Application Instructions
Admissions Criteria
This is a competitive program, with a minority of the applicants being offered admission
to the department. Fulfillment of the criteria specified below is not in itself
sufficient for admission. The applicants with the strongest academic records and
research interests that most closely match those of our graduate
faculty will be offered admission.
The Research Statement (= Statement of Purpose) required in the application carries
great weight in the admissions decision. You must describe your research interests
so that we can determine if they are compatible with the current research activities
of one or more of our graduate faculty. The statement also lets us evaluate your
knowledge of your discipline and your ability to articulate and motivate an interesting
research problem. The required letters of recommendation are also extremely important
to help us discriminate among applicants on the basis of aptitude for biological
studies, research experience and potential for success.
The Graduate School requires a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university
and a grade point average (GPA) for the last 2 years of undergraduate studies of
B (3.0/4.0) or higher for admission to the University of Florida. Exceptions to
this requirement require recommendation by the department and approval by the Dean
of the Graduate School.
The standards for admission to our Department are higher, but vary from year to
year depending on the level of competition and upon other aspects of an applicant’s
record (GRE and GPA are not more important than other aspects of your application).
As a general guide, successful applicants usually have combined verbal and quantitative
GRE scores of >1200 and GPA of >3.5 (although exceptions are not uncommon,
especially for international students).
Please arrange to take the GRE so that we can be assured of having your scores no
later than early January. The GRE subject test in Biology is not required for application
to our program. If you are not a U.S. citizen or a U.S. Permanent Resident, you
must apply as an international student for admission to the graduate program. As
such, many of you will be required to take the TOEFL exam or its equivalent as well;
see below. Additional information can be obtained from the International Center.
You will not be accepted into our program unless at least one faculty member shares
your research interests and is willing to serve as your major professor (chair of
your thesis or dissertation research supervisory committee). Thus, we encourage
prospective students to establish a dialog via letter, telephone, or e-mail with
one or more appropriate faculty members prior to applying to our program. We encourage
you to send them your CV and other relevant information and to discuss your scientific
interests and research ideas. NOTE: in your submitted application you must indicate
at least 1 potential supervisor as well as up of 3 faculty with whom you have overlapping
interests.
We also encourage you to visit the University of Florida campus and meet with our
faculty and graduate students. We prefer, however, that you wait to arrange a visit
until we have selected a short-list of possible candidates.
Application Deadlines and Admissions Notification
We review applications for admission to our Graduate Program one time each year.
The application deadline is December 15 (the online application
must be received by this time).During January, the Graduate Committee will review
all files. We anticipate having our top applicants visit UF in late February. In early
to mid-March, we will make admission decisions for the coming Fall term and extend
offers from mid-March through April. Students are expected to join our program in
the Fall, but under special circumstances can request a deferment until January
or the following fall.
Information for International Applicants
The University of Florida requires that most foreign applicants must submit scores
of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), IELTS (International English
Language Testing System), or MELAB (Michigan English Language Assessment Test).
The level of English competency required for admission is TOEFL scores of least
80 (internet), 550 (paper) or 213 (computer) or their equivalents in other two English
language tests, as well as a verbal GRE of at least 320.
See the Graduate School page for additional details on how to fulfill
this requirement. The TOEFL/IELTS/MELAB requirement is waived for foreign students
who have successfully completed at least one year at a college or university in
the United States.
Graduate applicants from these countries are not required to submit TOEFL scores:
Antigua, Australia, Anguilla, Antarctica (British), Barbados, Bermuda, Bahamas,
Belize, Bophuthatswana, Botswana, British Solomon Islands, Brunei, Canada, Sri Lanka,
Channel Islands, Ciskei, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Dominica, Ireland, Falkland Islands
(Islas Malvinas), Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guyana, India, British
Indian Ocean Territories, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Liberia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius,
Malta, Nauru, Nigeria, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe (Southern
Rhodesia), Philippines, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Singapore, St. Lucia, Trinidad
& Tobago, Tonga, Transkei, Tuvalu, Tanzania, Uganda, United Kingdom, St. Vincent,
British Virgin Islands, Venda, Virgin Islands, Vatican City, Namibia (South West
Africa), Western Samoa, Swaziland, and Zambia.
Note: Puerto Rican students must submit TOEFL scores.
Florida law requires that international Teaching Assistants (students from countries
in which English is not an official language) must pass the TOEFL and either 1)
the Test of Spoken English (TSE)
given by the Educational Testing Service, or 2) the SPEAK test given by the Academic Spoken English program
of the University of Florida. The SPEAK test is given regularly and can be taken after students arrive on campus. These tests are not required for students supported
by fellowships or research assistantships.
Graduate applicants from these countries are not required to take the Test of Spoken
English (TSE) or SPEAK test to be appointed as teaching assistants: Antigua, Australia,
Anguilla, Antarctica (British), Barbados, Bermuda, Bahamas, Belize, Botswana, Canada,
Cayman Islands, Dominica, Ireland, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Gambia, Ghana,
Gibraltar, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, New Zealand,
Zimbabwe (Southern Rhodesia), Sierra Leone, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, Tanzania,
Uganda, United Kingdom, St. Vincent, British Virgin Islands, Virgin Islands, Western
Samoa, and Swaziland.
To Apply
To apply, go to the application checklist and proceed.
Information about application materials can be obtained from the
Graduate Program Assistant, who can also answer basic questions about program
requirements and the status of your application materials.
Questions about our academic program and admissions decisions can be directed to
the Graduate Coordinator.