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Gary Ervin, Graduate Coordinator
Department of Biological Sciences at Mississippi State University
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Prospective Biological Sciences
graduate students: Thank you for your interest in graduate studies in the Department of Biological Sciences at Mississippi State University. We are always interested in receiving inquiries from potential graduate students and have prepared the following information to guide you through the initial stages of applying for graduate work at MSU.
Application review
The graduate faculty screens applications and recommends for or against admission based on academic records, exam scores, letters of recommendation, program openings, compatibility with faculty expertise, and availability of funds. Because of the varying expectations of individual faculty, it is advised that potential applicants make contact with an appropriate major professor/thesis advisor prior to applying, to determine academic suitability and research compatibility. Typically, of students who apply to the program without initiating contact with a supporting faculty member in advance, only a small percentage are admitted to graduate studies in the Department. Thus, one of the first places you will want to look is through the faculty web pages.
Furthermore, we do not have a non-thesis option in Biology, so you
must have a major professor and you must complete a
research project in order to receive a graduate degree. In order to
accomplish this, you will need to have a faculty mentor (Major Professor)
who is engaged in research that interests you. Have a look through the
individual faculty members' web pages to find someone who works on a topic
in which you are interested, then contact them to determine whether they
have space in their labs, resources to support your research, if you might
meet with them, etc. Application deadlines
Although applications may be submitted at any time, if you will need a teaching assistantship to help support your studies, you should be aware that priority for assigning assistantships will be given to students who apply no later than July 1st for the Fall semester and no later than November 1st for the Spring semester. These are deadlines set by the Office of Graduate Studies. Please be aware that visa requirements for international students will increase the time needed for processing of applications and assistantship materials. If you are not a US citizen you should target a deadline of about one month earlier than stated above.
Admission requirements
The general requirements for students wishing to pursue graduate studies at Mississippi State are a bachelor’s degree, a 2.75 or greater GPA (4.0 scale) on the last two years of undergraduate study or on any graduate work, and submission of GRE general examination scores. We do not require the GRE subject area exam. We also do not have a Departmental minimum score for the general exam; however, individual faculty members may have specific expectations for GRE scores or percentiles. You should consult your prospective Major Professor for details. In the recent past, the majority of admitted students have scored in the upper 50th percentile of those taking the GRE general exam.
International students should score at least 550 on the TOEFL (written exam: CBSS, or Computer-Based Score Scale = 213; Internet-based TOEFL = 79-80) or a score of at least 6.5 on the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exam. Students with TOEFL scores between 475 and 550 (or IELTS scores between 4.5 and 6.5) may be admitted, but will be required to complete ESL training as specified in the MSU Graduate Bulletin (see Graduate Studies web page).
Financial assistance
A limited number of teaching and research assistantships are available in the Department. To be eligible for a teaching assistantship (TA), students must first be admitted to the Department, then must demonstrate English competency (if not a US citizen) and must successfully complete a two-day (US citizens) or five-day (international students) teaching assistant workshop. The international workshops presently (Fall 2008) are not held during Spring semesters; international students entering the program during Spring must complete an ESL training course through the MSU Office of Academic Outreach and Continuing Education. Summer TAs are limited to assistance in course that are taught during the summer, which is based on the number of faculty offerings. However, students usually are afforded one session of summer support.
Current levels of TA support are:
M.S. students - $13,100 per academic year (9 months), possible $1,200 summer support Ph.D. students - $16,000 per academic year (9 months), possible $1,500 summer support
Research assistantships (RAs) are available as faculty funding permits. Interested students should inquire with potential major professors about the availability of RA support for their studies. This type of support usually requires participation in specific research related activities, such as data collection for funded research. Stipends for RAs will vary, depending on funding sources and amounts. Eligibility, beyond that required for general graduate studies admission, would be determined by the faculty sponsor.
Some faculty provide assistantship support via combined teaching and research assistantships. This form of assistantship obviously would require a concomitant level of participation in both faculty research and Departmental teaching.
All assistantships also provide a 100% waiver of out-of-state tuition and 71% remission for in-state tuition and fees. Please consult the graduate studies web pages for information on estimated costs.
Graduate studies policies
Here are
some web resources you should consult to investigate graduate studies
policies at MSU in general and in the Department of Biological Sciences
specifically.
Non-thesis distance Master's program
662.325.1203 gervin <AT> biology.msstate.edu
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