Applying to the Graduate Program

• Graduate program overview
• Whom do I contact if I have questions?
• How to apply
  • When do I apply?
  • How do I apply?
  • Undergraduate course recommendations
• What happens after I apply?
  • General recruitment timeline
  • General evaluation criteria
• Advice for applying to Clemson
  • Why we encourage you to contact our faculty
  • How to email faculty
  • How to prepare for follow-up conversations with a potential advisor
  • Who should write your letters of recommendation
  • How to write a statement of purpose
  • How to prepare for the online interview
  • How to prepare for prospective student events

Graduate Program Overview

As graduate education is primarily research driven, the choice of your thesis lab is a significant one. Be sure to explore the faculty research areas to identify the research that is of interest to you.

There are two paths to joining your research lab: direct admission (available for M.S. and Ph.D. students) and the rotation program (available for Ph.D. students only). We have degrees available in biological sciences, environmental toxicology and microbiology. The decision of whether to apply as a direct admission or rotation student depends on both the applicant and the faculty member. Some faculty admit students through direct admission only, some through rotation only, and some through both. Note that the availability of graduate research positions can always change, so if you are interested in a particular lab, the best advice is to contact that faculty member.

Direct admission means that you are applying to join a specific faculty member’s lab as an M.S. or Ph.D. student. During your first year as a graduate student at Clemson, you will start working in this lab and on your thesis project. You can be supported through a graduate teaching assistantship, a graduate research assistantship or a fellowship, and this may change each semester.

Ph.D. students who opt for the rotation program explore three (or optionally four) different labs during their first year. During each six-week rotation, you will directly experience what it is like to work in each lab and with each faculty member. Additionally, engaging in multiple labs allows you to hone your research interests, expand your set of research skills, and develop your network of mentors and thesis committee members. You will evaluate each rotation and each potential faculty advisor will evaluate you, with the goal of identifying a lab in which you will perform your dissertation research. As a rotation student you are supported as a graduate teaching assistant during your first year. Once you join your thesis lab in the spring of your first year, you can be supported through a graduate teaching assistantship, a graduate research assistantship or a fellowship, and this may change each semester.

Whom Do I Contact if I Have Questions?

To find out more about these programs, contact us at:

• Biological sciences: biolgrad@clemson.edu
• Environmental toxicology: entoxgrad@clemson.edu
• Microbiology: micrograd@clemson.edu
• Online M.S. in Biological Sciences for Science Educators: biologyonline@clemson.edu

If you aren’t sure what program you’re interested in, please email biolgrad@clemson.edu.

When Do I Apply?

The graduate student application deadline is December 1, generally for a start in the following fall semester. All materials including letters of recommendation must be received by the December 1 deadline. Incomplete applications or applications received after the December 1 deadline are unlikely to be reviewed by the Graduate Admissions Committee except under special circumstances. Note that the Online M.S. in Biological Sciences for Science Educators program has different requirements and different admissions criteria.

How Do I Apply?

The following are required before an application is considered complete and will be forwarded to the department. The deadline to receive all materials is December 1 of each year.

1. Application form (online submission through the Graduate School portal).
2. Unofficial copies of transcripts from every college or university attended. Official transcripts are required upon acceptance. Please do not send official transcripts until you are accepted.
3. Statement of purpose of no more than two pages. The statement should outline your reasons for seeking graduate education at Clemson University, research areas of interest, research experience, and your long-term career goals. If you are applying for direct admission, you should explain your interest in the particular lab(s) listed on the application and if you are interested in lab rotations you should explain why you want to enter the rotation program. More details are listed below.
4. Faculty members of interest to you.
   • For direct admission students, it is essential that you contact faculty of interest prior to applying. See our advice on “why you should email faculty” and “how to email faculty about graduate admission.” The faculty member listed first should be your intended graduate advisor. If you plan to have two co-advisors, this should be indicated here.
   • For rotation students, check the box to be considered for the rotation program. In this section, list faculty with whom you might be interested in conducting a lab rotation. These choices are not binding, and you may conduct lab rotations with faculty other than those identified here.
5. Letters of recommendation. Three are required for Ph.D. applicants, two are required for M.S. applicants. These letters should come from people who can talk about your academic skills; experience, interest and potential in research; and your work ethic. See our advice on who to ask and when.
6. GRE scores are not required.
7. TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo English Test scores (no more than two years old). Because of the strong communication component of graduate degree programs, all international students except those from countries where English is the official language or those who have received a degree from a U.S. institution should have a TOEFL score of at least 102 (out of 120) with a speaking score greater than 20, an IELTS score of at least a 7.5 or a Duolingo English test score of at least 120. For a list of exempt countries and institutions, visit the Clemson University Graduate School website.

