The deadlines are indicated in the UNT Graduate Catalog.

Fall: July 1
Spring: November 1
Summer: May 1

Applications are reviewed on a continuous basis once they are complete. The deadline is the last date we will accept application materials. We strongly suggest making your application several months in advance of the deadlines if you are interested in financial support opportunities, scholarships, or fellowships.

International Applicants have much earlier separate deadlines maintained by International Admissions. International Applicants must meet those deadlines rather than those from the Department of Biological Sciences.

Students seeking admission to Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology must first meet all admission requirements of the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies. Students who do not meet these requirements will not be considered for admission within Biological Sciences.

In addition, students who are required to apply through International Admissions must also meet all requirements set by that office. Students who do not meet these requirements will not be considered for admission within Biological Sciences.

Within Biological Sciences, we require:

• • BA/BS in a biological science with at least 24 hours in biology (including 12 advanced hours) for the MA/MS & PhD in Biology. Some variance to this requirement may be considered for applicants to Biochemistry or Molecular Biology.
  • Undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) or 3.2 or higher in last 60 hours. Graduate cumulative GPA of 3.4 or higher (on a 4.0 scale).

These are the minimum requirements to be considered for admission. Due to the competitive nature of our admissions process, meeting minimum requirements is not a guarantee that an applicant will be offered admission.

The application process for Biology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology is separate from Environmental Science. Applicants who are interested in that program should visit www.ias.unt.edu, for more information.

If you would like to know the status of your application, please email the following information to BIOLOGY@UNT.EDU:

• • Full name as indicated on application materials (required)
  • UNT application ID (if known)
  • UNT applicant ID (required)
  • Semester to which you are applying (required)
  • Program to which you are applying (required)
  

Please allow two (2) business days for a response.

PLEASE NOTE: The application status information provided through the my.unt.edu portal does not reflect an applicant’s status within the Department of Biological Sciences. This portal only reflects information from International Admissions and the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies and should not be used to determine if your departmental application is complete. The only way to determine the application status within the Department of Biological Sciences is with the email method indicated above.

The following items must be submitted directly to the Department of Biological Sciences:

• • Department of Biological Sciences Application
  • Department of Biological Sciences Application Data Sheet
  • Letter of Intent
  • Three (3) Letters of Recommendation
  • Resume/CV
  • Application for a Teaching Assistantship (if you would like to be considered).

Departmental application materials should be mailed directly to:

Graduate Admissions Coordinator
Department of Biological Sciences
1155 Union Circle #305220
Denton, Texas 76203

The delivery address for services such as UPS, FEDEX or DHL is:

Graduate Admissions Coordinator
Department of Biological Sciences
1510 Chestnut, Rm 210
Denton, Texas 76201

Biological Sciences does not have a specific score requirement. However we do require applicants to submit official scores on all sections of the General Test. GRE scores are included along with the other application materials for a holistic evaluation of the applicant. Subject Test GRE scores are used for diagnostic purposes, not admissions purposes.

An application will not be reviewed for an admissions decision until all parts of the application are received. This includes official GRE scores.

The UNT GRE school code is 6481.

Yes! Admission to the Dept. of Biological Sciences is competitive and we use a holistic admissions process. All components of the application are considered, so presenting a strong overall application is very important. Please feel free to include listings of any published articles so that faculty can gain a stronger understanding of your background. (Do not send copies of publications.)

Admission to Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology requires that a faculty member agree to act as your major professor. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact faculty members with research similar to their own interests or background. If you are not accepted by a faculty member willing to be your major professor, your application for admission will be denied.

In addition, incomplete applications are not reviewed for an admissions decision. It is the responsibility of the applicant to determine if all the required application materials have been submitted.

Yes! While it may be helpful to provide copies of materials to faculty members, you must first send required materials to the appropriate office for processing. If you would like a copy to be sent to a specific faculty member, you must include this request with the materials. This allows important papers to be processed in the correct offices in a timely manner.

There is no application fee required to submit your departmental materials to Biological Sciences.

However, both the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies and International Admissions require an application fee in order to begin processing of an application. This fee is required and we do not provide waivers. Information on the required fees can be found at the websites for each office.

Because admission to the Department of Biological Sciences is competitive, we are unable to comment on your chances because we do not know the credentials of everyone else who might choose to apply. If you are an applicant with a successful research background, a strong GPA, and strong GRE scores, we encourage you to apply. Please be aware that due to the number of applications we receive, meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission.

Very rarely. The request to allow conditional admission must come from the faculty member who would like to accept you. It cannot be initiated by the applicant. Applicants who do not meet the admissions requirement to the Department of Biological Sciences may wish to consider applying for a non-degree seeking status option provided by the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies. This option may allow you to raise your GPA or provide you with the appropriate background courses to reapply for admission during a later semester. Students interested in this option should refer to Question #21.

There are a limited number of scholarships and fellowships offered through the Department of Biological Sciences and the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies. These are usually available for applicants wishing to start in the Fall semesters. If you are interested in these, you should make note that application deadlines are very early, often in early February. It is strongly suggested that you begin your application process 2-3 months before this deadline to make sure that your application is in order in time to apply.

Most scholarship and fellowships will require separate applications and separate letters of recommendation. If you are interested, please make sure to indicate this to your major professor once accepted in order to learn about the requirements and forms.

