Biology evaluates applicants for admission holistically, meaning that we consider an applicant's combination of personal accomplishments, letters of recommendation, personal statements, academic record, and supplemental materials in making our admissions decisions.
A. Complete a formal online application through the Penn State Graduate School (select Degree Admission). There is an application fee payable to the Graduate School. The Department of Biology uses five essay prompts in lieu of a personal statement.

Provide the names and contact information for three references. We realize that in writing recommendation letters, recommenders often write a generic letter for most programs. If their letter does not already do so, the Department of Biology would like for them to address in a paragraph their thoughts about the potential for the applicant to be a future scientist. In particular, we value their evaluation of the future ability of the applicant to ask strong biological questions, design critical experiments, collect and analyze data, and draw biological conclusions from the data. Do you think that the applicant will be resilient when research difficulties arise? How do you think that the applicant will work as a member of a diverse team to help solve problems? A letter with superlatives is less helpful than a letter that provides facts about the applicant's academic and research experiences.
Upload a resume or curriculum vitae.
Upload a list of the Graduate Faculty with whom you are interested in working.
Upload an official copy of transcripts (university records) from each institution of higher education attended as an undergraduate or graduate student. International transcripts must be submitted in both the original language and in English. Examples of documents that are not acceptable are: advising transcripts or a degree audit from a self-service website.
The Department of Biology no longer evaluates GRE scores for admission to our graduate program. International applicants must take and submit scores for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the IELTS (International English Language Testing System), with the exceptions noted below. The minimum acceptable score for the TOEFL is 550 for the paper-based test, 213 for the computer-based test, or a total score of 80 with a 19 on the speaking section for the Internet-based test (iBT). Applicants with iBT speaking scores between 15 and 18 may be considered for provisaaional admission, enrollment, and, if necessary, remedial course work. The minimum composite score for the IELTS is 6.5. Revised TOEFL PBT July 2017 and later 60