Admission Requirements

  1. A complete application with the application fee.
    Deadlines: January 15 for Fall admission or November 1 for Spring admission.
  2. A personal statement/statement of goals.
    In your statement, please consider discussing the following: Your experiences with lab and/or field based research projects, your current interests in Marine Biology, and your professional goals in pursuing an M.S. degree.
  3. One official transcript from each institution of higher learning attended.
  4. OPTIONAL: An official copy of scores from the general test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
    • Newly implemented as an optional addition for admission beginning 2024.
    • For more information, contact Craig Plante, program director, at plantec@cofc.edu.
  5. OPTIONAL: An official copy of scores from the subject (biology) test of the GRE.
  6. Three letters of recommendation from persons closely associated with previous work related to the discipline.
  7. Undergraduate coursework in the sciences:
    1. A bachelor’s degree.
    2. Twenty semester hours of upper division biological courses, including a course in cellular or molecular biology (or the equivalent) and a course in ecology (or the equivalent).
    3. Chemistry - at least one upper-level course (beyond general chemistry).
    4. General Physics - two courses.
    5. Calculus - one course.
      *Students with otherwise outstanding academic preparation who may lack one of the required courses may be admitted, but could be required to complete the missing courses.
  8. A résumé.
  9. Evidence of a command of spoken and written English (TOEFL or IELTS score).