Ph.D. Admissions

All Ph.D. applicants must submit the items listed below at https://apply.grad.arizona.edu/users/login  prior to December 1stNote: Be sure to put your name on all materials submitted.

Entering students will perform three laboratory rotations with faculty in any of the participating graduate programs. This provides maximum flexibility for students to explore various fields of study. Students with identified goals can focus immediately on a particular research area.

At the end of the third rotation, students join a lab (accepting students) and matriculate into that lab.

The following items will be required for upload as part of the application process:

  • Transcripts of all college and university work
  • GRE results (general exam is required and subject exam is optional)
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Contact information for at least three people willing to write a letter of recommendation on your behalf. You should select individuals who are familiar with your work (one of these letters should be from your research advisor, if applicable). Potential letter writers will be contacted directly from the Graduate College with instructions on letter submission

Applicants must have an undergraduate degree in biological or physical sciences and should have completed course work in mathematics through calculus, biology, chemistry, biochemistry, and molecular biology.

All first year Ph.D. students receive a graduate research assistantship in the form of a stipend. Our annual stipend levels are among the most competitive in the nation. With this stipend the student's out-of-state tuition, health insurance, and registration fees are waived. Students are responsible for their miscellaneous fees and books.

Beginning with the second year of study and continuing until completion of a degree, financial support comes from the student's research advisor in the form of a research assistantship. Also available are fellowships, training grants and registration fee scholarships.