Undergraduate Course Recommendations

We suggest the below undergraduate classes to prepare you for our graduate programs in biological sciences, environmental toxicology and microbiology. If you are missing any of these, that will usually not affect admission to the program, but may mean that your thesis committee might recommend that you complete a course during graduate school. See the Clemson Course Catalog for more details.

• Introductory biology (two semesters)
• At least two courses in cell biology, evolutionary biology, ecology, animal behavior, genetics/genomics, molecular biology or physiology
• General microbiology (one semester) for the Microbiology program
• General chemistry (two semesters)
• Organic chemistry (one semester)
• Physics (one semester)
• Calculus (one semester)
• Statistics (one semester)

General Recruitment Timeline

This is the approximate schedule for review and recruitment. If you haven’t heard back by these dates, it does not necessarily mean you are not being considered for a place in our graduate program.

Our application deadline is December 1 of each year. If you submit or complete your application after this date you are highly unlikely to be considered for a place in our graduate program. All letters of recommendation must be submitted by December 1 to ensure full consideration.

The Graduate Admission Committee is composed of eight faculty members in the Department of Biological Sciences: the graduate program coordinators for biological sciences, environmental toxicology and microbiology and additional faculty members representing each of these graduate programs.

If you have not received an update on your completed application by March 1, you may email the appropriate graduate program coordinator to inquire about the status of your application:

• Biological sciences: biolgrad@clemson.edu
• Environmental toxicology: entoxgrad@clemson.edu
• Microbiology: micrograd@clemson.edu
• Online M.S. in Biological Sciences for Science Educators: biologyonline@clemson.edu

General Evaluation Criteria

The Graduate Advisory Committee evaluates you based on the following criteria. Applications are reviewed holistically, taking into your account strengths and weaknesses in all categories:

1. Support of faculty advisors. For all direct admission applicants (all M.S. and Ph.D. applicants choosing this option), a letter of support is required from your potential advisor. One part of this letter includes plans to address any weaknesses in your application (for example, if you haven’t taken a genetics class), so be sure to discuss those with your potential advisor. If a lab receives more than one applicant, the faculty member will rank the applicants. It is therefore important that you contact your potential mentor ahead of time, so they can get to know you and write a strong letter of support; without a strong letter, you are unlikely to be directly admitted to a lab.
2. Experience including previous research experience, presentations and publications, and work, military, or volunteer experience.
3. Letters of recommendation are used to evaluate research experience, ability to work on a research team, and other criteria that suggest a strong research potential. Letters of recommendation cannot be from the proposed research advisor, as they submit a separate letter (see above). See our advice about your letters of recommendation.
4. The statement of purpose is used to assess your motivation, research potential, resilience, enthusiasm, and ability to communicate about the scientific questions you have studied and would like to explore in your graduate studies. See our advice about your statement of purpose.
5. Academic performance, especially in science courses. Note that we do not require GRE scores.

Why We Encourage You to Contact Our Faculty

Admission to our graduate programs is determined by the faculty on the Graduate Advisory Committee. If you are a direct admission student (all M.S. students and Ph.D. students applying to a single lab), admission is also determined by your potential advisor and a strong letter from them is essential for a successful application. The department also has a rotation program for Ph.D. students in biological sciences, environmental toxicology or microbiology that you can apply to without emailing faculty before submitting your application. Either way, we highly recommend that you reach out to faculty for the following reasons:

1. Establishing a line of communication is a great opportunity to get to know your potential mentors and their current lab members, which will help you to decide whether you want to apply to a specific lab as a direct admission student or the rotation program.
2. You will learn if faculty members are planning to take new Ph.D. and/or M.S. students this year.
3. For direct admission students, the support of your potential faculty advisor is a key criterion on which applications are evaluated.
4. Talking to potential advisors will help you to develop your statement of purpose. In this statement you should address the scientific questions you would like to explore in your graduate studies and why direct admission into a specific lab or admission into the rotation program best fits your research and career interests. See our advice about your statement of purpose.
5. You will have the opportunity to ask additional questions. This may include how students in their lab are generally financially supported, their mentoring style and lab environment, and the career paths of former mentees.

