Graduate Program Admissions

Applications for Fall 2025 admissions must be received by Tuesday, December 3
The Department of Entomology provides graduate training in a welcoming and supportive environment. We hope you will apply to our program!

Critical Tasks Before Applying:
1.      Consider whether going into graduate school aligns with your career goals. You can take a look at this excellent article on the topic , but also make sure that you discuss your plans with peers and faculty at your host institution.
2.      Read this page carefully. Instructions on various elements of the application are included to help you prepare the strongest possible package.
3.      Contact potential faculty advisors WELL BEFORE (at least 3 months) preparing and submitting your application. This will inform you on whether they are recruiting graduate students this application cycle.
Criteria For Admission
Acceptance into the department is based upon approval by a committee of Entomology faculty, official advisorship by an Entomology faculty advisor who will provide laboratory space and guidance during your thesis or dissertation research, and admission by the Graduate School.

Applicants are not required to have an undergraduate degree in Entomology but are expected to have formal training in biology, mathematics, chemistry and genetics. Graduates with non-science degrees are encouraged to apply but, if accepted, may be required to remedy deficiencies early in their program.

Admission is granted on the basis of the following criteria:
  1. Acceptance by an Entomology faculty advisor.  Applicants should contact potential advisors well before preparing and submitting an application in order to explore mutual interests and to determine the availability of the faculty member as a advisor. Upon acceptance, if different advisors are willing to participate, well-qualified applicants may request a series of rotations among labs of multiple faculty before selecting a permanent advisor. Either way, it is critical to contact potential advisors WELL BEFORE preparing and submitting your application. 
  2. Quality of previous graduate and undergraduate work. The Graduate School requires a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least a B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale). For Ph.D. applicants, both graduate and undergraduate grades are considered. Depending on the applicants' interests, performance within specific courses also may be considered. Official transcripts of all previous academic training must be submitted.
  3. Strength of three letters of recommendation from persons competent to judge the applicant's probable success in graduate school. These letters are usually from former professors who are able to give an in-depth evaluation of the applicant's strengths and weaknesses with respect to academic work. Additional recommendations may come from employers or supervisors who are familiar with the applicant's work experience. Strong letters provide explicit examples of experiences that support the qualities the letter writer wants to highlight. Letters from family members and/or friends with no direct professional or academic insight or relevance are strongly discouraged. All letter writers will receive an email with a link to submit the letter; please make sure that your letter writers are submitting their letters on time.
  4. Statement of Purpose, including your goals, research interests, and experiences, and their relation to the intended program of study. This essay should highlight your reasons for pursuing a graduate degree in Entomology and should describe past experiences and accomplishments that bear on your goals. The review committee is particularly interested in academic work, research projects, publications, presentations, awards, and/or professional experiences that have shaped your interests and development. It is also useful to describe how the specific opportunities offered by the University of Maryland may be beneficial in pursuing your goals, especially the interests and research of one or more potential faculty advisors. This statement is also a good place to state – if you feel comfortable doing so – how you have overcome unusual adversity, especially if that adversity may have led to irregularities in your transcript or academic progress. This can be also discussed to illustrate personal qualities of dedication, maturity and resilience. The full prompt for the Statement of Purpose can be found here. 
  5. International students must submit scores from either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL, internet based exam, iBT) or the International English Language Testing Service (IELTS).  Maryland's institutional code is 5814.  If you take the iBT or IELTS exams you do NOT need to take the Test of Spoken English (TSE). Click here for further details regarding the UMD Graduate School's English Language Proficiency Requirements
  6. Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Scores are *NOT* required and will not be evaluated if submitted. However, in cases where application material is incomplete, ambiguous, or inconsistent, the admission committee may request GRE scores from applicants. (This policy was instituted on October 22, 2019 and may be inconsistent with application criteria listed elsewhere. Contact the Director of Graduate Studies if problems arise.)
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Contact [email protected] with any questions.
How To Apply

Contact Potential Faculty Advisors. Acceptance by a faculty advisor is absolutely required; thus, it is important to make early contact with faculty that share your research interests and inquire about opportunities in their labs. See the TIPS section below for suggestions on how to contact faculty.
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University of Maryland's Graduate Application Process. The University of Maryland’s Graduate School accepts applications through its online application system. Applicants must pay a non-refundable $75 application fee for each program to which they applies. Fee waivers are available under some conditions. Contact our Graduate Director for more information. 
  • An application contains the following documents:
    • Three Letters of Recommendation: They have to be uploaded by your letter writers (they will receive a link once you add their names to the application form and they will have to submit directly using that link).
    • Transcript(s): At the application stage, these can be unofficial copies, but admission to the University of Maryland requires the submission of official transcripts. 
    • Statement of Purpose: This document includes your goals, research interests, and experiences, and their relation to the intended program of study. This essay should highlight your reasons for pursuing a graduate degree in Entomology and should describe past experiences and accomplishments that bear on your goals. The review committee is particularly interested in academic work, research projects, publications, presentations, awards, and/or professional experiences that have shaped your interests and development. It is also useful to describe how the specific opportunities offered by the University of Maryland may be beneficial in pursuing your goals, especially the interests and research of one or more potential faculty advisors. The full prompt for the Statement of Purpose can be found here. 
    • CV/Resume: This document needs to present your academic path, relevant work experiences, awards, prizes, publications, presentations or posters you may have authored, relevant technical abilities, relevant community-involvement activities, membership to professional societies, languages you speak, etc. Click here to learn more on some ways to build a strong CV.
    • Writing Samples: This is optional, and you can submit up to two written works such as a paper, publication or poster of yours that you think highlights your strength as an early career scientist.
    • Description of Research/Work Experience: This is optional and can showcase your research or work experience, community involvement, leadership roles, and how you overcame barriers. You should think of these less as requirements and more as an additional way to define yourself to those who will be looking at your packet. They are particularly powerful as tools to describe your readiness for the challenges of graduate school. For example, how might you make clear you are ready to take on and/or develop a research project, collaborate with others, contribute to the department, interact with other students, etc.

