Students applying to the Marine Sciences graduate program must meet UGA's Graduate School Admission Requirements. Applicants can also refer to the Graduate School's Resources for Prospective Students. To apply to our program, students should select Marine Sciences (MS), Marine Sciences (MS non-thesis) or Marine Sciences (PhD) in the drop-down box for "Degree and Major of Interest". The application processing fee is $75. All students applying to the Department of Marine Sciences must apply through the Graduate school. All material will be available online for both the Graduate School and the Department to view, so there is no need to send hard copies. For your file to be considered complete and ready for review from the Graduate Affairs Committee, the following materials must be submitted: For more information or if you have specific questions about the program please contact: Dr. Cliff BuckDirector of Graduate StudiesDepartment of Marine Sciencescsbuck@uga.edu Application Steps: UGA Graduate School On-line Application Pay graduate application fee Unofficial transcripts for all colleges attended. Official transcripts are not required for the review process and will only be required for applicants who are offered admission. Do not mail official transcripts until offered admission. Foreign student credentials (if applicable, this is submitted to the Graduate School) Official TOEFL or IELTS language proficiency scores (if applicable, this is submitted to the Graduate School; more information here Three Letters of recommendation. There is an online form available for submission through the Graduate School's application site. CV/Resume Statement of Purpose (see below) **GRE scores are not required, but we encourage you to report them if you have taken the test. If you have scores to report, list your scores and test date on the Grad School application as well at the Marine Sciences online supplemental form. Students may send unofficial scores to marscigradstudies@uga.edu NOTE: The Graduate School's application offers students an opportunity to upload writing samples. Students are welcome to include this in their application if they would like, but this is not required for consideration. Application Deadlines: The Marine Sciences Department hosts its annual graduate recruitment event in late January or early February. To be considered for an invitation to attend this event, all application material should be submitted before December 31st. Applications will be considered until July 1st for Domestic Applicants and April 15th for International Applicants. Note that students in the Marine Sciences department are predominantly accepted in Fall semester and students should apply by the end of March for full consideration. More Information As your application documents are received, they will be passed to the appropriate faculty. Positive departmental admission decisions typically depend upon a potential research advisor supporting the application if there is an opening in their program. Thus, it is important that applicants familiarize themselves with the research done in the department, identify and communicate with potential advisors. M.S. (thesis program) and Ph.D. students are supported through Research and Teaching Assistantships for the duration of their studies. Non-thesis M.S. students are eligible for Teaching Assistantships, if available. In addition, for M.S. (thesis program) and Ph.D., tuition is waived, medical coverage is subsidized, and both Athens and Savannah have a low cost of living compared to most university towns. Tips for a Successful Application: Your first interaction with a potential advisor is crucial and should be approached professionally. Be sure their first impression of you is that of a prepared and confident student full of potential. Since you will be likely reaching out by email, the following are tips to ensure you present yourself as you intend. Be professional. Open your email with an appropriate salutation and address the recipient by their professional title. Write in your own voice. Obvious use of LLMs or other forms of generative AI could be viewed as a red flag by many faculty members. Be direct and concise. Your goal is to learn whether they have funding to support a student. Be clear about what degree you seek and what aspects of their research you find interesting. Don’t simply copy the titles of their papers into your email, briefly describe what piqued your interest. Why you? Share what makes you a good applicant. You could attach a short CV or unofficial transcripts. A short explanation of your experience and interests also goes a long way. Go beyond “I have always loved the ocean” and write authentically about how you could contribute to a research program in this field. Your email should be no longer than three paragraphs. Be proactive. Ask if they are open to scheduling a call and offer your general availability. You can fine tune the schedule once they reply. Proofread. Once you finish writing, save your email to drafts and sleep on it. Look at it with fresh eyes. Have a friend or mentor read your message. When you are satisfied, hit send and start thinking about questions you might want to ask in a phone call or virtual meeting. Be patient but persistent. If you do not hear back from the professor after two weeks, send a polite reminder. If you still do not receive a reply, then it may be time to move on. Unfortunately, faculty do not have sufficient funds for all the excellent applicants. We wish we did. The Statement of Purpose is your opportunity to differentiate yourself from all the other applicants to the program. You have the opportunity to share your experiences and motivations. You may also use this as an opportunity to discuss or highlight any aspects of your personal or academic experiences that you wish. Keep the following in mind. As with your email to potential advisors, write in your authentic voice. Avoid the use of LLMs and generative AI. Your statement will help convince the admissions committee that you are qualified for the program. Share your skills and experiences. These need not be limited to research experiences. What have you learned from your experiences? Tell your story. Use concrete examples of your experiences. Avoid generalizations and clichés. Go beyond your love of the ocean, going to the beach, and working outside. Most applicants share these feelings! What makes you different? Keep your statement to no more than two pages with standard formatting. Use 12-point Times New Roman (or equivalent font).
