Admissions

Admission to the Graduate Group in Integrative Pathobiology (GGIP) is open for the Fall Quarter each year. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all application materials are submitted by the appropriate application deadline. Applications received by the December 1st general deadline will be considered for priority evaluation and funding opportunities. Applicants who apply by the space available deadline (March 1) but after the general deadline are not guaranteed to have their application reviewed by the graduate program. Their application will be reviewed only if the graduate program determines it has additional space available.

Applications are completed electronically. The link to the application opens in September of each year and can be found on the Graduate Studies page under "Apply Now."

Prospective graduate students may apply for admission to either the M.S. or Ph.D. programs. GGIP is designed for students interested in studying disease at the global, organismal, cellular, or molecular level.

UC Davis Graduate Studies has final responsibility for admissions. The Admissions Committee makes recommendations for admission on behalf of the graduate group to the Dean of Graduate Studies.

Scholastic Requirements

• A minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent) from the institution where you have earned or will earn your bachelor's degree.
• By the time they enroll, successful applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent that is comparable to a degree from the University of California both in distribution of academic subject matter and in scholarship achievement. Regional accreditation for U.S. institutions and authorization by a national higher education authority for international institutions (at the time the degree was earned) are used as the eligibility standard.
• Applicants must submit TOEFL/IELTS/Duolingo scores unless they have earned or will be earning a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree from either a regionally accredited or foreign college/university which provides instruction solely in English. See the English Language Requirement section for details.
• A non-refundable application fee ($135 for domestic applicants, $155 for international applicants, or possible fee waiver for participants in approved Graduate Preparatory Programs).

• UC Davis accepts the below English Language tests and requires the following minimum scores. 

  TOEFL iBT
  Minimum Score: 80 
  Institution Code: 4834
  No department code.

  IELTS
  Minimum Score: 7.0 on a 9-point scale

  Duolingo English Test (Fall 2024)
  Minimum Score: 115*

• Please note that the scores listed above are the minimum necessary for submitting an application. Students admitted to the Integrative Pathobiology Graduate Group often have a higher score, and meet the TA/AI Language Proficiency Requirement. To meet the TA/AI requirement, students must earn a minimum score of 26 on the speaking subset of the TOEFL iBT and a minimum score of 8 on the speaking subset of the IELTS.
• Expected Level of Study for International Students can be found here.
• Prerequisite Coursework
  • Admission requires an undergraduate degree (B.S. or B.A) in a biological science, which should include prerequisite coursework in statistics, physics, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and cellular biology. Upper division courses in molecular biology, biochemistry, and genetics are encouraged.

Undergraduate Preparation for Admission

Admission requires an undergraduate degree (B.S. or B.A) in a biological science, which should include prerequisite coursework in statistics, physics, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and cellular biology. Upper division courses in molecular biology, biochemistry, and genetics are encouraged.

Application Materials

• A completed UC Davis online application
• An application fee
  • $135 for U.S. applicants
  • $155 for international applicants
• 3 Letters of recommendation. Instructions for submitting letters of recommendation can be found here.
• Admissions Essays:
  • Personal history and diversity statement
  • Statement of purpose
• Academic transcripts from all prior institutions.
• CV
• English Language Scores (if applicable)
• Prerequisites: In addition to the admission requirements stated above, applicants are expected to have a strong background in Cell Biology and the equivalent of the following UC Davis courses:
  • STA 100 Applied Statistics - 4 units
  • BIS 104 Regulation of Cell Function - 3 units

The GGIP Admissions Committee performs a holistic review of all applications received by December 1. Applications received between December 2-March 1 will only be reviewed if space is available.

A holistic, or “whole file” review process in graduate admissions considers every aspect of an applicant’s file equally, without any one factor deciding admission. The holistic review also entails understanding an applicant’s achievements in the context of available opportunities and challenges faced. We encourage applicants to use their Admission Essays as an opportunity to share who they are, where they have come from, any challenges that they may have overcome, and how an advanced degree represents the next step towards achieving their ultimate career goals.

GGIP Equity Program

GGIP Equity Program eligibility

Application fee fellowships provided through this program are available for Domestic Ph.D. applicants only. We regret that waivers for M.S. applicants will not be provided. Waivers for international applicants are not available.

Domestic Ph.D. applicants selected for participation in the GGIP Equity Program are eligible for a single application fee fellowship (valued at $135) for Fall 2025 admission. The School of Veterinary Medicine, Office of Research and Graduate Education fully funds this program. Fee fellowship applications must be submitted by November 20th, 2024 at 11:59 pm PST application deadline for consideration.

Prospective students will be notified as to whether they received the award by November 25, 2024.

For any questions, please contact GGIP Co-Chair and DEI Committee Member, Dr. Sara Thomasy smthomasy@ucdavis.edu.

Recruitment

Admissible students are typically invited to our annual Research Symposium in February

GGIP Research Symposium & Recruitment Event 2025 

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