Sections

Skip to content. | Skip to navigation

Personal tools
You are here: Home → Degrees → Graduate → Program Requirements
 

Program Requirements

Admission requirements

To be considered for admission, an applicant must have received a baccalaureate degree in one of the sciences from a regionally accredited institution with a cumulative undergraduate grade-point average of a least 3.0 on a scale of 4.0.  International applicants must hold the equivalent of an American four-year baccalaureate degree and must plan to apply at least four months prior to the beginning of the semester in which they intend to begin graduate studies.

International applicants must take and submit scores for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the IELTS (International English Language Testing System), with the exceptions noted below.  The Biology Program requires a minimum TOEFL score of 600 (paper-based), 250 (computer-based), or 80/20 speaking (iBT). The minimum composite score for the IELTS is 6.5.

International applicants are exempt from the TOEFL/IELTS requirement who have received a baccalaureate or a master's degree from a college/university/institution in any of the following: Australia, Belize, British Caribbean and British West Indies, Canada (except Quebec), England, Guyana, Republic of Ireland, Liberia, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Scotland, the United States and Wales.

Information about the TOEFL can be obtained by writing to the Educational Testing Service, Box 6155, Princeton, NJ 08541-6155 or visiting their web site at www.toefl.org. Information about the IELTS can be obtained by contacting IELTS International, 100 East Corson Street, Suite 200, Pasadena CA 91103 or visiting its web site at www.ielts.org.

Ph.D. requirements

Students working towards a Ph.D. must complete three examinations:

    • The candidacy examination, a written and oral examination taken during the second or third semester, tests fundamental concepts of biology. After the candidacy examination is passed, the Ph.D. research program is planned by the student together with his or her Doctoral Thesis Committee. This committee is selected by the student and his/her advisor; it consists of a minimum of four graduate faculty, including at least two in the Biology Department.
    • The comprehensive examination, an oral examination taken in the second or third year, evaluates the candidate's proposed research and basic knowledge in his/her chosen subject area.
    • The final thesis defense includes an oral presentation of the thesis research and an oral examination on that research. The Ph.D. thesis must represent a significant original contribution and will usually require at least two or three years of laboratory or field research.

Students are expected to complete a Ph.D. within five years. Depending on the program option agreed with their faculty advisor, students may also take one or more lecture courses.

Masters degree requirements

Students registered for an M.S. degree in Biology must complete course work, with guidance from their academic adviser. In addition, a research thesis is usually required and must be defended before a faculty committee. The Master's Thesis Committee consists of a minimum of three graduate faculty (including at least two in the Biology Department). The research must represent an original contribution, and the time allotted to it is about one year. All students are encouraged to begin their research during the first year. Students who elect to complete an M.S. degree are expected to finish in two years.

Further information

For further general information about Penn State graduate degree program requirements, see the Graduate Degree Programs Bulletin (http://www.psu.edu/bulletins/whitebook/).

Document Actions