Each semester a limited number of Teaching Assistantships are usually available, based on undergraduate enrollment in within the Biological Sciences. An application for a Teaching Assistantship must be completed to be considered. If you are interested in a Research Assistantship, you should check with your major professor concerning availability.

All students who request either an RA or a TA are required to attend an orientation at the beginning of their first semester on campus. International students are required to pass the Test of Spoken English “Speak Test” in order to be eligible for a Teaching Assistantship. If you do not take the Test of Spoken English, you will not be eligible for consideration for a TA until the next offering of the test during the next semester. It is very important to arrange your arrival so that you are in Denton early enough to attend the orientation and take the Test of Spoken English. The test is usually during the first part of the week before classes begin.

Because UNT is a Texas state institution, tuition rates vary according to residency status. Current information can be found online on the UNT website. The Department of Biological Sciences does not provide an automatic tuition waiver. Students are required to pay tuition.

There is no predetermined number of applicants admitted for any given semester.

You should contact International Admissions directly with questions concerning the evaluation of foreign transcripts. The process is handled entirely within that office. Staff within the Department of Biological Sciences are unable to answer these questions.

You should contact International Admissions directly with questions concerning the evaluation of foreign transcripts. The process is handled entirely within that office. Staff within the Department of Biological Sciences are unable to answer these questions.

YES. You must submit transcripts from every university/college attended. Failure to do so will significantly delay processing of your application and in some cases may cause a revocation of admission. Send all transcripts directly to the office handling your transcript evaluation (i.e. Toulouse School of Graduate Studies or International Admissions). Transcripts that are sent to the Department of Biological Sciences are not forwarded to other offices unless specifically requested by the applicant.

We review completed applications from students seeking a transfer. However, you must clearly explain the reasons for seeking a transfer in your letter of intent. You must submit a transcript for your current school to UNT.

Please Note: The number of credits allowed in transfer is very limited and any use of those credits on a graduate degree plan is at the discretion of both the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies and the Department of Biological Sciences.

STEP ONE: Contact the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies and complete a “Change of Major/Status” form indicating the degree within Biological Sciences for which you are applying.

The rest of your application process is the same as other applicants. Current status as a Non-Degree Seeking Student does not guarantee admission.

Please Note: The Toulouse School of Graduate Studies limits the number of hours that a Non-Degree Seeking Student can transfer to a degree program. In addition, any use of those hours on a graduate degree plan is at the discretion of The Toulouse School of Graduate Studies and the Department of Biological Sciences. It is strongly suggested that students planning this option should speak with the appropriate graduate advisor in the Department of Biological Sciences before entering the Non-Degree Seeking path.

The department webpage, www.biol.unt.edu/Faculty/, has a separate section listing faculty. Many have links with information about their current research and the qualifications they look for in applicants.

It is not advisable to send out mass emails to all faculty within the department as your message may get caught in spam filters and will go unanswered.

In most cases, applicants are in contact with the faculty member who has agreed to be their major professor, and they will be told informally by the faculty member. The Department of Biological Sciences will also prepare a letter of acceptance for you.

However, the ONLY OFFICIAL notification is sent through the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies. Any other notification, verbal or written, should be considered unofficial until you receive the Toulouse letter.

NOTE: For this reason it is essential to make sure your current mailing address is on file with your application. Otherwise there will be a substantial delay in receiving admissions notification. For international applicants, this will delay obtaining a visa. If your mailing address changes during the application process, update it immediately with all offices handling your admissions paperwork.

A current email address is necessary so we can contact you about your admissions process in a timely manner.

Admission into the Department of Biological Sciences is competitive and there are more applicants than we are able to admit. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee acceptance.

The first step in updating your application for a new semester is to contact the admissions office to which you applied (Toulouse or International Admissions), and complete their requirements for an update. Usually you are required to pay another application fee.

You must also contact the Department of Biological Sciences. You should use the same process described for learning the status of your application. Please make sure to indicate the exact date you made the request for the update through the appropriate admissions office. Failure to contact Biological Sciences will delay processing of your application.

Acceptance after a previous denial is uncommon. While your application materials are retained for 3 years, we request that you submit new materials reflecting a substantial change from your previous application. It is not enough to merely reapply. Without new information, a different outcome is unlikely.

Students are responsible for arranging their own housing while attending UNT, as well as arranging their own travel to and arrival at UNT before the beginning of classes and the appropriate orientations. UNT does offer some on-campus housing options, which should be arranged several months in advance through the Housing Office. Off-campus housing can be found by searching online, checking online listings for local newspapers and asking for recommendations from those you may know currently living in the area.

Some international applicants do request that a local representative be allowed to have access to information about the status of their application. Federal Law prohibits staff from releasing this information without a written, signed statement from the applicant giving this permission to a specific person.
If you anticipate that you will be in this situation, please make sure to include written statement stating:

• • Your Full Name
  • Your UNT ID Number or UNT Application ID Number
  • Your Date of Birth
  • Full Name of Authorized Individual

The statement must explicitly state that you are authorizing the individual to be given information concerning the status of your application to Biological Sciences. The statement must be dated and have your signature. Photocopies are not accepted. Please be aware that this is authorization for Biological Sciences only and is not valid in other offices on the UNT campus, including International Admissions and the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies.