Expectations for a competitive application:

• GPA of 3.0 or higher
• 40th percentile ranking for the verbal, quantitative, and analytical sections of the GRE for M.S. applicants
• 50th percentile ranking for the verbal, quantitative, and analytical sections of the GRE for PhD applicants
• Three supportive letters of recommendation from people (typically faculty) who are familiar with your abilities.
• A thoughtful essay
• A match between your interests and those of our faculty
• An adequate background in science and mathematics
• A strong interest in scientific research
• Provisional acceptance by a member of the graduate faculty in our department (after applications have been reviewed).

Note: The last item is very important. If after reviewing all application materials there is no faculty member willing to serve as the applicants academic advisor, then the potential student will not be accepted into the program.

For international students, we also expect:

TOEFL score > 250 for the computer-based exam
TOEFL score > 600-603 for the paper-based test, or
TOEFL score >100 for the internet-based test.