The LUMS SSE campus is adjacent to the Defence Housing Society, a developed suburb of Lahore with shops, restaurants, hospitals and other facilities. The Lahore International Airport is six kilometers from the campus, and provides convenient connections to all major cities within Pakistan and some important cities in USA, Canada, UK, the Middle East, Far East and India.

In the first year 200 students will be enrolled in the program. We expect that by the year 2020, SSE will have 1200 undergraduate and 800 graduate students, with 200 faculty members.

A Freshman Orientation Session will be held for students admitted to SSE a few days prior to start of classes.

Yes. On-campus accommodation is available for students. There are separate hostels for male and female students.

Each hostel block offers a friendly and secure environment to its inhabitants, and is equipped with a wide range of facilities including laundry rooms, kitchens, TV lounges, and easy access to dining facilities. Dedicated hostel staff is accessible to students for help at all times, and emergency services, including transport and medical facilities, are available.

All hostels have recently been wired to the campus network via high-speed fiber connectivity. Each room is equipped with two network nodes to facilitate students. Network access has also been provided in the common areas so that students can share computing resources if desired.

Yes. Students, including freshmen, can have cars on campus. There is a designated and convenient student parking.

You can apply for a hostel room after your admission to SSE is confirmed. This link will give you the hostel policy, as well as the application form for residential accommodation and other important information.

Applicants from outside Lahore are given first priority. We try to accommodate all those who apply for residential accommodation, though we cannot guarantee you a room if you are a resident of Lahore.

Student societies, clubs, and associations, some with multinational affiliations, help to meet the recreational needs of students. We have societies for dramatics, debates, sports, literature, adventure, music, media arts, astronomy, culture and religion among others.

LUMS SSE will offer undergraduate programs in the areas listed below:

1. Biology
2. Chemistry
3. Computer Science
4. Electrical Engineering
5. Mathematics
6. Physics

We do not admit applicants into a particular program; we admit them into SSE. For the first year, all admitted students will study a common rigorous curriculum in science and mathematics. Only at the start of the second year do we ask them to choose specialized courses in one of the six majors listed above. By postponing this decision for a year, we believe students will make an informed choice that is more likely to bring them fulfillment and success.

Upon graduation, the degree certificate will specify this chosen major.

All students will study a rigorous, common, core curriculum over the first year and part of the second year. This core will consist of a required set of fundamental sciences and mathematics courses, introductory level technology courses, as well as a certain number of social sciences and humanities courses that you will choose.

You will declare your intended major at the beginning of the second year. Subsequently, you will take specialized courses and do independent research.

Classes at SSE will be taught in English.

You will be expected to declare your intended major at the beginning of your second year.

SSE does not plan on offering degrees in Civil and Mechanical Engineering in the near future.

Typically, you should be able to complete your undergraduate degree in 4 years, though this may vary from case to case.

The SSE BS is a full-time degree which will require complete commitment. Given our academic requirements, it will be impossible to pursue the degree part-time.

Currently, SSE does not have provisions to allow a double degree. The curriculum followed at SSE will be exceedingly rigorous and would render it impractical to pursue another degree simultaneously.

However, a substantial portion of our curriculum comprises humanities and social science electives, offering students the opportunity to experience a diverse range of subjects while at SSE.

The curriculum followed at SSE will be exceedingly rigorous and would render it impractical to pursue another major simultaneously.

The core curriculum will make it imperative for all students to complete at least one year in all the specializations being offered at SSE. Therefore, after obtaining your B.S. degree in the primary field of your choice, you will be equipped to pursue an M.S. in your secondary field.

Yes. The decision making processes of each school will be independent of each other. Keep in mind that, if granted admission to both schools, you will have to choose one. Ours is a full-time program that must be pursued exclusively.

Yes. In addition, after you have been granted admission, you will receive a reading list for the summer. Going through those recommended books should provide you with ample background to take our introductory courses.

At the SSE, there are no fixed numbers of students who will be allowed to choose a particular major. We will let merit-based competition in the introductory courses relevant to a major and the judgment of our faculty determine who is accepted into a particular major.

Yes. All programs will be accredited by the HEC. In addition to this, the Electrical Engineering program will be fully accredited with the PEC.

