The Biology Graduate Program oversees and coordinates graduate education leading to two degrees: the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Biology. This program emphasizes the research component of graduate education. Because of the diverse nature of biology and the specialization demanded to carry out research in modern biology, the prerequisites and degree requirements are sufficiently flexible to allow students to pursue both special and general interests.

Anyone with a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university may apply for admission to the Biology Graduate Program. Applicants are generally expected to have an undergraduate grade point average of at least 3.0 (out of 4.0), a combined verbal and quantitative Graduate Record Examination score of at least 1100, and (for non-native English speakers) a TOEFL (Department Code: 0235) score of at least 550 on paper based test or 213 on CBT or 79 on Internet-based test (iBT). Our GRE instituition code is 1837, Department Code is 0203.

Prerequisite college-level coursework includes one year of physics, two years of chemistry, one semester of calculus, one year of general biology, and upper-level courses providing a working knowledge of contemporary biology. A student may provisionally enter the program without having completed all of these, but any remaining prerequisites must then be completed before a degree can be awarded.