We appreciate your interest in pursuing doctoral studies in Chemistry at UC Berkeley. The department was ranked first in the nation among graduate Chemistry programs by the most recent National Research Council's "Report on Quality in Ph.D. Education." Below, please find information regarding application deadlines and requirements. You may also find it helpful to explore the Department of Chemistry website for a description of the chemistry graduate program and information on faculty research interests.
Questions concerning the admission process can be directed to the Graduate Student Affairs Officer at chemgrad@berkeley.edu or 510.642.5884.
2010 Graduate Application for Admission
Submittal of an application to the Department of Chemistry is electronic, and the application is available from the Graduate Division Admissions website.
Application Deadline: December 20, 2009 (Supplemental documentation will be accepted after this date.)
Shortly after submitting your application, you will be contacted via email by the department to select your research interest and to submit a research summary.
For application purposes, Berkeley's Graduate Division defines upper division courses as those with prerequisites of at least one lower division course in a given subject or two years of college work. Lower division courses are those that are open to first and second year college students and that are usually basic introductory courses.
We do not require that you contact our faculty, but if you are interested in particular faculty, please list them on your application.
GRE (Graduate Record Exam)
Both the General Test and Subject Test (Chemistry test preferred, Physics or Biochemistry tests are acceptable substitutes) are required. There is no minimum score, and the requirement cannot be waived. The institution code is 4833, and the department code is 0301. For information about taking the GRE, call 1-800-GRE-CALL or visit the ETS website at http://www.gre.org. Current test scores are preferred, however, we will accept official scores from tests taken within the last five years.
Transcripts
Submit one official transcript for all college-level course work, including any post-secondary schools that you have attended such as community colleges, summer session, and extension programs, to:
University of California
Department of Chemistry
Graduate Affairs Office
419 Latimer Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-1460
Letters of Recommendation
Three (3) letters of recommendation are required. These should be from faculty you have worked with closely or supervisors from industry-related work experience. Your recommenders will be contacted via email to submit their letters on-line. (See online application for details.)
International applicants, please note the following additional admissions requirements
All applicants from countries in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency.
If you have completed at least one year of full-time academic course work with grades of B or better in residence at a U.S. university, you do not need to take a standardized test. Instead, you must submit an official transcript from the U.S. university.
TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)
The TOEFL is required of all international applicants from countries where English is not the official language. In Fall 2005, ETS began to phase in the Internet-based TOEFL. ETS will continue to administer the current computer-based (CBT) and paper-based versions of the TOEFL abroad until the phasing in of the new internet-based test is complete. The Graduate Division has established a minimum required score for admission purposes, of at least 68/ 120. The iBT emphasizes integrated skills, so its format and scoring is different from either the CBT or the paper versions of the TOEFL.The minimum score is 570 for the paper-based test, 230 for the computer-based test and 68 for the Internet-based test (iBT). Although current test scores are preferred, we will accept official scores from tests taken as early as June 2008.
Frequently Asked Questions
Click here for FAQ of interest to prospective students about our Graduate Program.
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