Graduate Studies

Frequently Asked Questions - Applicants


Accepting/Declining an Offer of Admissions

If an offer is made, we would appreciate hearing from you as soon as you make your decision to attend or not attend our program. In asking a student for an early reply, we wish it understood that the Purdue University Graduate School and this department are not asking the student to relinquish any privilege, if it is felt necessary to wait until April 15. However, your early response would be helpful to us in planning for the coming year. Also if we know early that you are going to decline our offer, it enables us to extend an offer to another applicant. Thank you for your consideration in this matter. All admissions offers are valid until April 15 for the academic year applied. Please send notification of your decision by e-mail to our admissions office or by a note at the following address:

Chairman Graduate Admissions
Purdue University
Department of Biological Sciences
Lilly Hall 1-120
915 State Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2054


Application Deadlines

Applicants with U.S. citizenship may apply at any time for admission to our graduate program. Applications must be completed by February 15. Applications will be reviewed starting the first week of January. Decisions are made on a rolling basis. The Admissions Committee invites selected Ph.D. applicants for interviews on campus. Invitations are extended immediately upon review of the application to those selected.

International applicants must have their complete application, including TOEFL result, in our Graduate Office by February 15. Applications will be reviewed starting the first week of January. Decisions are made on a rolling basis. International applicants located overseas are not invited for a personal interview on campus. Phone interviews may be conducted.


Application Fee

Purdue University requires a $55 application fee. When you have completed your electronic application, you must pay this nonrefundable application fee via credit card online or by mailing a check or money order to our office. Credit card payments are preferred. Your application cannot be submitted as a final until the application fee has been received. You may choose to apply to one primary program and indicate one alternate program for one fee of $55. Your application and materials will be forwarded to the alternate program listed only if the primary program does not admit you into their program. However, should you decide to have your application reviewed by two graduate programs at the same time, you will be required to submit two separate applications and to pay two application fees of $55 each. There are no waivers or deferrals of the application fee. Please do not request one.

Application Requirements

The Department of Biological Sciences requires the Supplemental Biology Form in addition to a Statement of Purpose/Personal Statement. Both are submitted as part of the required Graduate School electronic application.

We require a minimum of three reference letters. An e-mail notification will be sent to each of the recommenders you list at the time you complete the Graduate School's application. The letters should be from references who can comment on your scientific achievements and abilities. Instructions on how and where the recommenders are to submit their recommendations electronically will be sent in the Graduate School's e-mail. The recommender will be required to answer several questions on a recommendation form before submitting his or her letter. Letters are not to be sent in paper form to the department.

We require one set of official transcripts from each university or college that you have attended. International students must send original language transcripts as well as certified English translations in addition to original language diplomas with certified English translations for each degree conferred.  Applicants from India are requested to also send certified copies of mark sheets for each year attended.

Transcripts and diplomas should be sent to the following address:
Graduate Admissions Office
Department of Biological Sciences
Lilly Hall 1-120
915 State Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2054

GRE scores are required for each applicant. The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score is required if the applicant's native language is not English.  Please see the detailed information under GRE & TOEFL Tests.  GRE exams must be less than 5 years old as of March 31 of the application year.  TOEFL exams must be less than 2 years old as of March 31 of the application year.  Please note:  we use the scores from the most recent exam.  We do not take the best set of scores nor do we take the highest individual score from all exams. Scores must be sent directly to the Purdue University Graduate School by ETS in order for your application to be reviewed. Copies of your score reports are not considered official and will not be accepted for reviewing purposes.

An application fee of $55 US is required prior to the final submission of the Graduate School electronic application. Review of an application is not possible until the application fee is paid. Payment can be made by check or credit card - Visa or MasterCard only.

Cost of Living

Refer to http://www.gradschool.purdue.edu/cost.cfm for the cost of living. Or visit http://www.apartmentguide.com and search West Lafayette, Indiana.

Financial Support

All Ph.D. students, both U.S. and international, are admitted to the Department of Biological Sciences with 12-month funding. Most support is through teaching assistantships. There are also research assistantships where a student goes directly into a faculty member’s lab and does not do lab rotations. There also are several departmental and university funded fellowships which are treated as assistantships. Tuition is covered under all of these assistantships except for the Graduate Staff Fee. Additional support for students in subsequent years will be from training grants, research grants secured by the major professor, or research and/or teaching assistantships. The level of support in subsequent years will meet or exceed the level of support provided in the student's first year. Ph.D. students guaranteed support for a minimum of 5 years provided the students are in good standing with the graduate program and are making progress towards their degree.

Master students are funded with 10-month teaching assistantships from August through May of the academic year. Summer support depends on the major professor’s research grants. A minimum of two years, maximum of three years support, is available to Master students provided they are in good standing with the graduate program and are making progreee towards their degree

GRE and TOEFL Tests

GRE scores are required for each applicant. A minimum Analytical Writing score of 3.5 is required. We use the scores from the most recent test date. GRE codes for this department are Institution: 1631 and Department: 299. For more detailed information click here.

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score is required if the applicant's native language is not English. TOEFL scores must be no older than two years as of March 31 of the application year. The minimum score required by the Department of Biological Sciences for the TOEFL is higher than that required by the Graduate School. TOEFL codes for this department are Institution: 1631 and Department: 35. For more detailed information click here.

Graduate Staff Health Insurance@Purdue

The University subsidizes a % of the premium for students enrolled in the plan with the remaining amount being paid by the student.

Additional information can be found at https://www.purdue.edu/push/billingInsurance/insPlan.shtml

There is a vision service plan but no dental plan at this time

Housing

Purdue University offers housing to graduate students in the Hawkins Graduate House and Purdue Village for those graduate students with families. The appropriate application forms are found at the links provided below. Plenty of off-campus housing is also available in the community. One source of information for off-campus housing is the Apartment Guide. Another source is our local classified section of the Journal and Courier. You should find rents available from $380 up for studio/single bedroom units.

Apartment Guide
Journal and Courier
Purdue Exponent
Purdue Housing - Hawkins Graduate House
Purdue Housing - Purdue Village

We encourage all students to arrange for housing as soon as possible.

Interview Visit

Being invited for an interview means you are on our "short list", and we'd like to have the opportunity to meet you personally, as well as give you a chance to interact with our faculty and grad students and to see what the physical facilities are like.  We in particular would like you to get a feel for the different research projects related to your interests and what we have to offer.  Naturally it gives us an opportunity to get to  know you better in order to make our final decision.

Invited Ph.D. applicants are encouraged to visit the Purdue campus to meet our faculty, students, and staff. We will assist you in planning a visit where we can. We encourage all invited students to attend our special Interview Weekend. This year the weekend will be February 22 - 28, 2009.  If you are unable to attend that weekend, we do arrange one-day visits during the week.

The Department of Biological Sciences will pay up to $300 for your travel expenses. You will need to make your own travel arrangements. The Department will cover your lodging and most meals while here on campus.