Grad Admissions & Application

Requirements

Educational background should be equivalent to that of an undergraduate major in one of the natural sciences or engineering.

Applicants will automatically be considered for Teaching or Research Assistantships in the Chemistry Department. There is no separate application.

Citizens of the U.S., and International Applicants that are exempt from the University of Washington English Proficiency Requirements (citizens of Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom), apply as follows.

(Other International Applicants skip this section and proceed to the following section)

Apply online to the UW Chemistry Department and Graduate School (combined application) and pay the $50 fee.
Submit all of the following required materials prior to the January 15 Application Deadline following the directions in the last section labeled Application Materials Required.

Citizens of all other International Countries not listed above are not exempt from the University of Washington English Proficiency Requirements, and apply as follows.

A Pre-Application must be submitted. Click on the LINK below to submit a Pre-Application:

Pre-Application

On the pre-application you will be required to provide official scores on the GRE (the Chemistry Subject test is not required). Also, official scores on either (1) the TSE combined with the TOEFL, or (2) the TOEFLibt will be required. Your Pre-Application will not be considered without these tests. However, international students who have received a bachelor's or master's degree from an accredited U.S. institution are exempt from the TOEFL, TSE, and TOEFLibt.

Minimum acceptable scores are:

TOEFL: 237 (computer-based) or 580 (paper-based). Test must be no more than 2 years old.
TSE: 55 (students with exceptionally good academic records may be considered with a minimum of 45)
TOEFLibt: 70 (total for listening, writing, and reading sections)
TOEFLibt: 26 (speaking section; students with exceptionally good academic records may be considered with a minimum of 22)
GRE: no minimum score is required

The deadline for Pre-Application is October 1, 2008, however it is in your best interest to submit the pre-application as early as possible. The Chemistry Department Admissions Committee reviews Pre-Applications on a weekly basis and decides if it is in a student's best interest to apply to our program. You will receive an email notification of the decision with an invitation to Apply online to our Chemistry Graduate Program. A fee of $50 must be paid by credit card at the time you submit your online Application. This fee cannot be waived. You will then submit all of the required materials by mail, as outlined at the Application website, as early as possible, but prior to the January 15 Application Deadline following the directions in the last section labeled Application Materials Required. However, due to the length of time necessary to process international Applications, the Graduate School strongly recommends that you submit your Application by November 1.

Additional specific information for international students, whether living abroad or in the United States

(1) Students who are citizens of countries where the language of instruction is English, but who are unable to take the TSE due to scheduling difficulties within that country, should contact the Department. NOTE: The TSE is being phased out and replaced with the TOEFLiBT, which includes a speaking section. International students already in the U.S. should take the TOEFLiBT in order to meet the spoken English requirements. If this is not possible, please contact the Graduate Program Coordinator.

(2) Students currently studying at a U.S. institution should include at least one letter of recommendation from that U.S. institution.

(3) The Chemistry Department, as a general policy, will not accept an international student who is currently enrolled in a graduate program in the United States, unless he or she has completed the Master's degree at that U.S. institution.

Application Materials Required

Submit the following materials to the Chemistry Graduate Program Adviser prior to the January 15 deadline:

Official GRE scores (either a photocopy or electronically). The subject test is not required.
One official transcript from each college and/or university attended for credit
Three letters of recommendation, using the online version at the UW application site. Paper copies are not required. If your recommender prefers paper, however, please print off the recommendation cover form, and give it to him or her to attach to the letter of recommendation.
Official TOEFL or TOEFL iBT score (only international applicants that are not English Exempt).
Official TSE or TOEFL iBT score (only international applicants that are not English Exempt).

Lisa Nordlund
Graduate Program Adviser
Dept of Chemistry,
Box 351700
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195-1700

Your application will not be considered official until the Chemistry Graduate Program Adviser has received items a-e. The rest of the required materials can be sent separately, if you wish. You will be notified of the Admission Committee’s decision by no later than the end of March.

Thank you again for your interest in the University of Washington Chemistry Chemistry Graduate Program.

We look forward to receiving your application!

Requirements

Citizens of the U.S., and International Applicants that are exempt from the University of Washington English Proficiency Requirements (citizens of Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom), apply as follows.

Citizens of all other International Countries not listed above are not exempt from the University of Washington English Proficiency Requirements, and apply as follows.

A Pre-Application must be submitted. Click on the LINK below to submit a Pre-Application:

Application Materials Required

Contact Information