Admission to the Graduate Program in Environmental Science and Policy

Application Deadlines:
Although the Graduate Applications Committee for the ESP Program will continue to review applications on a rolling basis throughout the year, those students interested in being considered for financial assistance from the Program should ensure their complete applications are received by the USFSP Office of Graduate Studies not later than 15 March each year.

Additional Application Information:
All applicants to the Graduate Program in ESP should include three letters of recommendation from people well qualified to assess their potential for graduate study. In addition, applicants should include a statement (no longer than one page, single spaced) of their goals, objectives, reasons for applying to this program, some indication of their intention to study full-time or part-time, and which faculty members they think might best supervise their research. Remember that a full-time course load for graduate students is 9 credit hours (usually three classes).

Students seeking admission to the graduate program in Environmental Science and Policy will be expected to meet the following criteria:

Bachelor’s Degree and GPA

Students must have earned a baccalaureate degree from an accredited undergraduate institution with a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale and be able to demonstrate an appropriate undergraduate background in the disciplines supporting the applied environmental sciences. The Graduate Program Advisory Committee will review all applications to determine adequacy of undergraduate backgrounds. However, in general, a student pursuing a graduate degree that emphasizes basic and applied sciences would be expected to have a strong background in biology (through ecology and genetics), chemistry through organic, geology, physics, and calculus.

Graduate Record Exam Scores

Students must submit scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) with a combined score of at least 1000 from the verbal and mathematical sections and a score of 4 or better on the writing section.

Applicants with significant science background as an undergraduate student, a minimum of 3.0 cumulative grade point average as an undergraduate, and at least two years of full-time work experience in an environmental field deemed relevant by the graduate committee, are encouraged to apply even if their GRE scores are less than 1000. If the Graduate Committee determines that an applicant has a significant science background and relevant work experience, then it may waive the requirement of earning at least 1000 on the GRE as long as exam scores are submitted during the application process.

Conditional Admission

Students who have earned an appropriate baccalaureate degree, but whose undergraduate GPA is less than 3.0 or whose GRE scores in verbal and mathematical (combined) is less than 1000 may be granted conditional admission by the graduate admissions committee in accordance with USF policy.

Conditional students may be given specific coursework or independent study requirements in order to make up deficiencies but, at a minimum, must complete a minimum of nine semester hours of graduate-level program courses with a grade of B or better. Conditional graduate students will not be eligible for graduate assistantships until they have obtained full admission to the program.

Because of the interdisciplinary nature of this program, students will be expected to demonstrate undergraduate backgrounds sufficient to meet entry requirements. At the discretion of the graduate advisory committee, students without adequate background may be granted provisional admission (even though GPA and GRE scores are adequate for admission) with the expectation that undergraduate deficiencies (as determined by the committee) will be removed within the first two semesters of graduate work.

Exception Admission Criteria

The University may admit up to 10% of new enrollees as exceptions to the Board of Trustees minimum requirements.

To be considered for an exception, a student should present evidence that their academic preparation was such that it might account for less than the minimal University and/or program requirements and evidence of potential for academic success such as excellent letters of recommendation from trusted academicians, performance in graduate courses taken as a post-bachelor’s student, professional experience in his/her discipline for a period of time, etc.

Each request for a 10% exception must include a statement describing the special circumstances of the applicant. It is the discretion of the program and college to accept exception application requests.