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
- In the Department Contact Name field, type HSC DESS Admissions Team
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.
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/Mark Sheet and Diploma/Degree Certificate
Graduate applicants must submit an official, original document in the native language of each transcript/mark sheet and diploma/degree certificate from each university or college attended. If the native language for the documents is not English, certified, exact literal English translations are required. The English translation may come from your university or may be completed by a certified translator. Original documents are strongly preferred, however, if you cannot send originals we can accept the WES ICAP evaluation. We cannot accept the WES evaluation report or any other evaluations from other credential services.
For applicants that do not need any of their documents returned, use the following instructions.
All academic credentials sent using these instructions become property of the university. They will not be returned to you or forwarded to a third party. Credentials of applicants who do not enroll will be destroyed.
Request official, original transcripts from every school that you reported on the UF Graduate Application in Step 2 and have them sent to the following address.
University of Florida
Office of Admissions
201 Criser Hall – PO Box 114000
Gainesville, FL 32611-4000
For applicants who need any of their documents returned, use the following instructions.
We must have your original diploma verifying that the degrees reported were earned. Your transcript/mark sheet and diploma/degree certificate with English translations (if the native language is not English) should be assembled by you and sent to the address below in one package. If you would like your transcript/mark sheet and diploma/degree certificate returned to you, you must provide a return shipping label and return packaging in the package that you send. You must also include this checklist, filled out, in the package that you send containing your documents.
We keep your documents locked and safe until after your application materials are processed and an application decision can be made. Once the documents are reviewed, we will send them back to you via the label and packaging that you provide. While the University of Florida handles all documents with care, we are not responsible for documents that are lost or damaged in the mail.
Packages that include documents to be returned must be sent to:
University of Florida Attn: Distance Education Support Services 1115 NW 4th St. Gainesville, FL 32601
The English Language Skill Requirement
If your native language is not English, or if you graduated with a bachelor's degree from a non-English speaking country, you will need to take and submit your TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or other Graduate Council approved English language skills test scores.
Non-English speaking countries are those which are not included in the Graduate School's list of English speaking countries.
Having the TOEFL or English Language Test sent to the University of Florida
All applicants must have ETS (Educational Testing Service) send their official TOEFL test scores directly to the UF Office of Admissions at code 5812. No department code should be selected.
- Only official, sealed scores, direct from ETS, are acceptable. Self-reported scores, unsealed copies of score reports or photocopies of score reports cannot be accepted as official final documents.
Minimum TOEFL Scores Required
To be considered for the master's degree, the applicant must score the following on the TOEFL:
| TOEFL Exam Type | Required Score |
|---|---|
| Paper-based | 550 |
| Computer-based | 213 |
| Internet | 80 |