Application Checklist

Prospective graduate students in the Department of Biology must submit two separate applications: a Biology Department pre-application and UofL Graduate School application. Prospective PhD students seeking financial support for the Fall term should apply by Jan. 15 for full consideration.

___Review the list of faculty in our department and contact any whose research interests you. Contact the faculty member/s to see if they are accepting new students and if there are possibilities of studying under their direction.  Ph.D. and M.S.(thesis) applicants must have a committed faculty mentor before being accepted to our program. The input of the potential mentor will weigh heavily in the admissions process.

___Submit the Biology Department Graduate Program Pre-Application. This is not the official university application but will be the main thing the department sees in evaluating your application.

___Complete the UofL Graduate School online application. Please note there is $65 application fee. All requests for fee waivers should be sent to the Graduate School directly (gradadm@louisville.edu). Departments are unable to offer fee waivers. 

___Have two letters of reference sent to UofL Graduate School. References may be completed electronically via the online UofL Graduate School application. 

___Have official transcripts from previous institutions sent to UofL Graduate School. All academic credentials not in English must be accompanied with a notarized verbatim English translation in addition to official transcripts. If you studied outside of the United States, you are required to submit your academic records to a NACES (National Association of Credential Evaluation Services) verified credential evaluation service for a course-by-course evaluation to determine that your degree is equivalent to a US bachelor’s degree.

___Have the official results of your GRE sent to UofL Graduate School. NOTE: SUBMISSION OF GRE SCORES IS OPTIONAL FOR ALL APPLICANTS UNTIL 2024

___If English is not your native language, have the official results of your TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo test sent to UofL Graduate School.