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Natural Sciences Ph.D. Admissions

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Please consult with the Natural Sciences Ph.D. discipline coordinator in your area of interest before applying to the program. Discipline coordinators offer valuable program, academic and application information.

Natural Sciences Ph.D. Requirements

You must meet both the general and the discipline-specific criteria for admission and be recommended for admission by the doctoral faculty review group in at least a primary discipline. You are welcome to select a secondary discipline as well, but admissions decisions must be received by both disciplines in this case.

  • Undergraduate GPA of at least 2.75
  • Graduate GPA of at least 3.0
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Statement of purpose
  • Writing sample

Application Deadlines

Natural Sciences Ph.D. program application deadlines

Discipline

Coordinator

Notes

Application Deadline for Fall

Application Deadline for Spring

Biomedical and Health Informatics

Dr. An-Lin Cheng

Requires a second "supplementary" application through the School of Medicine.

January 1 - April 1 rolling deadlines, with all materials due April 1

Discipline only admits in Fall

Cell Biology and Biophysics

Dr. Jeffrey Price

Only Fall admissions. Contact Coordinator if you plan to apply after December 15.

Dec. 15 first consideration, rolling deadlines after that as cohort space allows

Discipline only admits in Fall

Chemistry

Dr. David VanHorn

April 15 first consideration, with rolling deadlines after that as funding allows

Oct. 15 first consideration, with rolling deadlines after that as funding allows

Geosciences

Dr. Fengpeng Sun

March 1

September 1

Mathematics

Dr. Liana Sega

March 1 first consideration for assistantships/funding, with further applications accepted until April 15

October 1 first consideration for assistantships/funding, with rolling deadlines after that

Molecular Biology and Biochemistry

Dr. Jeffrey Price

Only Fall admissions. Contact Coordinator if you plan to apply after December 15.

Dec. 15 first consideration, rolling deadlines after that as cohort space allows

Discipline only admits in Fall

Oral and Craniofacial Sciences

Dr. Mary Walker

Contact Coordinator if you plan to apply after March 1.

March 1 first consideration, with rolling deadlines after that as cohort space allows

Rolling deadlines

Pharmaceutical Sciences

Dr. Kun Cheng

Summer admission available upon request to the Coordinator.

Feb. 1

Oct. 1

Pharmacology

Dr. Gerald Wyckoff

Summer admission available upon request to the Coordinator.

Feb. 1

Oct. 1

Physics

Dr. Paul Rulis

Feb. 1 first consideration for assistantships/funding, with rolling deadlines after that

Rolling deadlines

Additional deadline information

  1. The deadlines for applications to the Natural Sciences Ph.D. program vary by discipline. All application materials must be uploaded, and test scores and official transcripts must be received in Admission Offices by the earliest discipline deadline. For example, if one discipline’s deadline is Feb. 1 and the other March 15, then application materials must be received by the Feb. 1 deadline.
  2. The timeline for applicants to expect admission decisions varies by discipline. Most admission decisions are made approximately four to six weeks after the latest deadline. For example, if one discipline deadline is Feb. 1 and the other March 15, an admission decision should be received, approximately, by April 15 to April 30.
  3. Applicants will be notified of admission decisions through the online application system. Newly admitted international applicants will receive necessary admission documentation from the International Student Affairs Office.
  4. Admission decisions cannot be provided over the telephone.

Questions?

If you have questions regarding the application process, please contact the School of Graduate Studies at umkcsgs@umkc.edu.