Plant Biology Ph.D. Graduate Admissions

• Admission Requirements
• Application Instructions & Deadline
• Graduate College Admission Process
• Program Code PH2111

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Admissions Requirements

All graduate applications must be submitted electronically through the Graduate College.

• B.S., B.A., or M.S. in the natural sciences, with significant biology emphasis. (M.S. is preferred.) Coursework in the physical sciences (physics, chemistry, math, related disciplines) is recommended.
• GPA of 3.0 or better
• Three letters of recommendation.
• Statement of purpose [PDF] (one to two pages) indicating preferred faculty adviser(s) and describing previous research experience, graduate school goals, and career plans after graduate school. Please respond to each of the six following questions. The entire statement should be 2 pages or less, single spaced, using 12 point font. Important Note about your statement of purpose: Please answer all six questions below. Be sure to number each paragraph to correspond with a question number.
  • Please describe your career goals and how graduate school at OHIO would help you achieve those goals. (i.e., why do you want to earn a M.S. or Ph.D.).
  • Please describe any coursework or other training received during your B.S. or M.S. degree that is relevant to your application.
  • Please describe your quantitative skills and relevant experiences (e.g., experimental design, data collection and entry, bioinformatics, and/or statistical analyses) from your prior degree(s).
  • Please describe any relevant research or work experiences. This can include independent research, experiences as part of a course, internships, volunteering, paid jobs, presenting in a class or in a conference, communicating science, etc.  
  • Please identify your potential adviser(s) and briefly describe the project(s), research question(s), and/or general area of research that you are interested in pursuing while at Ohio University. Please do not hesitate to be in touch with any faculty member with whom you think you might like to study. See Faculty Research Areas for individual contact details and more information about the research interests of faculty.
  • In our department, most graduate students earn a stipend by being a teaching assistant (TA). If you are seeking TA support, then broadly describe the type of course you could imagine teaching, and what approach (maybe observed from your favorite teacher) you would take to engage undergraduate students. If you have teaching experience, please also broadly describe the courses you served as TA or lecturer.
• Transcripts
• Resume (CV)
• English Proficiency. International students whose native language is not English also must submit scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS academic). To be considered official, test scores must be reported directly from the testing agency to Ohio University. A TOEFL-iBT of 95 or higher is required. The minimum IELT is 6.5. More information on English Proficiency.

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Application Instructions & Deadline

To be considered for both admission and funding for the following fall semester, students should submit all materials by Jan. 7. For spring semester (funding often not available), students should submit all materials by Aug. 1.