Applications & Requirements

Incoming students generally have degrees in some area of biological science. However, the main considerations are an intense interest in genetics and the minimum prerequisites for admission into our programs. Also, applications from candidates who have had significant research experiences that they can discuss in their statement tend to be ranked highest among the faculty in the program.

Funding

• The Interdepartmental Genetics Program has limited funding to support Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs) directly through the K-State Genetics Doctoral Fellowships.
• The Kansas State University Graduate School maintains a list of fellowships (both internal to K-State and external) that applicants are encouraged to review and apply for, as receiving fellowships or scholarships could increase your chance of admission or increase your choice of possible advisors within the Genetics program.

Most Genetics students are supported as GRAs funded by grants to individual faculty members. Students are accepted into the program only if some form of funding is identified to support them. If you are applying for or have already received scholarships/fellowships for graduate study from outside sources, please include this information in your application. Applicants that do not have fellowships or scholarships are strongly encouraged to contact individual faculty members before applying to see if they have funding for new students and whether the applicants skills and training make them a suitable candidate for that investigator's lab.

Out-of-state tuition is waived for students who are awarded graduate research or teaching assistantships.

Special note about new online application process

At the start of the online application process, you will need to select the MANHATTAN campus in order to find the Genetics program. From here, you can search for the program using the search term Genetics (though this will return multiple programs). To find our Interdepartmental Genetics program directly, you need to select the College of Agriculture first. Then, "Genetics" should appear in the list of all of the graduate programs. The College of Agriculture listing of Genetics is purely administrative, you may carry out research in the labs of Genetics faculty members listed in both the College of Agriculture as well as the College of Arts and Sciences.

Deadlines:

Enrollment Semester	Deadline for US applicants*	Deadline for international applicants
August	June 15th	December 10th
January	November 10th	August 1st
June	March 21st	December 1st

All applications for the K-State Genetics Doctoral Fellowships Program August enrollment are due by December 10.

*US applicants here means US citizens and legal permanent residents. All other applicants, including those here in the US on any type of visa should follow the deadlines for international applicants

All completed applications must include:

1. A complete online application from the Kansas State University Graduate School , and corresponding application fee
2. A curriculum vitae (CV), including GRE scores if available
3. A statement up to 3 pages long that briefly describes your previous research experiences, your research interests, and your long-term career goals. This should mention one or more K-State Genetics faculty you are interested in working with
4. Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended
5. Three letters of recommendation (please also provide the e-mail addresses of your references in your application)

Additionally, those applying to the K-State Genetics Doctoral Fellowship Program must:

• have their GRE test scores submitted to the K-State Graduate School (only the general GRE is required)
• clearly express your interest in the K-State Genetics Fellowship Program in your statement and list at least 2 faculty you would be interested in performing a rotation with

Finally, all International applicants must also:

• complete and submit an affidavit of Financial Support (pdf)
• submit official copies of your TOEFL score report or equivalent

Students who consider pursuing graduate careers at Kansas State University are encouraged to visit the university in order to meet with members of the faculty and with other students and to form their own impression of the general atmosphere and of the many research possibilities.

We highly recommend contacting potential faculty advisors whose program you are interested in joining.

View our faculty and their research focuses

All application materials should be submitted online through Kansas State University's new online application system . If there are any materials that you want to submit that cannot be uploaded through the online system, you can mail them to the postal address below. However, if any part of your application is sent by postal mail, please notify the Genetics Program by sending an email to genetics@ksu.edu.

To request additional information, email genetics@k-state.edu.