Several well reputed national and multinational companies are investing in the SSE and providing it financial support. All are interested in recruiting our graduates. Through our summer internship program and otherwise, we will arrange job interviews for our students at these firms. Our graduates will be qualified to apply to all national research organizations in Pakistan. Their excellence will be so apparent that hiring them will be the obvious choice. With an SSE degree, you will be at par with the best foreign graduates and should be at a competitive advantage when applying for jobs anywhere in the world. Keep in mind that the SSE is an engine that will drive social change. Our graduates will have the capacity to not only brilliantly execute any existing project but to go ahead and devise new projects, fill new job descriptions in emerging high-tech industries and, should they so choose, start their own companies. For those of you who apply to graduate school, we expect you to be snapped up by the SSE faculty into their research groups or by the top international universities.

Our entire faculty is highly research active and we fully intend to start a world-class graduate program soon. Part of the reason we are commencing the undergraduate classes first is so that we can train - to an appropriately high caliber - the people who will go on to become our graduate students.

SSE undergraduate degree programs will commence in September 2008.

You are eligible if you have done your O' levels/Matriculation and A' levels/F.Sc. or equivalent.

If you entered an undergraduate program in 2007 and have decided to apply to SSE, you should be prepared to forgo up to one year of education if admitted.

We believe that students who excel in a curriculum like the one listed below are well-suited for the demands of the rigorous courses offered at SSE:

4 years of Mathematics (including Calculus)
2 years of all basic sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics)
3 years of English (4 years recommended)

Application forms will be available, both online and in print, from November 12, 2007. The deadline for receipt of your completed form is Friday, January 18, 2008.

Short-listed candidates will be required to take an Admissions Test, which will be held on Sunday, March 2, 2008, in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar and Quetta (exact venues to be announced later). Students who clear the test will be called for an interview and the final admit list will be decided by April 7, 2008. For more details, please see our Admissions Calendar.

Please note that admissions to SSE will be highly competitive and an outstanding academic record is pre-requisite. SSE is looking for well-rounded individuals, so your extra-curricular activities are also an important consideration during the admissions decision.

The test will be divided into six sections. It will consist entirely of multiple choice questions. The English Section will also require students to write an essay. Negative marking will be imposed in order to discourage blind guessing.

Compulsory Sections:
- English
- Basic Mathematics

Option of attempting any three of the following Subject Sections:
- Advanced Mathematics
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics

A candidate is allowed to attempt all four sections if he/she so wishes, in which case the best three will be counted.

We do not prescribe specific textbooks but you can refer to any A' levels and/or F.Sc. course books. Also, please make sure you go through our test syllabi and attempt the sample test questions, which are indicative of what you will encounter on the actual test.

No.

No. Candidates are not allowed to bring any formula sheets, periodic tables, etc. All the necessary material and information will be provided by the SSE.

The Admissions Test will be held simultaneously in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar and Quetta on March 2, 2008. Details of the exact locations will be provided later.

The final interviews will be held at the LUMS campus.

This is difficult to quantify, not because we have trouble finding the appropriate words but in fact because we are not looking for applicants to fulfill a rigid set of constraints. We are looking for geniuses, the leaders of tomorrow and we fully recognize that such individuals have highly varied qualities and traits. The interview is your chance to show us those aspects of your personality that make you unique, and it is our chance to assess your potential.

Each student will be interviewed by a panel of multiple faculty members, who have spent years cultivating 'the jeweler's eye' and are trained to recognize a diamond in the rough. The interview will not follow any set format. It is up to the discretion of the faculty members what they choose to ask you. There is no recommended preparation. The only advice we can give you is to be yourself and let your own special attributes shine through. You can decide at the interview whether you wish to converse in English or Urdu.

Some financial assistance will be available for domestic candidates who are invited for the interview. On-campus accommodation will be guaranteed to all candidates who come to Lahore for the interview. Details of how to apply will be sent along with your invitation to the interview.

We want our students to have a well-rounded education, which is why we require them to have a thorough understanding of a range of subjects. It is not mandatory for Engineering students to take Biology, but they must take three out of our four subject tests which would mean they would have to take Advanced Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry.

