Major Professor

It is very important you find a major professor who is a faculty member of the Graduate Group in Ecology, who is willing to support your application, and would be willing to accept you into their lab. Therefore, we recommend contacting them early and keeping up consistent communication with faculty you are interested in throughout the application process.

Eligibility Requirements

GPA 

The minimum cumulative GPA required for admission to graduate study at the University of California, Davis is 3.0 on a 4.0 point scale. However, most students accepted into the Ecology Graduate Group have a GPA of at least 3.25 for their undergraduate career. The most recent scholastic record receives greater weight; only cumulative GPA's from a completed or in-progress degree will be used. Students coming from universities where a GPA is not calculated are evaluated using other aspects of their file and letters bearing on class performance when available.

Students with a sub-3.0 GPA may apply to the program and be admitted into the GGE at the request of a GGE faculty member. This process requires an appeal to Graduate Studies from said faculty member. This is submitted after you have submitted your application and have been selected for admission into a lab. Appeals are approved or denied at the discretion of the Dean of Graduate Studies following a review of your application and faculty appeal.

Coursework

You should try to complete a majority of the below course entrance requirements before enrolling in the program. You may complete these courses at UC Davis, but you will be expected to complete entrance deficiencies at the earliest possible time.

Equivalent courses at past universities or community colleges may be accepted via appeal process to the GGE office. Appealing requires a course syllabus and/or course description for review by the GGE Chair and GGE Program Coordinator following admission into the program by a faculty member.

Please note, courses listed are UC Davis equivalents. The course designations listed below correspond to UC Davis courses. 

• Introductory Biology: 1 course from the following options: Biological Science 2A, B, C, or equivalent if taken elsewhere
• Introduction to Chemistry: 1 course General Chemistry 2A or B or equivalent if taken elsewhere
• Physical Science: 1 course: Principles of Physics 1A or B; or equivalent if taken elsewhere; or 1 upper division course for which physics is a prerequisite.  
• Calculus: Mathematics 16A Short Calculus or equivalent if taken elsewhere
• Statistics: Statistics 13 Elementary Statistics or equivalent if taken elsewhere
• Introduction to Ecology: ESP 100 General Ecology or EVE 101 Introduction to Ecology or equivalent if taken elsewhere. It's very important that this requirement is satisfied prior to entrance in the program, it is required for Ecology 200 A,B courses, normally taken in the first year. Although ESP 100 or EVE 101 may be taken concurrently with Ecology 200A, students without a prior grounding in ecological concepts may be at a disadvantage.