Mandatory Department Application
To obtain a Master of Science in Microbiology & Cell Science with a concentration in Medical Microbiology and Biochemistry, participants must be admitted as MS students by the UF College administering the program.
Applications and all application materials must be received by the final application deadline for the semester you are applying to.
Please contact mcsadvising@ifas.ufl.edu with any questions regarding the application or related procedures.
Please fill out the form below if you are interested in applying to the University of Florida for a master’s degree in Microbiology & Cell Science.
Complete the UF Graduate Application
When completing and submitting the application, please note the following important information for each section of the application:
Getting Started
- Keep the username and password that you create in order to log in and edit your application before submission.
Submitting the Online Application
Personal Information
- Provide all of the requested personal information.
- International Applicants:
- You must enter your surname and given name in the Passport Name section even if you do not have a passport.
- If you are a permanent resident alien and/or reside in the United States, you must provide your resident alien number and upload a copy of your permanent resident alien card directly to the application.
Conduct Disclosure
- Accurately answer and report all information in the Conduct Disclosure section.
Application Information & Program of Study
Follow the instructions below to make the correct selections for the degree you are applying for:
- In the Location dropdown, select Distance Education.
- In the Program of Study section, click or search College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. From the expanded selection, choose:
- Microbiology and Cell Science
- Choose the term you are applying for from the dropdown. Applicants applying for Summer admission must select Summer A/C.
- Review your selection in the Program Display and verify that it is correct before moving to the next application step. If you need to amend your selection, choose Re-Select Program.
- You may leave the Additional Information section blank, but should you choose to submit information here, type the following:
- In the Program Specialization field, type Medical Microbiology and Biochemistry
- Please leave the Department Contact Name field blank
Academic Background
- Report your undergraduate major.
- Enter all of the colleges or universities you have attended. Accurately report both the degree you earned and the date it was earned.
- Upload your unofficial transcripts for each school, if you have them.
- Note that your application will not be reviewed for an admission decision until your official transcripts are received (instructions for sending official transcripts are on Step Three).
- Although we consider both the overall and upper-division GPA for all applicants, the upper-division GPA must be reported on the UF Graduate Application. Use the instructions on the application, and this worksheet, to calculate and accurately report your upper-division GPA. It is extremely important to accurately report your degree(s) and upper-division GPA. Failure to do so can cause processing delays and may negatively impact your application upon review.
Activities
- Report past and/or planned activities in this section, including pertinent work experience.
English Proficiency Test Score Information
- International applicants that are required to provide English proficiency test scores should select the test that they have, or plan to, take to meet this requirement.
Additional Questions (Statement of Purpose & Resume/CV)
- A resume/CV is required for all applicants and can be uploaded to the application. Pursuant to Florida Statute, your application requires inclusion of all post-high school education and employment, as well as information about ongoing international affiliations and research funding. Please ensure this information is included on your curriculum vitae (CV) or résumé.
- A statement of purpose is not required. However, if you would like to submit one for our review, please upload your document to the application. If you do not wish to submit a statement, please attach a document indicating the statement is not required by our program.
- If your overall and/or upper-division GPA are below a 3.0, it is strongly recommended that you upload these materials to your application.
Letters of Recommendation
- Letters of recommendation are not required. However, if you would like to submit them for our review, use this section to request letters of recommendation via email.
- If you are unable to submit your letters of recommendation through the application, contact us for further instructions at mcsadvising@ifas.ufl.edu.
Residency Information
- Enter your residency information. The residency of our students has no bearing on tuition cost for our program, but this information is required by the University of Florida.
- If you are a non-Florida resident, check the appropriate box.
- If you are a Florida resident, fully complete the Residency Information section, including the numbers and original issue dates for two of the following three identifying documents. Documents may be directly uploaded to the application:
- Driver’s License
- Vehicle Registration
- Voter Registration
Application Fee
- The $30 application fee must be paid with the submission of the online application in order for the application to be submitted.
Additional Information
- Because letters of recommendation are not required, they may reflect positively in your application packet but the most significant admission criteria are the upper-division GPA and overall GPA.
- Add @ufl.edu to your ‘safe list’ on your email account. If you receive any emails from UF regarding your application, you must respond.
Admission Processing Time
Admissions to this program works on a rolling admissions basis, so there is no set date by which applicants are notified of their acceptance. Processing time depends in part upon the volume of applications that are being processed at any given point during the application intake cycle. Applications submitted for any semester other than the current intake period (e.g., spring, summer and fall) are not usually reviewed until the semester prior as high numbers of applications require that those for the upcoming semester are prioritized over those applying further in advance. For example, a student applying for a fall semester that begins in August would be reviewed the previous May/June at the earliest.
Domestic Applicant Transcript Requirement
All students must have transcripts sent to the Office of Admission for all college coursework completed. Unofficial transcripts may be submitted at the time of application, but official, sealed transcripts must be submitted before the start of registration for the second semester. The transcripts sent should correlate to the schools listed on your application (Step 2).
Former University of Florida (UF) students who haven’t attended any school after UF do not need to request transcripts.
