Finding a Major Professor

A Major Professor, who is a faculty member of the Graduate Group in Ecology, is required in order to be admitted into the program. It is not required in order to submit an application for admission.

The following link should aid in your search for a Major Professor. While it is not required that you have a confirmed major professor in order to apply, this is a very important part of the process. Please read further for more detailed information.

Applicants to the Joint Program in Ecology with San Diego State University (JDPE)

Applicants to the JDPE must submit an application for admission to both UC Davis AND to SDSU simultaneously. Independent applications must be provided to both universities. Because students in the JDPE, once admitted, are in residence at the SDSU campus their first year in the program it is not necessary to apply for fellowships and teaching assistantships at UC Davis. Funding for JDPE students is provided by the SDSU campus. The Major Professor affiliation will also be handled by SDSU.

http://www.bio.sdsu.edu/ecology/prog_phd.php

Eligibility Requirements

GPA Requirement

The minimum cumulative GPA required for admission to graduate study at the University of California, Davis is 3.0 on a 4.0 point scale. The most recent scholastic record receives greater weight; only cumulative GPA's from a completed or in-progress degree will be used. Students coming from universities where a GPA is not calculated are evaluated using other aspects of their file and letters bearing on class performance when available.

GRE Requirement

Verbal, Quantitative and Analytical GRE scores are required of all applicants. (NOTE: Effective with fall 2009 applicants international students are also required to submit the GRE). Subject area GRE scores are optional, but can be helpful to the Admissions Committee, and you are encouraged to take them. The Admissions Committee looks for consistency between GRE scores and GPA's. The Educational Testing Service will not report test scores that are older than five years. If this applies to you, you should retake the exam. GRE scores to be sent to Ecology, specify institution code 4834, major field code 0207. Please ask ETS to forward electronic scores to this institution and department code.

TOEFL Requirement

All international students not having English as a first language, or who have not studied at an institution where English is the language of instruction, must submit an official TOEFL score. The university standard for minimum acceptable TOEFL score is 550 (paper based exam), 213 (computer based exam) or 68 (internet based exam). Ecology adheres to this standard. If admitted, an international student will also be required by the University to complete an English proficiency examination upon arrival at the university; and as a result of this exam may be required to take additional courses in the English language. TOEFL code is 46.

Course Entrance Requirements

PLEASE NOTE: The requirements listed in the above link are designed to provide you with the necessary background to be successful in the Ecology program, and other course requirements. Specifically, these courses must be completed in order to enroll in the core course sequence which is usually taken the first quarter of residence in the program. With this in mind, entrance requirements will not be waived or substituted. On occasion, other coursework will be allowed to fulfill these requirements depending on the course content and relevance. During the initial review, entrance requirements will be identified and you will be notified of the outcome of this review.

Statement of Purpose

Your Statement of Purpose is one of the most important components of your application, and is the key to helping you find a Major Professor. (Persons whom you ask for letters of recommendation may find it helpful too.) Be sure to draft your Statement of Purpose carefully. Your statement should reflect your experience and interests in the program, it should be well-organized and concise, and most of all it should identify your own research interests. For more experienced students, the statement should also contain specific reference to your research experience and results.

Personal History Statement

You may want to use the personal history statement as an opportunity to include information about yourself that may not be relevant in a statement of purpose.

Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation may reflect a mix of backgrounds (academic or employment). Three letters of recommendation are required, but you should seek to include at least two who are qualified to evaluate the quality of your scholastic achievements and academic training as well as your ability to carry out independent research. This is especially important if you have previous research experience. One character or personal recommendation is permissible. It is helpful to tell your references to address those characteristics that are important to your admission.

Change of Major or Double Major: Applications from students currently enrolled in another graduate program at UC Davis

UCD students requesting to transfer into the GGE need to follow the following process. Students are reviewed alongside the current year’s applicants for admission, and for possible funding as continuing students. At present, students who miss the admissions deadline must wait until the next admissions cycle. However, once accepted, transfers do not have to wait until following fall for admission. GGE funding for transfer students will not be available until the following academic year, because funding has been committed in the prior academic year.

• Submit the Change of Major application, which can be printed from the OGS website, by the December 15th admissions deadline. All materials must be received by the deadline.
• The student should request that their original application materials be sent to Holly Hatfield (hhatfield@ucdavis.edu), electronically would be great. Hard copy is fine, and their current graduate program coordinator can take care of this. That should include: former transcripts, letters of recommendation and application.
• A copy of their current transcript. The students’ Graduate Program Coordinator can send an unofficial copy, but a SISWEB copy is not ok.
• Three new letters of recommendation from UCD faculty; one should be from the student’s prospective advisor and should include funding information for the student.
• An updated CV, via e-mail
• A new statement of purpose for the GGE via e-mail. This should include the AOE to which the student is applying
• Fellowship Application for continuing students. This is tricky. Continuing students may only apply to one program. More than likely the transfer application will be approved, but students will not be able to hedge their bets by submitting two application for continuing student funding. Students should also submit a research proposal following the GGE Fellowship funding policies: http://www.ecology.ucdavis.edu/funding/funding_policies.html.

Transfer students will be notified of the outcome after they have been ranked alongside our new applicants.

Please note that transfer students must fulfill the same preliminary course requirements, core course requirements and AOE requirements as other GGE students. These are posted on the GGE website.

Brief Description of the Application for Admission Review Process

Step 1: Your application is received by UC Davis electronically. The Graduate Group in Ecology will match your application with hard copy transcripts to be added to your application.

NOTE: If you do not meet the minimum GPA required by UC Davis, your application will be referred to the Ecology Admissions Chair for a secondary evaluation. If after this review it is determined that there are other factors in your application packet that warrants further consideration it will be forwarded to the Admissions Committee. If it does not, your application will be denied and returned to Graduate Studies. Acceptance of applicants with a GPA below a 3.0 average is very rare.

Step 2: The application packet is then reviewed by the Admissions Committee.

Step 3: Once all applications are evaluated, each Area of Emphasis will be given a list in ranked order. The Area of Emphasis will make their final selections to the Chair of Admissions.

Step 4: Letters offering admission will be mailed when this process is complete. Only applicants with a confirmed major professor will receive written notification. All other applicants will be returned to Graduate Studies for denial of admission. Usually March 15th.

Step 5: Applicants offered admission will be given 30 days from the time of notification to accept the offer. Once the 30 days have passed, this group will no longer have priority status. After the 30 days have passed, alternates will be notified if there is space to admit them. The Graduate Group in Ecology will recommend applicants for admission until the admissions target has been filled.

If your plans change at any time during this process, or you are offered admission at another institution and you accept, we would appreciate you notifying the Ecology office so that your application can be withdrawn. Application withdrawals should be done in writing, and e-mail is acceptable.