Admission Requirements

The application due date is December 1 for prospective students wishing to enter for the fall semester the following year. This is a hard deadline, please have everything in by this date.  We only accept applications for the fall semester. 

For admission to the Plant Biology program, an applicant must:

• Hold a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Science, Botany, Plant Biology, or a related field or have at least 24 hours of coursework (12 of those hours must be in upper division) in the life sciences from an accredited institution in the U.S., or have had equivalent training at a foreign university.
• Submit official copies of each academic transcript and have at least a 3.0 GPA (grade of B) in all upper division work, and any graduate work completed. Lower division coursework does not count in the admissions GPA.
• Submit graduate program application.
• Submit three letters of recommendation from persons qualified to evaluate academic success.
• Submit a personal statement that describes accomplishments, academic objectives, research interests, and goals. This is included in the graduate application.
• For International applicants whose native language is not English are required to take the TOEFL or IELTS. The minimum acceptable score for admission to the School of Graduate Studies for the TOEFL is score of 550 (paper test), 213 (computer-based test) or 79 (internet-based test) or for IELTS it is 6.5.  To be exempt from the International Teaching Assistant Assessment here at the University of Texas at Austin the score must be at least 25 for the TOEFL and at least 7.5 for the IELTS.

Application Procedure 

• Contact faculty you would be interested in working with.
• Visit the Graduate School website for How to Apply for Gradute Admission.
• Complete The Graduate School Application with included departmental application.
• Three letters of recommendations will be uploaded by your recommender once your application is submitted.
• Upload transcripts (official copies only) from all colleges attended. Unofficial transcripts will not accepted.
• For international students, send official score reports for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) using the university code 6882. We do not have a department code. Test scores must be reported directly FROM the testing agency. Photocopies will not be accepted.
• Pay the application fee. Your application will not be processed until the Office of Graduate Admissions has received the application fee. For those who qualify for an application fee waiver, submit the requested documents to the Office of Graduate Admissions. See fee waiver information at How to Apply for Graduate Admission. 
• GRE scores are no longer required. Please do not submit them. We will not use them in reviewing application materials.