Applications to the Biology Graduate Program will be reviewed between
December 1 and January 31. Completed applications are considered as they
arrive. Many applicants are invited for personal interviews at the
Department's expense. Applicants will be notified by April 15 as to
whether they have been accepted.
This page describes the application process and includes links to forms
and other application materials. Those materials and additional
information can also be obtained from the Biology Graduate Program
Coordinator, Ms. Shannon Nielsen.
If you are applying to one of the campus-wide programs as well as
to the Department of Biology, please inform Shannon
(
Shannon.Nielsen@bioscience.utah.edu)
to ensure that your application materials end up in all the right places.
If you are applying to work toward a Master of Science degree,
please note that you must have a firm commitment from a potential faculty
advisor before submitting a formal application, and that the
advisor must have discussed your application with Shannon. Some
applicants believe that the M.S. is a necessary or usual step on the way
to the Ph.D. This is not true. Most Ph.D.s never earned a Master's
degree. So if your goal is to earn a Ph.D., you should apply to Ph.D.
programs.
Applicants can find the e-mail addresses of potential faculty advisors on
their research-interest
pages or in the on-line department
directory.
The application deadline for Fall Semester
2010 is January 8th, 2010.
Postal service can be slow during and immediately after the December
holiday season, so all application materials should be mailed well in advance of
the deadline.
The Department prescreens all applications before documents are submitted
to the University of Utah Graduate Admissions Office. For this reason,
please send the items listed below directly to Shannon
Nielsen. Application materials should not be sent to the
Graduate Admissions Office (contrary to the statement on the application
form). Please let Shannon know if you inadvertently sent an application
to the Graduate Admissions Office.
- Application for admission to graduate school. You can download
a copy of the University's Graduate School application form as a PDF
file, or you can ask Shannon to send you one.
(To read and print the PDF you need to have the free Adobe Acrobat
Reader installed on your computer.) Please fill out the form as
completely and accurately as you can. There is no application fee.
- One official copy of transcripts from all colleges and universities
you have attended. Please send photocopies of all transcripts with your
application while official copies are being generated and sent.
- GRE scores. An official copy of a recent Graduate Record
Examination Aptitude Test is required. An advanced subject test (Biology
or Chemistry) is highly recommended but not mandatory. Please include a
photocopy of your score report(s), while official copies are being generated
and sent. The University of Utah's institution code is 4853, and the
Department of Biology's code is 0203.
- TOEFL score (international students only). The University
of Utah requires a minimum TOEFL score of 500 (173 computer based) for
applicants to be considered for admission. The average TOEFL score for
applicants to the Biology Graduate Program is 600 or higher.
- Letters of recommendation. Three people who can comment on your
training, experience and scientific potential should send confidential
letters of support. The people who write these letters should send them
directly to Shannon Nielsen at the address below. It is
your responsibility to confirm that they have done so. Each letter
should include a completed copy of the Department's reference form which can be obtained from
Shannon if you are unable to download and print the PDF. Please note that
you must fill out the 'applicant' block at the top of the form
before giving it to each person who will write in support of your
application.
- Personal statement. Please write an essay that includes:
(a) A description of your overall academic interests and goals.
Why do you seek graduate training?
(b) A description of your specific scientific interests and a list of
faculty in this department whose research interests seem compatible with
yours. Can you identify one or two potential research
advisors among the faculty? More generally, your statement should
indicate why you are applying to this department.
(c) A summary of your previous research experience or jobs involving
laboratory or field work.
(d) A brief account of relevant teaching or tutoring experience you have
had.
(e) Any other facts about you that might be of help in the review process.
- Curriculum Vitae (please see example).
- Research-interest checklist. Graduate students enter the Department in
one of two ways. Those with well-defined interests usually know in advance that
they are coming to work with a particular research group. However, some students
spend their first year doing laboratory rotations, so as to gain first-hand
exposure to the research programs of two or more faculty before deciding which lab
to join. The great diversity of research programs pursued by our faculty
present outstanding opportunities for students with interdisciplinary research
interests, so a rotation year can be spent taking courses and carrying out
exploratory research in very different kinds of labs, while attempting to define
a future thesis project that boldly crosses traditional disciplinary
boundaries. To assist us in processing your application, please print the
research-interest checklist
and include the completed form with your other application materials. This
does not commit you to anything; it is merely (but importantly) to help us ensure
that appropriate faculty review your application.
All of these items should be sent directly to
Ms. Shannon Nielsen
Graduate Program Coordinator
Department of Biology
University of Utah
257 South 1400 East
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0840
Shannon.Nielsen@bioscience.utah.edu
(801) 581-5636 or (800) 444-8638 ext. 1-5636.
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The links below lead to additional information about graduate study in the
Department of Biology.
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