Source: Chris Wall

Admissions Requirements and Recommendations

Review all sections below to ensure that minimum requirements are met when you apply for admission.

To see the actual steps, forms, etc. required for admission, please see our How to Apply page. You should also read through the Admissions FAQ page.

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  • MBGP Faculty Sponsor

    Well before the December deadline, contact three or more potential MBIO graduate faculty sponsors (i.e., a "sponsor" is a member of the Level 3 Regular/Cooperating Faculty in the Marine Biology Graduate Program) who have research interests complementary to yours.

    If admitted to the program, one of the faculty that you contact will agree to serve as your faculty advisor. Your research and graduate studies would be based in the faculty advisor's laboratory. Students are not admitted to the MBIO graduate program without an identified and committed faculty advisor.

    See our FAQ page for tips on contacting faculty productively.

    The interest/support of a current faculty member is important to your admission chances. This process is essential to preparing a strong application for the UH MBIO graduate program.

  • Recommended Courses

    Students admitted into the MBIO graduate program are expected to have strong undergraduate or MS training in Biological Oceanography, Environmental Science, Marine Science, Marine Biology, Zoology, Microbiology, Botany, Biology, or other life sciences.

    In addition, applicants benefit from a strong undergraduate background in Math, Chemistry, and/or Physics.

    Students are encouraged to prepare themselves academically before applying to the program. Needing to take prerequisite/foundational courses after enrollment takes up time and will hinder a student's progress in the program.

    Suggested course preparation may include the following:

    • Calculus* (1 semester)
    • Physics (1 semesters)
    • General Chemistry (2 semesters)
    • Organic Chemistry (1 semester)
    • Biochemistry or Molecular Biology (1 semester)
    • Biology (~18 credit hours)

    *Calculus is required for ZOOL 631 (Biometry) and recommended for the data science courses that are part of the MBIO curriculum, including MBIO 612/OCN 682 (Programming and Statistics in R). Biometry or Statistics is required for MS and PhD (w/o prior MS) degrees, thus completion of at least one semester of Calculus prior to enter the MBIO graduate program is highly recommended.

  • GPA

    The minimum required GPA for applicants to the MBGP is 3.2
    In recent years, the average GPA of students admitted to the MBGP has been ~3.47

  • GRE General Test (Optional in most cases)

    The GRE General Test score is not required of all applicants (starting with the Fall 2021 cycle). However, individual faculty may choose to consider GRE General Test scores when considering students for their particular lab.

    GRE scores do not need to be submitted if faculty an applicant is interested in working with do not require the GRE. If an applicant completed a GRE, and their scores are submitted to UH Manoa, their scores will be included with their application package.

    Official test scores should be sent by ETS to the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa's Graduate Division.

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