How to Email Faculty

The support of a potential advisor is a key evaluation criterion for direct admission students, but is not necessary for rotation students. Either way, we highly recommend that you reach out to faculty. You will want to tailor your email to each faculty member you plan to contact, so before you compose your email:

Look at their lab website. This is often the best and quickest way of getting a broad overview of their research program. See the list of faculty research areas for links to faculty websites.

• Read (skim) a recent article or two from their lab to understand their current research and the major research questions that drive the lab’s work.
• Update and organize your CV or resume. Be sure to describe your roles in each research project and include any publications, presentations and awards.

The goals of your email should be to:

• Introduce yourself including your research interests and experience.
• Explain why you are interested in working with that particular faculty member and how that aligns with your experience and future research and career goals.
• Ask whether they are taking students.

We suggest you keep your message short in your initial contact, but be sure to be specific about the lab and advisor you are contacting. You may also want someone like a member of your current research lab, your university writing center or your favorite professor to look over your email and CV before sending it to potential advisors. If your potential advisor is interested and taking students, they will give you the opportunity to discuss more of your experiences. Remember that faculty receive hundreds of emails a day, so you may need to send a follow-up email a week later.

Within your email you should:

• Address the faculty member as Dr. or Professor.
• Include your education details: your major(s), where you got or will get your degree(s), and your graduation date(s).
• Detail the program you want to apply to and the semester you want to start your graduate studies. Be sure to state if you are interested in a M.S. or Ph.D. degree and direct admission or admission into the rotation program.
• Ask if that advisor is currently accepting graduate students.
• Start with a sentence about your research interests. Add another 1-2 sentences about how your interests fit within your prospective advisor’s research. Why are you interested in this specific lab? Note that your past experience doesn’t have to be in the same area as your current research interests, but if you do plan to move in a different direction for your graduate work you should make it clear why.
• Describe in one or two sentences your past research and/or work experience.
• Explain why you want to pursue a M.S. or Ph.D. degree and how it will advance your career goals.
• Attach your CV or resume.
• Ask to set up a time to chat with your potential advisor, for instance over zoom.

How to Prepare for Follow-up Conversations With a Potential Advisor

If a potential advisor agrees to a follow-up meeting, be prepared to talk about your scientific background, current research and future plans. You should also ask about current projects in the lab based on your review of their recent publications and website. During this conversation you should also discuss potential projects for your graduate research, including your ideas. Most advisors will not expect you to have a full research project in mind at this point, but will work with you to design your project should you join their lab. We encourage you to ask more questions such as how students in their lab are generally financially supported, their mentoring style and lab environment, the career paths of former mentees, and any other advice about applying. You can also ask your potential advisor to put you into contact with past or current graduate students in the lab to get another perspective.

Who Should Write Your Letters of Recommendation

Clemson University Graduate School requires at least two letters of recommendation if you are applying for M.S. and three for Ph.D. The best letters of recommendation come from people who know you well and write a detailed letter. Ideally, these letters will come from someone in whose lab you conducted research, a previous or current work supervisor with whom you worked closely, or a professor with whom you have taken multiple courses with and who has gotten to know you. These letters could also come from a post-doc or from other scientists you have worked with in governmental agencies, commercial labs, etc., especially if they’ve been your primary research mentor. You want the letter writers to be people who can speak to your qualities and qualifications as an applicant (what is your work ethic, curiosity about science, and resiliency?) but also about who you are as a person (What is it like to work with you? Will you be a good team member and contribute to a productive lab?).

A few other things to note

• Graduate students are usually not able to provide letters of recommendation. However, if you worked closely with a graduate teaching assistant in a course or with a graduate student in a professor’s lab, you may consider asking both the graduate student and professor if they could co-write a letter on your behalf.
• Give your letter writers plenty of time to compose a letter. Ideally, reach out 1½–2 months prior to the deadline to give them ample time. If they don’t respond immediately, be patient, wait a week and then email your request again, as emails can get lost!
• If there are issues that you are concerned about, for example, a low GPA or change in research direction, then it can be helpful to ask one of your writers to provide context in their letter.

