All ESGP students must have an advisor to be admitted.  Therefore, the admissions process has three steps:

• Application,

• Pairing accepted students with advisors, and

• Student enrollment.

Since the pairing process with advisors can take some time, students are encouraged to begin contacting potential advisors at the time of application.

Application – Students wishing to apply to ESGP must first apply to the OSU graduate school.  The online application is at http://gradadmissions.osu.edu/.  Additional information is needed for ESGP.  Therefore application materials are sent to 2 different places.

To Graduate Admissions:                                          To ESGP office:

• Transcripts                                                               • Transcripts

• GRE                                                                         • Personal statement

• TOEFL for international applicants                          • 3 letters of recommendation

Applicants must meet the minimum graduate school requirements:

• A four-year baccalaureate or higher degree from an accredited college or university prior to beginning graduate studies

• At minimum, a cumulative grade point average equivalent to at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (B grade) in all prior undergraduate and graduate level course work.

• International applicants must also provide a 550 on the paper based TOEFL test, a 213 on the computer based TOEFL, 79 on the Internet Based TOEFL or 7 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam.

Applicants must also meet the ESGP minimum standards:

• GRE score above 1200 combined verbal and quantitative and 3.5 on analytical writing. 

• An undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university with a major in natural or physical sciences.  A minimum of 4 quarter credits of college calculus and/or statistics; 7 quarter credits in physical science; 3 quarter credits in biological sciences.

        Applications from those in fields not normally related to environmental science will be considered when special         merit warrants.  Students with limited course work deficiencies may be admitted conditionally and must remove         deficiencies within an academic year.

The application is reviewed by the 7-member ESGP Graduate Studies Committee and all aspects of the application are considered.  The committee is looking for evidence of interdisciplinary interest and leadership potential.

Pairing accepted students with advisors – All ESGP students must have an advisor before they are allowed to enroll.  This pairing is the most challenging step in the process.  The pairing works in several directions. 

•  Prospective students contact faculty directly based on their information posted on the ESGP website. 

• Faculty visit the ESGP office to review application files – both complete and pending - seeking appropriate students for their research team.  If not yet accepted, faculty can place a note in an applicant’s file stating their willingness to serve as the student’s advisor.

• Listings of accepted students needing advisors are circulated to the faculty to aid in finding advisors for students.

The pairing process can take time, based on the availability of GRA support.  Fortunately, ESGP accepts student applications year-round, so faculty obtaining grant support can review a pool of applicants at any time.

Most students, however, apply in the fall to begin their studies the following fall.  This is driven by the fellowship deadlines.  The last working day of November is the deadline for fellowship consideration of international students. Domestic student applications must be received by January 15 for fellowship consideration. 

The regular deadline for domestic students to apply for the fall is August 15 (without university fellowship consideration) and for international students who are candidates for a U.S. non-immigrant visa for study at this university the deadline for fall is July 1 (without fellowship consideration).. 

Student Enrollment - Once a faculty member agrees to advise a student, an email from the advisor should be sent to ESGP office for the applicant’s file.  Once received, the enrollment process can begin.

An example of the process from 2007/2008 yielded:

Completed Application                                                       65 Students

Accepted by ESGP Graduate Studies Committee               50 Students

Admitted and enrolled with advisors                                   15 Students

To apply to the ESGP, Contact the Admissions Office:

Admissions Office
Graduate Area
The Ohio State University
1800 Cannon Drive
Columbus Ohio 43210-1200
Phone: (614) 292-3980
Fax: (614) 292-4818

Ask for "The Graduate School Admissions Instructions" and indicate if you are a "domestic" (U.S. citizen or holder of the status of permanent resident, refugee, or political asylee) or a "foreign" student, and

Read "The Graduate School Admissions Instructions" carefully. It contains a description of each of the application materials needed by Graduate School and the ESGP.

Submit to the Admissions Office:

A Graduate School international or domestic Admission Application is only available on-line  at http://www.gradapply.osu.edu.. If you absolutely cannot use the electronic application because of lack of internet or credit card, please contact Graduate Admissions at international.grad@osu.edu or domestic.grad@osu.edu.)

A $50 application fee for foreign students or $40 application fee for domestic students

Original copies of transcripts or record of marks for each post-secondary school attended, (include English translations of each of these documents if they are in any other language),

One or more Affidavit of Support for International Graduate Students forms and all required supporting financial documents (foreign students only),

GRE or GMAT scores (required for all applicants), and

TOEFL or MELAB scores (required for foreign students only).

You may have your references submit their letters on-line or on paper (stationary) to the ESGP office.  Either way is acceptable.

Submit to the ESGP:

Environmental Science Graduate Program
246 Agricultural Engineering Bldg
590 Woody Hayes Dr
Columbus, OH 43210 USA
Phone: (614) 292-9762
Fax: (614) 292-9448
E-mail: enviro@osu.edu

A Statement of Purpose and three letters of recommendation on letterhead (or ESGP can access on-line letters of reference).

Original copies of transcripts for each post-secondary school attended (include English translations of each of these documents if they are in any other language).

The Graduate Studies Committee of the ESGP will ONLY review your application when ALL necessary application materials have been received.

Contact the Admissions Office (614/292-3980) if you have any questions about the application or admission process. An admissions counselor will also be happy to check the status of your application for you.

More information about the Graduate School and graduate programs is contained in the Graduate School Bulletin.

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