word count for each essay is 300 words.
• An up-to-date CV: Upload a concise document showing your professional and academic experiences to date.
• Recommendations: Upload the contact information of three individuals who can provide the application team with a recommendation for you. Select people who know you well, for example, a current/former professor, a supervisor at work, a community leader, etc.
  • MSIT/MS EAI: You will not need letters of recommendation while applying—the application team will contact your references.
    MS ECE: Your recommenders will receive an email that allows them to submit a recommendation letter for you. You can track the progress of the letter on your application status page.
• Upload a valid ID or passport: National ID and passport are the accepted forms of ID for your application.

Required tests

• Language scores: All non-native English speakers must submit at least one valid score report from one of the following examinations: IELTS, TOEFL or the Duolingo English TestOpens in new window (DET).

  The DET includes a proficiency composite score, section subscores, video interview, and writing sample which are shared with CMU-Africa when you send your results. Certified results are available within 48 hours of the test session. For more information, please visit Duolingo English TestOpens in new window. Please also review the accepted identification for test takers of the DET.

  We recommend that students have a minimum of 87 on TOEFL, 6.5 on IELTS, and 120 on DET. Students with lower English proficiency levels might be required to take the Academic Skills course in their first year.

  Only applicants with undergraduate degrees in residence in the US, UK, or Canada (excluding Quebec) are exempted from providing English language exam scores with their application.

• Technical test: Assesses your analytic and quantitative skills, as well as programming logic.

Applicants can take these tests online under video monitoring, which will require a high bandwidth internet connection.