Graduate Programs - Department of Biological Sciences- CSU, Chico
Graduate Programs
Admission Requirements
To be admitted to either of the biology master's programs (biology or botany), students must have an acceptable baccalaureate degree in biological sciences with a 2.75 undergraduate grade point average (GPA) in the last 60 units, or a 3.0 GPA in the last 30 units. Students with a baccalaureate degree in a discipline other than biology will be required to complete courses in the following areas before being accepted into the program: principles of biology, organismal biology (zoology/botany), genetics, ecology, upper-division physiology, and chemistry through a year of organic. Students who do not meet these requirements may take courses through the Graduate School or Continuing Education to meet the requirements.
Minimum score required on the General GRE is 1000 (verbal + quantitative) and 3.5 (analytical). The Biology Subject GRE Exam must be taken before admission into the program or during your first semester in the program. The Biology Subject GRE results are used to identify deficiencies in cell/molecular, genetics, or ecology. Students who do poorly in one or more of these three categories will be required to take a course(s) to rectify the deficiency. Biology Subject GRE scores are also used as part of the teaching assistantship evaluation process.
Acceptance into the program is limited by space availability, since each graduate faculty member in the program can accommodate a limited number of students. One of the main criteria for acceptance into the program is to be accepted by a professor with biological research interests compatible with yours. If that faculty member agrees to accept you into their research group, he/she must notify the graduate coordinator.
See the Graduate School Web Page for complete requirements.