How To Write a Statement of Purpose

This document is a self-reflection and a chance to tell the graduate committee who you are, your interests and plans, and your purpose for becoming a graduate student at Clemson. Your statement of purpose should convey your motivation, research potential, resilience, enthusiasm, and ability to communicate about the scientific questions you have studied and would like to explore in your graduate studies.

We recommend that this statement be two pages, single-spaced, and 12-point font. Don’t forget to give yourself plenty of time to write your statement, reflect and edit, and thoroughly proofread.

In this statement, be sure to:

• Discuss your previous research experiences. This should not just be a list of techniques, but what scientific questions you were investigating, how your research aimed to answer these questions, your role in the project and how you handled any obstacles.
• Convey your motivation and interest in research and why you want to pursue a graduate degree at Clemson.
• Connect your long-term career goals to your motivation for attending graduate school.
• Describe the scientific questions you would like to explore in your graduate studies.
• If you are applying for direct admission, explain your interest in the particular lab(s) listed on the application and if you are interested in lab rotations, explain why you want to enter the rotation program.
• Provide any additional context for situations or experiences during your journey that you want the admission committee to understand more broadly. For instance, you could address a personal hardship that affected your educational or career path, how you dealt with it and how it shaped you.

How To Prepare for Your Online Interview

The Graduate Admissions Committee invites selected applicants for an online interview of 30 minutes or less, typically in the beginning of January. Online interviews are generally with two faculty members of the Graduate Admissions Committee, who have read your full application.

Remember that the purpose of this interview is to get to know you, it is not to test you. If you are being asked for an interview, you have made a positive impression with the committee and they want to know more about you. For instance, your interviewers are gauging factors such as your research experience and potential, your ability to communicate about the scientific questions you have studied and would like to explore in your graduate studies, your motivation for graduate school at Clemson, and your long-term career plans.

As you prepare for your interview, we encourage you to refresh your thoughts on your lab(s) of interest and the Clemson graduate program. For example, think about why you are interested in graduate school at Clemson, in that particular lab if you are a direct admission student, and what excites you about the research. Also, consider how a graduate degree would promote your professional and scientific goals. You should be prepared to ask one to two questions to demonstrate your interest in the program, but remember you will have many opportunities for additional questions during recruitment events. You may want to do a mock interview a day or two ahead of time to work out your nerves and any technical issues. For the day of the interview, prepare your space and clear your time so you can be comfortable and engaged.

How To Prepare for Prospective Student Events

Based on your application, information from potential faculty mentors, and your online interview, the Graduate Advisory Committee selects a subset of applicants to invite to either on-campus or online prospective student events. On-campus events are typically limited to potential Ph.D. students currently located in North America. Ph.D. applicants located outside of North America, M.S. applicants and anyone unable to make the on-campus date are invited to online events, which include similar opportunities to get to know more about the program and to meet students and faculty. These events are a great opportunity for you to determine if our program is right for you, and for our faculty and students to get to know you better prior to final admission decisions.

Our on-campus events are typically one to two days during the second or third weekend in February. Prepare to discuss science, talk with current students about what life is like at Clemson, and meet fellow potential incoming students that would be your peers during your graduate work and beyond. You will receive a personalized itinerary prior to arrival, and events typically include:

• A presentation from the graduate program coordinator and department chair that introduces our graduate programs.
• A 30- to 60-minute meeting with your potential advisor(s) and often separate meetings with current lab members for direct admission students.
• A 30-minute meeting with the rotation Ccoordinator and the graduate program coordinator for rotation students to discuss the structure of and opportunities in this program.
• Multiple approximately 30-minute meetings with faculty and students to discuss research, scientific interests, the program and life in Clemson. Faculty members usually give feedback to the Graduate Advisory Committee and other faculty based on these interactions.
• Tours of campus, potential lab spaces and the Clemson area.
• Meals and other social events with current students and faculty. These are more casual chances for you to see how you fit with the department.