EECB Admission Procedures and Policy

All applicants must submit:

» University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) graduate application, including
    » Results of the Graduate Record Examination
    » Copy of official transcripts (UHM to be included if applicant is an existing student)
    » Three letters of recommendation
    » Statement of career goals

All applicants must also submit (in this case directly to the EECB office):

» Letter expressing your interest in EECB (up to 3 pages), including, at a minimum

    » information on past academic experience
    » goals for graduate study in general and graduate study in EECB in particular
    » what you feel you can contribute to EECB
    » what you expect to gain by participation in EECB

» Letter of support from your EECB faculty sponsor

Only students who have been accepted by a graduate program in one of the academic departments at UHM can be considered for admission to the EECB program.

New students applying to UHM

Regardless of department admission deadlines, the EECB program deadline is February 1 for admission the following fall semester.

If you are applying for admission to EECB you must enter “EECB” in addition to the academic program to which you are applying (Zoology, Botany, etc.) in the box labeled “intended graduate program” on your original UH application. The Graduate Division will automatically forward your entire application (including the letters of recommendation) to the department to which you are applying and it will then be forwarded to EECB if you are accepted into that department. You do not need to submit a copy directly to EECB.

In addition, you should also submit, in this case directly to the EECB office, a letter specifically expressing your interest in EECB (see above for what it should include).

Your EECB faculty sponsor should also submit a letter of support, directly to the EECB office.

Students already at UHM

Students already at UHM may be admitted to EECB in either the fall or spring semester. The deadline for applications for admission in the fall semester is February 1 and for admission in the spring semester is October 15.

Your original UHM application will be obtained directly by the EECB office from the Graduate Division and does not need to be submitted with your application to EECB.

You should submit, directly to the EECB office, a letter expressing your interest in EECB (see above for what it should include).

Your EECB faculty sponsor should also submit, directly to the EECB office, a letter of support.

Admission criteria
The EECB program seeks to encourage and support excellence in graduate studies in the biological sciences at UHM.

The EECB admissions committee therefore assesses the following when evaluating applications:

» Letter from applicant expressing interest in EECB (for details of what should be included, see above). Letters will be reviewed for content and writing style.

» Three letters of recommendation.

» Statement of support from the student’s EECB faculty sponsor who is also a member of the EECB graduate faculty. Ordinarily the sponsor would be or would become the student’s graduate advisor/committee chair, or serve as a committee member if the graduate advisor is not a member of the EECB graduate faculty. Exceptions to this policy will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

» GRE scores. Students applying to EECB are expected to have an average of the three standard tests (verbal, quantitative and analytical) exceeding the 75th percentile. Although a GRE advanced test score is not required for admission, applicants are encouraged to submit the results of an appropriate advanced test if it has been completed (e.g., Biology subject test).

» GPA. 3.0 or higher OR 3.5 or higher during senior year or first year in graduate school.

For students who are deemed unsatisfactory according to one of these assessments, acceptance will be considered if overriding considerations based on the remainder of the criteria prevail. In these cases, particular attention will be paid to the student’s letter of interest, the letter of support from the faculty sponsor, and any evidence of excellence achieved in prior scientific endeavors (e.g., peer-reviewed publications, internships and work experience, training or research experience in the biological sciences outside of undergraduate coursework, etc.).

To re-apply
If you are not accepted based upon the above criteria when you first apply to UHM, we encourage you to apply during your second year at UHM after demonstrating your ability to excel within your graduate program. In this case, you need to show the EECB admissions committee your progress during your first year by submitting a new letter of interest, UHM transcripts, a strong letter of support from your sponsor, and at least one additional letter of recommendation from others familiar with your work at UHM.

If any of the above information is missing, your file may be delayed or not reveiwed. Please send the information to the following address:

EECB Program Office
University of Hawaii at Manoa
2538 McCarthy Mall, Snyder 407
Honolulu, HI 96822