If you have not yet completed your bachelor’s degree, only send a transcript once it reflects that your degree has been conferred. This transcript must be received by UF by the final application deadline for the semester you are applying to. Transcripts that confer the degree must be received before any decision can be made on an application.
Domestic transcripts can be sent via post or electronically. Request official, original transcripts from every school that you reported on the UF Graduate Application in Step 2.
Send transcripts via post to the following address:
University of Florida
Office of Admissions
201 Criser Hall – PO Box 114000
Gainesville, FL 32611-4000
Send electronic transcripts directly FROM the institution TO the UF Office of Admissions at te@admissions.ufl.edu.
The institution must use one of the following verified companies to submit transcripts or the transcripts cannot be considered valid and official:
Parchment, Faster, National Student Clearinghouse, Transcripts Plus, Credential Solutions, or E-script/Scrip-Safe.
If one of these companies cannot be used transcripts must be sent via post.
International Applicant Transcript Requirement
Transcript Submission and Review
The Office of Admissions will review the transcripts and degrees (if applicable) from every institution listed in the educational history provided on your application. Our review process of all non-U.S. academic credentials (transcripts, mark sheets, degrees/diplomas) ensures that the applicant has been conferred/awarded the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree or will be awarded such a degree by the desired date of enrollment. Academic departments will make the ultimate decision on an application.
For our review, these documents may be unofficial and uploaded in the application or via your Check Status page. These transcripts and degree certificate/diplomas should be scanned copies of the official paper versions issued to you by your previous or current institution. Digitally uploaded academic credentials must include the same information appearing on an official transcript, including biographical information, institution name, signatures, seals and stamps. We will not accept screen shots of your grades from your institution’s student academic portal.
Non-English Transcripts
Transcripts and degree certificates/diplomas not issued in English must be accompanied by a certified, literal line-for-line English translation of the original document. Acceptable certified translations are issued by your institution or a professional translating service.
Credential Evaluations
Submitting a credential evaluation for college coursework outside of the U.S. is optional. Students who choose to submit an evaluation should submit a course-by-course evaluation with credits, grades and grade averages from a NACES member. Unofficial copies of transcripts and degree certificates still must be submitted with a credential evaluation during the application process.
Review of Transcripts
An email notification will be sent approximately 24-48 hours after submission of your UF application with instructions on how to create your MyAdmissions application/Check Status page. Transcripts uploaded or received by mail will display on the Check Status checklist as Transcript – Under Review. As soon as your transcripts are received, the college and department you have applied to will be able to review your transcripts. Due to the high volume of applications, transcripts may not be updated on your checklist until the department has completed an initial review of your application. Once the transcripts are reviewed by Admissions, the checklist will be updated, and the Awaiting Transcript checklist items will be updated accordingly.
Official Transcripts
While not required for the initial admissions review, official transcripts, translations (if applicable) and degree certificates/diplomas are required for enrolling students and must be submitted no later than the end of your first semester of enrollment. Official documents are mailed directly from the institution, including all official stamps and signatures, or presented in-person inside the institution’s sealed and stamped envelope.
Credentials are mailed directly to the UF Office of Admissions at:
Office of Admissions
201 Criser Hall
PO Box 114000
Gainesville, FL 32611-4000
United States of America
Return of credentials
All documents submitted with your application become property of the University of Florida. The Office of Admissions is unable to honor requests to return transcripts or provide transcript copies to you or a third party. Do not mail diplomas or academic credentials that are only issued once. An attested or certified copy (by the institution’s registrar), or originals presented in-person are accepted in such circumstances.
The English Language Skill Requirement
English Proficiency
All applicants from countries in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency and meet the minimum score requirements. The university does not accept scores compiled from multiple tests to meet English proficiency requirements. UF’s TOEFL and GRE school code is 5812.
Minimum acceptable scores:
- TOEFL (iBT & Home Edition): 80
- TOEFL (PBT): 550
- IELTS Academic: 6.0*
- Verbal GRE: 140
- For graduate programs that require a GRE score, the verbal GRE must be a minimum of 140 in addition to TOEFL or ILETS.
- UF ELI Exit Certificate
* UF is registered to receive IELTS scores using the IELTS Results Service E-Delivery. Scores should be sent to the University of Florida, which only accepts scores from this E-delivery service. UF does not accept paper Test Report Forms or unofficial copies of IELTS Test Report Forms from students. Applicants should contact the IELTS test center where they took the IELTS to request their official test results be sent to our account name: The University of Florida. An institution code is not required.
The address associated with our IELTS Results Service account is:
The University of Florida
201 Criser Hall
Gainesville, FL 32611
United States
Exemptions are granted if applicants:
- Have successfully completed one academic year in a degree-seeking program at a recognized/regionally accredited university or college in the United States or a country where English is the official language.
- Hold an earned equivalent of associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s or PhD degree from a recognized/regionally accredited college or university in the United States or country where English is the official language.
Visit our International Admissions page for a list of countries exempt from English proficiency requirements: https://admissions.ufl.edu/apply/graduate/international
