Admission to our graduate program is extremely competitive. Admission decisions are based on the following: C.V. (Curriculum Vita), transcripts, letters of recommendation, letter of interest, letter requesting a Teaching Assistantship, and GRE and TOEFL (international students) results. It is imperative that your application be complete. For admission in full standing a 3.0 GPA on the last 60 hours of undergraduate work is required. Also, we require a minimum of 1000 (verbal pus quantitative) GRE score for both M.S. and Ph.D. However, a higher score is recommended to be competitive for teaching assistantships.

To be admitted you also must obtain a faculty advisor from the Department of Biology. It is your responsibility to convince one of our faculty members to accept you to work in his/her laboratory. You will find a list of our faculty members, their e-mail addresses, and a short synopsis of their research interests here.

Applications for the fall semester should be received by February 1 and for spring semester by November 1. Applications received after these dates will be considered but may be less likely to receive full consideration for financial aid.

The application process has two steps.

First, apply online or mail an application to the Graduate School along with the required application fee. Send the following to the Graduate School: Official transcripts for all undergraduate/graduate work, and GRE and TOEFL (international students) results. Address below:

The UM Graduate School
The Graduate House
Old P.R. Building
P.O. Box 1848
University, MS 38677
Phone: 662.915.7474
Fax: 662.915.6557

You can check on your application status at this website: https://umepp3.olemiss.edu:8443/irj/portal/anonymous.

Second, send directly to the Department of Biology the following material:

• your C.V. (Curriculum Vita)
• copies of transcripts, GRE and TOEFL scores,
  
• a typewritten statement of your research interests and career goals (statement of purpose)
  
• three letters of recommendation (these should be sent directly from the recommender). We do accept electronic versions of recommendation letters (ex: PDF).
  
• a separate letter requesting a teaching assistantship (by email or mail)

The Biology Department's Address is below:

Dr. Glenn Parsons
Chair of Graduate Studies
University of Mississippi
Department of Biology
P.O. Box 1848
University, MS 38677-1848

As of October 2003 we no longer require the GRE subject test in Biology.