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The college requires a bachelor’s degree from a recognized institution and an adequate background in the subject to be studied for entry into any of its graduate programs. Applicants must satisfy all University of Houston Admission Requirements as specified in this catalog. For specific degree requirements, applicants should consult the appropriate department chair, graduate director, or graduate advisor.
Admission to individual departments in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics is based on thorough examination of the applicant’s prior academic and professional experience. The general requirements for consideration for acceptance into graduate programs in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics are:
- Submission of an application for admission to graduate studies.
- Submission of official transcripts from all institutions of higher education previously attended.
- Submission of Graduate Record Examination scores, and proof of English proficiency for applicants who do not hold a prior degree from a US institution or countries exempted by the University of Houston from this requirement (see University of Houston Admission Requirements ). For English proficiency, a score at least 79 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or 6.5 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is required.
- A brief statement as to the applicant’s aspirations at the graduate level.
- Three letters of recommendation.
- Applicants should contact the individual departments to determine what additional materials may be required to accompany the application for admission.
Conditional and Unconditional Admission Requirements
Conditional and unconditional admission categories apply only at the master’s level. Conditional admission may not be granted to doctoral-level applicants or to international students whose degrees were not earned at an accredited United States institution.
To be eligible for unconditional admission, students must have a grade point average of at least 3.00 (A=4.00) during the last 60 semester hours of graduate and/or undergraduate work attempted.
Conditional admission may be granted to students who have a grade point average of at least 2.60 (A=4.00) during the last 60 semester hours of graduate and/or undergraduate work attempted, and whose scores on the GRE are high enough to indicate probable success in the graduate program. Scores must be presented well in advance of the desired date of admission. To remain in a graduate studies program, conditionally admitted students must earn a grade point average of at least 3.00 (A=4.00) on all letter-graded coursework by the end of the first two long semesters and have the recommendation of their department. In the event the student has not completed a minimum of eight letter-graded hours at the end of the first two long semesters, the change from conditional to unconditional will be delayed until the end of the semester in which the minimum of eight-graded hours has been completed.
Applicants without a strong background for graduate study in the discipline may be requested to take remedial courses as a condition of admission.
Pre-Grad Status
A pre-grad student is one who has earned a Bachelor’s degree at an accredited institution, has the intention of pursuing a graduate career, but is not formally admitted to a graduate program. Rather, the pre-grad student is allowed to take up to 12 hours of graduate courses in a non-degree capacity. Students may apply courses taken in the pre-grad status to a graduate degree, subject to the approval of the individual department. Students are encouraged to consult their respective departments about this matter before embarking on a course of action.
Non-Degree Objective Graduate Status
A graduate student with a non-degree objective is a student who has earned a Bachelor’s degree and does not have the intention to obtain a graduate degree, but wishes to enroll in one or a few graduate courses. Students should consult with the respective departments for admission procedures.
Additional Requirements
Along with the minimal requirements for conditional or unconditional admission, each department in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics has additional admission requirements, depending on the discipline and degree objective. Questions concerning these additional requirements should be addressed to the graduate advisor of the respective department. |