Admissions
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.
Students applying must send materials to The University of Texas at Austin Graduate and International Admissions Center. The Graduate School has set certain criteria for admission that must be met before an individual can be admitted into a specific graduate program. Information about how to apply may be found at the Graduate School web page.
Applicants are not offered admission unless an individual professor indicates their willingness to have the applicant as a student in their lab. Without a faculty sponsor the applicant will not be admitted. It is therefore advantageous to contact professors of interest early in the admission process and to include their name(s) on the relevant question in the application form. This will ensure that the application file is reviewed by the appropriate faculty.
Applicants are expected to have acquired a good foundation in the biological sciences before applying. Ideally, applicants will have completed upper-division coursework in the areas of ecology, evolution, and/or behavior (for EEB) or in plant biology (for PB) as well as math up to the calculus level and at least one course in statistics.
Application Requirements
GRE scores are no longer required. Please do not submit them. We will not use them in reviewing application materials.
- Contact faculty you would be interested in working with.
- Complete the Graduate School Application.
- 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.
- Complete the appropriate Graduate Application form (EEB or Plant Biology) and upload it to your online application.
- Upload official transcripts from all colleges and universities previously attended to your online application. We cannot accept an unofficial copy.
- Submit your statement of purpose online when filling out the UT Graduate School application, or upload it to your application when you submit your other documents. Please see the EEB program application or PB program application for the prompt.
- Three letters of recommendation from people able to judge the applicant’s academic potential. When the names and e-mail addresses of an applicant’s recommenders are entered on the Texas Common Application, an email message will be sent to each recommender giving instructions on how to submit letters of recommendation online. It usually takes a few days for your recommenders to receive their request.
- 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.
Contact
Tamra Rogers
Graduate Program Coordinator
tamrabrogers@utexas.edu