Admissions

Zoology Graduate Program
University of Hawai`i at Manoa

NOTE AN IMPORTANT CHANGE IN ADMISSIONS TO THE Ph.D. PROGRAM

Admission requirements

Applicants for admission to the graduate program are required to hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S. college or university, or its equivalent from a recognized foreign institution of higher learning.

Undergraduate preparation

Applicants are expected to have had:

18 semester hours of Zoology;
three semesters of chemistry (inorganic and organic);
one year of college physics (with laboratory);
one course in calculus;
one course in botany (with laboratory) or a two-semester general biology course; and
a course in biochemistry or molecular biology.

Deficiencies in undergraduate preparation must be made up within the first two years without graduate credit, except that biochemistry or molecular biology may be taken for graduate credit if it is at the 400-700 level.

Application

A completed University of Hawai‘i graduate application form and transcripts of all prior college level work must be submitted to the Graduate Division before January 15 for admission the following August. Application forms can be obtained from either the Graduate Division admissions office or the Zoology Department.

In addition, the Zoology Department requires the following:

GRE General Test and Advanced Test in Biology (NOTE: The requirement for the Biology subject test may be
waived only under exceptional circumstances as judged by the graduate faculty.)
three letters of recommendation from persons who can appraise the student’s potential as an advanced degree candidate (these can use the Graduate Assistantship Evaluation form).

Applicants wishing to be considered for either Research or Teaching Assistantships also need to submit a Graduate Assistantship Application and have three recommendations submitted using the Graduate Assistantship Evaluation form. These forms are available online (Application; Evaluation) or can be requested from the Zoology Department.

Sponsor

Students are admitted to the Graduate Program in Zoology only if a member of the graduate faculty will “sponsor” that student, indicating that he or she is provisionally willing to serve as that student’s advisor. For this reason it is very important that prospective applicants contact appropriate faculty members well before the February 1 application deadline.

MS or Ph.D.?

EFFECTIVE FOR FALL 2002, APPLICANTS WITHOUT A M.S. MAY APPLY FOR ADMISSION DIRECTLY INTO THE Ph.D. PROGRAM

Applicants with a Master's degree in Zoology (or equivalent) will be considered for admission into the Ph.D. program. Applicants without a Master's degree may apply for either the M.S. or Ph.D. programs, although those applying for the Ph.D. program may be offered admission into the M.S. program instead, if the Admissions Committee determines they are not adequately prepared for doctoral studies.

Selection process

Faculty members inform the Admissions Committee (in writing) of any applicants they wish to sponsor for admission. Completed applications having a faculty sponsor then are evaluated by the Admissions Committee; the Committee may also try to match outstanding applicants with sponsors. The sponsored applicants then are ranked by the Admissions Committee, based on all their application materials. Applicants are accepted according primarily to this ranking, although available financial support also is considered. Teaching assistantships are offered to the highest ranked applicants. The overall number of new students to be admitted is determined by the faculty.

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Last update: 15 December 1999
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