Additionally, the common, core curriculum for students in the first and second year will make it mandatory to take courses in all the six specializations being offered by SSE.

You do not have to clear any pre-requisites in order to apply. It is not necessary that you have taken Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics or Physics in your F.Sc./A' levels. It is essential, however, that you have a sufficient grasp of these subjects so that you can clear our Admissions Test. This requires you to take at least three of the four Advanced Subject tests, and you may prepare for them on your own, or at a school. If this poses a problem, it is perhaps not a good idea to apply SSE. We strongly believe in providing our students with a sound grounding in all the basic sciences and will have a rigorous set of core courses to ensure that. If studying for the admissions test is a stumbling block, you will probably find it difficult to do well in our courses.

We will grant Conditional Acceptances to successful applicants who will take their final A' levels/F.Sc. exams in 2008. We will require successful completion of the course of study but the minimum marks/grades we ask for may vary case to case. We do not expect our requirements to be difficult to meet for any student who is brilliant enough to be granted admission to the SSE. However, we do want to ensure that you do not merely rest on your past laurels; we want to see you actively strive for excellence.

No. Even though it is true that you would have undergone 12 years of school by next September, we do not encourage students to drop out of their current schooling, whatever it may be, without obtaining the certificate or diploma they had enrolled for.

Only if you will have completed no more than one year of your program by September 2008. If so, you may apply to the SSE, but you will have to start all over in the first year here. If you are granted admission, we will consider your case individually and see if you can be given credit for some of the courses you have already taken elsewhere; however there are no guarantees that you will receive credit and so, when applying, you should be aware that you might have to write off up to an entire year of coursework. Will limit these admits to a small number and admission for them will be exceptionally competitive.

We will not consider students who will have completed more than one year of another undergraduate program by September 2008.

No. But we would like to know what you have done with your time. You might well have gained some experience that makes you a more interesting candidate.

We will not grant deferrals at the SSE. In such a case, you must re-apply next year.

Application forms for admission in September 2008 are available, both online and in print.

You can get a copy of the application form from the SSE Admissions Office, LUMS. The forms are also available for download (in PDF format) from our website.

The application form is free of cost.

The deadline by which we should receive your undergraduate application form is Friday, January 18, 2008.

The deadline for the receipt of the Financial Aid form is Friday, February 22, 2008. Please refer to the Admissions Calendar for details.

All our deadlines are receipt dates.

The earlier you submit your application, the sooner we can create a file for you and track receipt of your application materials. However, applications submitted earlier will not receive preferential review.

No. Once enrolled, you are free to explore from among our various majors and you do not need to declare a major until the beginning of your second year.

No. The activities section is optional but if you have something to share with us please do so on the given form. Do not attach a resume to your application since we will not be able to review it.

We will only accept paper-based application forms mailed (or hand-delivered) to the following address:

LUMS School of Science & Engineering
Sector U, DHA
Lahore Cantt 54792
Pakistan

Under no condition will we accept forms that are emailed or faxed.

No.

All Pakistani applicants must take the SSE admission test. SAT-I, SAT-II and TOEFL scores are not required from local candidates. However, if you have given these tests, you may mention your scores in the application form.

Foreign applicants who cannot make it to the SSE admission test will be required to take instead, the SAT Reasoning Test and three out of the following SAT-II Subject Tests: Biology-M, Chemistry, Mathematics-IIC and Physics. The TOEFL is not mandatory.

We should receive all official test scores no later than Friday, February 22, 2008.

The SAT test is offered every month. The last date on which you may take your SAT-I/II, to ensure that official scores reach us on time, is January 26, 2008.

Please make sure that your official SAT score reports are sent to us electronically, by the respective testing agencies. The college code for LUMS School of Science & Engineering is 0513.

The college code for LUMS School of Science & Engineering is 0513.

The SSE does not have clearly defined, required minimum scores. We regard test results as helpful indicators of academic ability and achievement when considered thoughtfully among many other factors.

For domestic applicants, SAT scores are optional. Think of them as extra-curricular activities. They are not required, but if you have taken the tests and performed well, by all means submit the scores. Declare them if you think they will help your application, but we leave this up to you.

Yes. We review only the score from a single test sitting that you present in your application.

