LEAP FAQ’s

Fall Application Deadlines

• January 15 – All applications to LEAP completed by this date will be reviewed for the maximum amount of scholarship funding.
• March 15 – Deadline to submit all required credentials for students applying to LEAP.

Spring Application Deadline

• October 1

Students in LEAP can earn one of the following master’s degrees:

• Master of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering
• Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering
• Master of Science in Electrical & Computer Engineering
• Master of Engineering in Materials Science & Engineering
• Master of Science in Materials Science & Engineering
• Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
• Master of Science in Robotics & Autonomous Systems
• Master of Engineering in Systems Engineering
• Master of Science in Systems Engineering

LEAP students come from diverse academic and professional backgrounds. They range from recent graduates to working professionals seeking a career change. Social workers, doctors, Peace Corps volunteers, teachers, and lawyers among others have earned their engineering Master’s degrees through LEAP. The diverse nature of our student body is what makes LEAP such a rich, rewarding and unique program.

No, LEAP is a fully in-person program.

Students who do not require a student visa will be eligible to move between part-time and full-time student status throughout the duration of LEAP. Please note that not all courses required for this program are offered after traditional work hours. If you plan to work full-time and complete this program as a part-time student, you will need some flexibility in your work hours to accommodate your class schedule.

LEAP is designed for students who are interested in pursuing a master’s in engineering but have not earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering. This program streamlines undergraduate engineering courses so students can supplement their academic experience with enough engineering courses to put them on par with students who have earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering. After completing their undergraduate coursework, students in LEAP will move into the master’s program of their choice. For more information about the structure of LEAP, please visit our Program Planning page here.

• A completed electronic application
• Application fee of $95
• Resume
• Statement of purpose
• GRE score(s)
• Transcripts from all colleges or universities you’ve attended
• 2 Letters of recommendation
• TOEFL or IELTS score report (for international students who have not completed their Bachelor’s degree at an institution using English as the primary language of instruction)
• Calculus I course (either proof of completion or a plan to take Calculus I)

For more information about the application process and requirements, please visit our Application Deadlines & Requirements page.

The Late Entry Accelerated Program (LEAP) curriculum begins with courses building on Calculus I concepts. To ensure students are adequately prepared for the program coursework, LEAP applicants are required to have earned a B or higher in Calculus I at an accredited college or university prior to starting the program. See “What courses satisfy the Calculus I requirement?” section below to learn more about the requirement. 

The Graduate Programs Office highly encourages applicants to complete this course prior to applying to LEAP. If you have additional questions about this requirement, please refer to the Calculus I FAQs below.

Calculus I courses covering the topics below that are taken online or in-person at a regionally accredited college or university that provide you with a letter grade will satisfy this requirement. If an academic institution offers multiple Calculus I courses (e.g. offering “Calculus I for humanities majors” and “Calculus I for STEM majors”), students will need to take the course designated for engineers or STEM majors. Students who have taken calculus courses designated for non-STEM majors will not be adequately prepared for the LEAP curriculum.

• Limits
• Derivatives
• Differentiation of algebraic and transcendental functions
• Applications to maxima, minima, and convexity of functions
• The definite integral
• The fundamental theorem of integral calculus

Unfortunately, we are not able to review individual Calculus I course materials from other institutions. Students should use the above criteria to confirm if a Calculus I course would satisfy the LEAP requirements. If you have additional questions about this requirement, please contact the Graduate Programs Office at enggrad@bu.edu.

Unfortunately, we do not take AP credit for the calculus 1 requirement. If you have AP calculus I credit at your current, undergraduate institution, you are welcome to take calculus II during your undergraduate degree. If you choose to take calculus II and earn a B or higher, you will not need to retake this course during your foundational phase of LEAP.

If you have additional questions about this requirement, please contact the Graduate Programs Office at enggrad@bu.edu.

We ask students to earn a B or higher in Calculus I because our faculty have found that earning a B or higher in a course ensures a student has a strong understanding of the course material. If you have not earned a B or higher, you may benefit from taking another Calculus I course to prepare you for the LEAP curriculum. Students should refer to the “What courses satisfy the Calculus I requirement?” section above for more information about acceptable Calculus I courses.

If you have additional questions about this requirement, please contact the Graduate Programs Office at enggrad@bu.edu.

If students have already taken and earned a B or higher in a course listed in the foundational phase, they may be exempt from retaking that course during their foundational phase.  LEAP faculty advisors will review students’ transcript(s) to identify which, if any, foundational phase courses a student would be exempt from taking during LEAP.

If you are looking to take foundational phase courses prior to matriculating into LEAP, we strongly recommend you only take the courses listed below. These courses are required by all LEAP tracks and have standard curricula across most regionally accredited colleges and universities.

• Calculus II
• Multivariate Calculus
• Calculus-based Physics I
• Introduction to Programming for Engineers

The Graduate Programs Office is not able to review individual courses outside of BU to confirm that they align with the courses offered at BU. For more information about the topics our courses cover, you can view all courses offered through the College of Engineering here and the College of Arts and Sciences here. Students can also use the TES Equivalency Database as a reference for courses our undergraduate students have successfully transferred to BU in previous years. 

If you have additional questions about this requirement, please contact the Graduate Programs Office at enggrad@bu.edu.

All LEAP applicants must submit GRE scores. Please do not submit GRE subject test scores.

Class size varies from semester to semester but on average we matriculate between 40-50 students each academic year.

If you are interested in taking courses prior to starting LEAP, you are welcome to take courses in the math and physics sequence, such as Calculus II, Multivariable Calculus, or Physics I for Engineers (also referred to as Physics I with Calculus or Physics I for STEM). 

To prepare for success at the master’s level, students take foundational undergraduate engineering courses to fill in their background, then move seamlessly into their chosen master’s program. Students can expect a minimum of 2 years of full-time study before graduating with their master’s degree.

We encourage you to register for a live online webinar to learn more about LEAP. The webinar ends with a chat forum, where you can ask questions. For more information please contact Stef Kane skane@bu.edu,