Welcome Prospective Student!
Application Deadline: January 15th
Applications received after this deadline will be considered, but opportunities for funding assistance will be diminished. Students are strongly encouraged to contact faculty prior to, or during, the application process to discuss research opportunities and potentially identify a mentoring professor. Please note these contacts on the Graduate Studies online application form.
Admission to the M.S. requires a bachelor's degree or its equivalent from an institution of acceptable standing. The degree must represent a program of study substantially equivalent, both in distribution of academic subject matter and in scholarship achievement, to a comparable degree at the University of California. A minimum grade average of B in upper-division course work taken as an undergraduate or other evidence of comparable scholarship is required for an applicant to be recommended for admission. Meeting the minimum requirement does not insure admission; students who are admitted are selected from among those meeting the minimum requirements.
Minimum requirements for the M.S. degree in avian sciences are a coursework and research plan that will meet the student's objectives. This is developed by the student in consultation with the major professor and graduate advisor. This plan should include any uncompleted admission requirements, the university requirements, and the Avian Sciences Graduate Group requirements listed on the requirements pages accessed by the links on the left of this page. Normative time to completion of the M.S. degree is two years.
Admissions Requirements
1) Completion of a Bachelor of Sciences or Bachelor of Arts program with a GPA of 3.0 (4.0 = A) or better including coursework in chemistry (at least 15 quarter units), mathematics (at least 8 units), statistics (at least 3 units) and physiology (at least 3 units).
2) Students may be admitted without 10 credits of the above requirements although these requirements must be completed as part of the coursework for the M.S. degree unless waived by the Executive Committee.
In addition to academic excellence, successful applicants will exhibit a desire and commitment to complete and satisfy degree requirements.
Students whose undergraduate preparation has been in a language other than English must submit scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) administered by the Educational Testing Service. A minimum score of 80 on the TOEFL is required for admission.
Components of a Complete Application for Admission
- Complete and submit the Online Application for Graduate Admission is available via the World Wide Web at http://www.gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/prospective/applicationlanding.html .
- The application fee of $120 for Domestic students, or $140 for International Students, must be paid before an application will be evaluated. The fee may be paid by credit card or money order made out to "UC Regents" to Graduate Studies. The application fee must be paid for each application submitted.
- Three letters of Recommendation must be submitted electronically through the online application. Do not have recommenders send letters in hard copy; all letters need to be submitted online.
- UC Davis requires academic records from each college-level institution you have attended. You will be instructed to upload scanned copies of your transcripts after you have submitted your online application. For more details visit https://gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/submit-transcripts.
***It is also often helpful to submit a list of all coursework in progress or planned. If you are submitting multiple applications to multiple programs, you should send only one set of transcripts to your first choice program. Transcripts will be scanned and imported into your online application. Your transcripts will be made available to each program you have applied to, as well as your Internal Fellowship Application.
- General Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. GRE scores must be sent to UC Davis electronically from ETS. Use the UC Davis institution code (4834) when sending your scores to UC Davis
***GRE scores are considered as part of the entire application package so there is no minimum score. Higher scores are more important if academic performance is closer to the minimum GPA for admission. It is not necessary to take an advanced subject test.
- TOEFL scores if applicable.
Submit all required printed materials listed above to:
** The Avian Sciences Graduate Group has an early deadline of January 15. Please note, in many cases the Avian Sciences Graduate Group will accept applications after this deadline, but keep in mind that an application received after this deadline would have significantly reduced opportunities for financial assistance. To learn if your situation merits extension of this date, please contact the Avian Sciences Graduate Program Assistant in the Animal Science Advising Center.
Following receipt of all materials, applications will be evaluated by the admissions committee. Acceptance by the Group assures that a major professor, space, research support, and facilities will be available. Final approval on admissions is made and communicated by the Dean of Graduate Studies.
We recommend that students apply for teaching and/or research assistantships even before your are admitted.
The Animal Science Department Application for Teaching Assistantships here should be completed and submitted to the Animal Science Department. To insure consideration, this application form, along with copies of all transcripts, and three letters of recommendation, should be submitted by March 1 to the Animal Science Advising Center.
The instructions and forms to apply for teaching assistantships from other campus departments should be obtained from each department. Contacting departments directly that you feel you are qualified to instruct for is strongly encouraged. A limited number of these opportunities are also advertised at the Graduate Studies website at http://gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/employment/