You must ask the principal to submit the High School Report form available in your application booklet, or an official transcript.

If the principal is submitting an official transcript instead of filling the grades table (on Page 2 of the High School Report form), please make sure that the other sections of the High School Report form are filled out. This form must accompany the official transcript as the cover page.

In case you have attended multiple high schools/colleges in the past five years, we will need the principal of each to directly mail to us either an official transcript or a filled-out version of the 'High School Report' form available in your application booklet.

If the principal is submitting an official transcript instead of filling the grades table (on Page 2), please make sure that the other sections of the High School Report form are filled out. This form must accompany the official transcript as the cover page.

Admission to SSE will be highly competitive, but we do not have clearly defined, required minimum scores. We regard your marks and/or percentages as helpful indicators of academic ability and achievement when considered thoughtfully among many other factors.

Our tuition fee is about Rs. 375,000 per year. This amount may seem large, but is only a fraction of what it actually costs us to deliver a state-of-the-art science and engineering education. If you cannot afford to pay our fee, please submit an application for financial aid with the application for undergraduate admission. We will evaluate your financial needs only after we decide to admit you. We will use separate criteria to determine the financial needs of students who apply from outside Pakistan.

Yes. To attract the most talented students, admissions will be need-blind and financial aid will be provided to all those who demonstrate a genuine need.

This means that, except for some international student applications, we will not consider your family's financial circumstances when we evaluate your application for admission. You will know whether or not you have been offered admission to SSE based on your own achievements and efforts, not on your family's financial strength.

The Financial Aid Form will be included in your application package. Please make sure it reaches us by Friday, February 22, 2008.

No. Each admission decision is made without consideration of a candidate's financial need - a policy we call 'need-blind' admissions.

No. There is no automatic cutoff level for financial aid eligibility. A number of factors, including, but not limited to, taxable and untaxable income, net value of assets, family size, number of family members in college, and taxes paid, will be used in determining the amount the family can reasonably be expected to contribute towards SSE's costs. The SSE Financial Aid Office will carefully review individual family circumstances; students and families who feel that financial assistance is needed are encouraged to apply.

We will adjust individual financial aid packages to accommodate significant changes in a family's financial situation. Students apply for financial assistance each year, and we will meet students' demonstrated need for all four years.

Transfer admissions will not be possible in September 2008.

In case you enrolled in another undergraduate program in 2007, you will be eligible to apply to SSE if you are willing to forgo up to one year of education. All incoming students will be admitted to the freshman class.

Yes. Transfer admissions will be allowed in 2009. More information on transfer admissions in 2009 will be available in due course.

No, SSE will admit students to the undergraduate degree program, whether as freshmen or transfer students, for Fall enrollment only.

You will be considered a foreign applicant if:

1. You are currently residing at a foreign address
2. Your last year of schooling was at a foreign high school
3. You are corresponding with us from a foreign address

Please note that we have limited spaces for foreign applicants. Therefore, you will need to have very high SAT scores and an exceptional academic record in order to be considered for admission.

You can download the application form (in PDF format) from our website.

Yes, it is mandatory for all foreign applicants to state their (current) passport number as a form of positive identification. Please also note that we expect you to have a valid passport so that you can travel to Lahore for the interview, in the event that you are short-listed.

Your request for financial aid does not impact the evaluation of your application or the pre-screening stage of the admissions process in any way. We will only refer to your financial aid request (if you have submitted one) in the event that you are admitted to our program. For domestic students who are granted admission, financial aid is guaranteed; for international students however, our funds are limited and we might offer partial aid, at best. Please note that this means there will be international students who are admitted, but their requests for financial aid are not granted.

Those international applicants who cannot make it to the SSE Admissions Test are required to take their SAT I and SAT II in three of the following four subjects: Biology-M, Chemistry, Mathematics-IIC and Physics. Please make sure you take all your tests early enough so that your official scores reach us by Friday, February 22, 2008.

No. The TOEFL is not a requirement for applying to SSE.

Yes. Our aim is to pick the two hundred brightest minds we can find and as part of this selection process, we value our interview highly. All international students who are short-listed will be expected to travel to Lahore for the interview. While we cannot offer travel support for international candidates, we will provide on-campus accommodation for the interview, should you require it.