Information for International Applicants
  • The University of Maryland is dedicated to maintaining a vibrant international graduate student community. A stay in the USA, however, requires visas, as well as coordinating places to stay, health insurance, travel, and more. International applicants should explore the website and contact the UMD International Students and Scholars Services (ISSS) to learn what going through these processes entails.
  • The University of Maryland Graduate School offers admission to international students based on academic information which does not guarantee attendance. Admitted international students should follow instructions on the process to obtain visas to study at the University of Maryland. See the International Admissions section of the Graduate School website for more information.
After You Apply
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Application Review: Applications are reviewed annually in December for admission in the Fall semester of the following year.*
  • Once the Department has received applications and all supporting materials from the Graduate School, a committee of Entomology faculty reviews the application packages using all available information to determine acceptability to the Graduate Program.
  • The committee then recommends acceptable applicants to all Entomology faculty for review. 
  • Campus Visit: Applicants deemed acceptable will be invited to visit the Department of Entomology for an interview/recruitment event early in the Spring semester.
  • Once a commitment of faculty sponsorship and financial support is made, the Graduate Director recommends acceptance to the Dean of the Graduate School.
  • The Dean then grants acceptance if all Graduate School requirements have been met.
  • Note: International students must also meet minimum requirements set by the Office of International Students and Scholars Services. 

Final Admission: Following approval, the applicant will receive:
  1. An offer letter from the Department indicating the stipend level, duration of support, and amount of tuition remission.
  2. An offer of admission from the Graduate School specifying the date of entrance.
To be admitted, the applicant must respond affirmatively to both offer letters. Changes to either offer letter, including the effective date, advisor, etc. require authorization by the Graduate Director. 
Tips to make your application be a successful one
  • Start thinking about the requirements for the application at least a year before you are planning to apply. In fact, some of the points that strengthen an application need time to happen (e.g., research experience, having received awards or small grants, having published materials, being involved in community-oriented projects).
    • If you have been involved in research, consider publishing your results, or at least presenting them at conferences in the form of a poster or a talk. Demonstrating that you have already interacted with doing research indicates that you know what you are jumping into (graduate school in STEM is a lot more about doing research than taking courses).
  • Consider applying to fellowships in advance of your application to graduate school. Having received or having applied to a graduate fellowship will also strengthen your application, even if you end up not getting the funding. In fact, this also shows that you are interested in the process of science and have the ability to find knowledge gaps and articulate your ideas. There are several agencies that fund graduate research, and some of them strongly encourage students to apply to their funding prior to starting graduate school. Some programs that our students often apply to are NSF GRFP, Ford Foundation, and SARE. If you are going to be applying to such funds before applying to our program, we strongly recommend that you get in touch with your future potential advisor so they can provide insights before you submit your application.
  • As mentioned earlier, it is CRITICAL to contact your potential future advisor in advance of the application. Here are some tips to 1) prepare yourself and 2) reach out.
    • It is important that you are clear on why you want to pursue a graduate degree and that you can clearly communicate your goals. For this reason, any actions that will help you identify and refine your career goals are invaluable. Take advantage of career fairs, networking events, and other opportunities to discuss your goals and solicit experiences from others. Actively seek information on the palette of career paths that exist. Ask current instructors, advisors, and colleagues about their career paths. Read papers, look at the website of your lab of interest, and perhaps reach out to current lab members to discuss the work itself.
    • Once you are ready to contact a potential future advisor, consider the following: reach out weeks/months in advance via email to see if they are accepting students and if they would be interested in you. Ideally this email will be followed by a meeting that will help determine if you want to apply to the program. You can also ask your current research advisor to introduce you to potential graduate advisors, but cold emailing is very common. Be wary of using a template, each email you send should be customized. Make sure to be polite and use formal forms of address (Dr., Prof.) and proofread your email! Be clear as to why you are writing and concise, but also be specific: why are you contacting this person and this program? It is OK to ask to set up a meeting with this individual to learn more. Finally, be aware that you are emailing people who receive many emails and thus may lose yours, so if they do not respond send a short (polite) reminder 2-3 weeks after your first contact.
    • Include relevant information in the content of your email. Purpose of the email (request to talk about graduate opportunities, careers in entomology, X paper, etc.). Provide a brief description of your academic background (institution, degrees, person and project you most recently were working on). Explain briefly why you are interested in the lab group, and, if you are asking about graduate opportunities, ask if they have openings in the lab in for the application cycle you are interested in. Do not forget to attach your CV or resume (in pdf format!).​​​
other application resources
There are many resources that exist to assist you in contacting potential future advisors. Here are some that we thought are useful:
ready to apply?
Have you read through all of the explanations and recommendations shared above? Have you reached out to a potential advisor? If so, please move forward:
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START YOUR APPLICATION
Department of Entomology 
University of Maryland 
4112 Plant Sciences Building 
College Park, MD 20742-4454
USA

Telephone: 301.405.3911 
Fax: 301.314.9290