All applicants must meet Idaho State University Graduate School admission requirements for doctoral programs. In addition, applicants must have attained a minimum of a bachelor's degree in geosciences or a closely related field (environmental science, physics, engineering, chemistry, biology, etc.) and have maintained at least a 3.0 GPA in their previous degree(s) unless special circumstances are demonstrated.

A complete graduate application for classified status in the Idaho State University Geosciences Department Ph.D. program consists of:

GRE scores (a minimum of 50th percentile is required in both verbal and quantitative categories), Students for whom English is a second language who do not meet the minimum verbal GRE score must meet the Graduate School minimum TOEFL score.
An Idaho State University Graduate School application form, fee, and official copies of transcripts,
Three letters of recommendation, and
A statement outlining the student's motivation for graduate school and their longer term career goals.
Toefl Internet-based test (iBT): a total score of 80 with a score of at least 20 on each Section, Computer-based test: a total score of 213 with a score of at least 21 on Section 1 (Listening Comprehension) on the computer test, Toefl Paper-based test: a total score of 550 with a score of at least 55 on Section l (Listening Comprehension) on the paper test. Satisfactory IELTS performance for Classified admission includes scoring 6.5 or higher on the total band score. Photocopies of TOEFL and/or IELTS scores will not be accepted.