Applicants must find an ESGP advisor in order to be admitted
All ESGP applicants must have an advisor before they can be admitted to the program. You may apply without an advisor, however you will not admitted until you have secured one. This is most challenging step in the process and can take time, so you should start this early (application deadlines are November 30 for international applicants and December 15 for domestic applicants).
- Prospective students should contact faculty directly with whom they share research interests. These faculty can be found on the ESGP Directory.
- Faculty may request to review application files —both complete and pending—seeking appropriate students for their research team. If not yet accepted, faculty can inform the office of their willingness to serve as the student's advisor.
Applicants should meet the minimum graduate school requirements
- A four-year baccalaureate or higher degree from an accredited college or university prior to beginning graduate studies
- OSU requires a minimum, cumulative grade point average equivalent to minimum of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (B grade) in all prior undergraduate course work, while most admitted students to ESGP have a 3.5 or higher.
- International applicants must also provide a minimum of 550 on the paper based TOEFL test, a 213 on the computer based TOEFL, 79 on the Internet Based TOEFL, 7 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or a Duolingo score of 120.
Applicants should meet the ESGP minimum standards
- GRE score for the general test is optional.
- An undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university with a major in natural, physical or social sciences. A minimum of 4 credits of college calculus and/or statistics; 7 credits in physical science; 3 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 ESGP Graduate Studies Committee and all aspects of the application are considered. The committee is looking for evidence of interdisciplinary interest and leadership potential.
Please note that ESGP will match 1 year (2 semesters) of MS funding to the advisor's year of funding and 1 year of PhD funding to the advisor's remaining years of funding. ESGP will work with advisors to determine which year we will fund. This is dependent on our budget as well as advisor's budget.
Here are some application/acceptance/matriculation numbers from a typical year:
- Completed Application: 65 Students
- Recommended for admission by ESGP Graduate Studies Committee: pending the confirmation of an advisor (by both the applicant and faculty member): 35 Students
- Admitted, and enrolled: 13 Students