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Cathy Barr, the Graduate Secretary
If you are ready for the challenge of pursuing your graduate education in the Department of Biological Sciences at
the University of Pittsburgh, you can find all the materials you need right here. We are now accepting inquiries
regarding graduate study starting September 2008.
The application process differs only very slightly between applicants living in the United States, and those applying from abroad.
For full consideration of your application, please follow the appropriate set of instructions below.
ALL applicants MUST apply on-line. This requirement has been mandated to us from the School of Arts
and Sciences; the University will not accept a student that has applied using a paper application. Therefore, DO NOT request or send us
a paper application. Use the on-line system described below.
For applicants to the EE graduate program,
we encourage you to establish a dialog with a potential graduate advisor in Ecology or
Evolution during the application process.
For questions regarding the graduate program, consult our list of Frequently Asked Questions. If you can't find the answer there, feel free to contact Cathy Barr, the graduate secretary. Also,
supplementary application materials (transcripts, etc.) should be sent to Cathy Barr as well.
We look forward to hearing from you!
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International Applicants
You are considered to be an international applicant if you are NOT a US citizen AND are NOT residing in the United States. If so, please follow these simple instructions to complete
the application process. DO NOT follow the application process for residents of the United States, since there are critical differences that can affect the consideration of your application. |
- ALL international applicants must apply on-line using the ApplyYourself.com service.
Do not request, download, or complete a paper application; these will not be reviewed.
- Create an account with ApplyYourself.com and fill out the application on-line.
You don't need to do it all at once, the server saves your work.
- In section 2 (Application Information), choose 'Biological Sciences' as the Department; choose 'Biological Science - PhD' as the Academic Plan; choose 'Molecular, Cullular and Developmental Biology' or 'Ecology and Evolution' as your Proposed Area of Specialization.
You do not ned to enter anything into the box entitled "Indicate the nature of your interest in graduate studies'.
- We do require a brief statement of Graduate course objectives in Section V (additional information). This is typically 1-2 pages in length; you can also upload a CV along with your statement (as s single document).
In this statement, please discuss your long-term professional goals and interests, and indicate why you wish to obtain graduate training in the Biological Sciences. It is very helpful to describe briefly your previous research experience.
You may wish to discuss your interests and qualifications
in relation to our program and the faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences; for example, tell us if you have a clear idea of who you would like to have
as a research mentor. Feel free to discuss your experience, your strengths, and any apparent weaknesses in your academic record. Please discuss fully any special
circumstances affecting you and your academic career that you wish to have considered by the Admission Committee. This is an important part of the application, because
it allows us to see you as a person, and not as a colleciton of answers on an application form.
- Letters of recommendation can be completed on-line, or you can download the recommendation form as a PDF.
Have three appropriate referees complete the letters online, or have them return the paper forms and completed
letters to us. Again, the electronic letters allow for a more rapid and error-free review of your application.
- Arrange for a copy (just one) of your official transcripts to be sent to us
- Arrange for your official GRE scores and TOEFL scores (if applicable) to be sent to us, at institution code 2927. There are many different codes that can be used for the department code,
but if in doubt, use 0203. The TOEFL code is 35.
- There is a US$50 application fee for international applicants; these funds are required to offset the additional efforts involved in processing your
application. We realize that this can be a significant burden to some applicants, so be sure to read the material on this web site carefully to
ascertain if one of our graduate program will serve your educational needs; application fees can not be waived for international applicants.
- For international applicants to the EE graduate program,
it is encouraged that you establish a dialog with a potential graduate advisor in Ecology or
Evolution prior to submitting an application.
You should ensure your potential mentor is able to sponsor you both during your graduate education and during the application
process.
- For full consideration for matriculation in the Fall term, international applications should be completed on-line no later than 15 December.
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United States Applicants
You are considered to be an applicant from the United States if you are a US citizen OR you are currently residing in the United States. If so, please follow these simple instructions to complete
the application process. |
- All applicants from the United States must also apply on-line using the ApplyYourself.com service. On-line applications are downloaded directly
into our database for review, so these applications are reviewed more quickly, and there is no possibility of errors occurring when entering applicant data manually from a paper application.
Paper applications (see below) are accepted, but we cannot guarantee that they will be reviewed in a timely fashion since the data must be input into our database. For full consideration, all applicants
should apply using the on-line system.
- Create an account with ApplyYourself.com and fill out the application on-line.
You don't need to do it all at once, the server saves your work.
- In section 2, choose 'Biological Sciences' as the Department; choose a graduate program from among the three available. You do NOT have to specify a specialty.
- At the final step of the application process, where the server requests payment, check the button that says "Payment by Check". However, SEND NO MONEY.
This payment demand is integrated into the Apply-Now
system and there's no way we can remove that request. But our graduate programs have NO application fee..
- We do require a brief statement of Graduate course objectives in Section V (additional information). In this statement, please discuss your long-term professional
goals and interests, and indicate why you wish to obtain graduate training in the Biological Sciences. You may wish to discuss your interests and qualifications
in relation to our program and the faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences; for example, tell us if you have a clear idea of who you would like to have
as a research mentor. Feel free to discuss your experience, your strengths, and any apparent weaknesses in your academic record. Please discuss fully any special circumstances affecting you and your academic career that you wish to have considered by the Admission Committee. This is an important part of the application, because
it allows us to see you as a person, and not as a colleciton of answers on an application form.
- Letters of recommendation can be completed on-line, or you can download the recommendation form as a PDF.
Have three appropriate referees complete the letters online, or have them return the paper forms and completed
letters to us. Again, the electronic letters allow for a more rapid and error-free review of your application.
- Arrange for a copy (just one) of your official transcripts to be sent to us
- Arrange for your official GRE scores and TOEFL scores (if applicable) to be sent to us, at institution code 2927. There are many different codes that can be used for the department code,
but if in doubt, use 0203. The TOEFL code is 35.
- As noted above, there is no application fee for United States applicants; that's right; send no money. When applying on-line, choose the option to send a check, but don't send one. Please
do not pay with a credit card and then ask for reimbursement; once they have your money, it is impossible to get it back.
- For full consideration for matriculation in the Fall term, United States applications should be received no later than 15 January.
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