Graduate Program Admission Requirements

Submission of application materials on time is an important requirement for full consideration. To be considered for teaching and research assistantships in the Department of Zoology, you must have all materials in our hands by December 1st. Additional financial awards (recruiting fellowships, etc) are also available from the College of Natural Science and the University.

Your application will not be reviewed by the department’s Graduate Affairs Committee until all of the following components have been received:

  1. University Application Form: You must complete, and submit payment for, the on-line University application form (Application for Admission to Graduate Study) provided by the University’s Office of Admissions and Scholarships (OAS). More information about admission to MSU can be found at the Graduate School website.

    Question #17 on the OAS (University) application form asks you to specify a “major code” and “major name”. Here you should select among the following three options, and answer question #17 accordingly:

    Major Code   Major Name
    3889   Zoology PhD
    3887   Zoology MS
    3941   Zoology & Environmental Toxicology joint PhD

    If you are interested in the University’s interdisciplinary program in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior. Note that admission to the EEBB program requires you to fill out yet another brief application form to be submitted directly to:

    Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior Program
    103 Giltner Hall
    Michigan State University
    East Lansing, MI
    48824-1115
    (517) 432-1359
    eebb@msu.edu
    http://www.msu.edu/~eebb

2. Letters of recommendation: We require three letters of recommendation from individuals qualified to assess your promise of success in a graduate program (e.g. college or university faculty, individuals at research or other scholarly institutions, teaching assistants, etc.)  We ask that you use the reference letter system developed by Embark. (https://apply.embark.com/grad/msu/34/)

3. GRE scores: An official report of your GRE scores sent directly from the Educational Testing Service. Since your application for graduate study in Zoology will not be reviewed until your GRE scores have been received by the department, it is important to take the examination early enough so that your application folder will be complete by the December 1st deadline. The Educational Testing Service instutution code for MSU is 1465. The departmental code for Zoology is 0220. For help or more information regarding standardized testing, please visit the MSU Counseling Center test information website. MSU Counseling Center test information website

4. Transcripts: A complete set of official transcripts of all prior university-level academic work should be sent directly to the Zoology Department Office.  The university Admissions Office requires we receive a transcript from any institution listed on the application.

5. Completed application form from the Department of Zoology

Although some information will be the same as was given on the University's on-line application, there are portions of the Zoology Department application that provides specific information for Zoology.

Download Application (PDF, Requires Adobe Reader)

6. A complete CV (Curriculum Vitae)

Please send materials listed under items 4 - 6, to:

The Graduate Secretary
Department of Zoology
203 Natural Science Bldg.
Michigan State University
East Lansing MI 48824-1115
(517) 355-4642
zoology@msu.edu
Letters of recommendation status will be obtained from the reference letter system, Embark.  To determine whether all other components of your application have been received, or for additional information, please make inquiries to the address above.

Undergraduate Preparation

Prospective students are advised that the following undergraduate preparation in mathematics, chemistry and physics is required:

Should a student matriculate at Michigan State University without this preparation, it will be necessary to correct shortcomings while here. Be advised that courses taken to correct shortcomings might of necessity be at the undergraduate level and not earn graduate credit. Every effort should be made to be completely prepared prior to matriculation.

Supplementary application materials:

If English is not your first language:

All Zoology graduate students at Michigan State University for whom English is not their first language must demonstrate that their English language skills are adequate for their assignment as teaching assistants. Most foreign applicants from non-English-speaking countries are able to take the TOEFL exam sufficiently early in the year to have their TOEFL scores forwarded to MSU by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). However, this may not be the case with respect to the SPEAK/ITAOI test. We urge all those for whom English is not their first language to take the SPEAK/ITAOI test as early as possible to facilitate their evaluation by the Graduate Affairs Committee in the Department of Zoology. If SPEAK/ITAOI test scores are unavailable when admissions decisions are made, applicants cannot be considered for departmental financial support during their first year in the graduate program. For help or more information regarding standardized testing, please visit the MSU Counseling Center test information website.