Admission Requirements

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Admission to the program requires a bachelor's (or equivalent degree) and evidence of intellectual achievement and potential for successful graduate study. Applicants must have a grade point average of at least 3.0 (A=4.0) for the last 2 years of coursework (undergraduate and graduate courses).

What are the Undergraduate Prerequisites for Admission?

The following undergraduate courses are required for admission into the Nutritional Sciences graduate program. Descriptions of these courses are in the UIUC Course Catalog.

Course	UIUC Equivalent
General Chemistry	CHEM 102 and 103 and CHEM 104 and 105
Organic Chemistry	CHEM 232 and CHEM 233
Physiology or biology	MCB 103

The following courses are highly recommended; however, deficiencies in these areas can be made up during the first two semesters of study.

Course	UIUC Equivalent
Biochemistry	MCB 450 or MCB 452
Principles of Nutrition	FSHN 220
Statistics	STAT 100

When should I apply?

Although most graduate students enter into the program in the fall, students may begin their graduate programs during the fall (August), spring (January) or summer (June) semesters. For candidates who wish to apply for fellowships, completed application materials should be received by January 15 for full consideration for the following fall semester. Application deadlines are as follows: March 16 for summer, May 16 for fall and October 16 for spring.

How do I apply?

To ensure prompt application processing, the Graduate College encourages applicants to apply on the World-Wide Web at the following address: http://www.grad.uiuc.edu/admissions. Official forms to be used for letters of recommendation and transcript requests are available to be down-loaded as .pdf documents at this site.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact faculty members whose research interests are most compatible with the student's objectives and discuss the possibilities of initiating graduate study with that faculty member. This is an important part of the admission process as it is the practice of the Division of Nutritional Sciences to admit a student only when a faculty member has agreed to serve as the student's major professor and provide a research assistantship. An exception may be made for students with fellowship support who may choose to do a laboratory rotation their first semester.

Prospective graduate students may apply for admission to either the M.S. or Ph.D. programs. However, students with a bachelor's degree generally are accepted initially into the M.S. program even if the doctoral degree is their ultimate goal.

What do I need to include with my application?

The following materials are required for admission (all applicants):

Application for Admission into Graduate Programs
Original transcripts from all colleges and universities attended. Specific forms for this purpose are included with the Admission into Graduate Programs information at http://www.grad.uiuc.edu/admissions/forms.htm.
Letters of Recommendation: Three (3) supporting letters of recommendation must be received before the application can receive full consideration for admission. Specific forms for this purpose are included with the Admission into Graduate Programs information at http://www.grad.uiuc.edu/admissions/forms.htm.
Graduate Record Examination (GRE): The Division of Nutritional Sciences requires candidates to take the GRE exam; however, no minimum score is required for admission. Most scholarships and fellowships require GRE exam scores for consideration. The GRE now can be taken on-line (http://www.ets.org/gre/index.html). Our ETS Institution Code is #1836 and our Department Code is #0214
Non-refundable application fee.

What additional tests and information are required of international applicants?

English Proficiency: If your native language is not English (including U.S. citizens), you must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam within two years prior to enrollment. Arrangements to take the TOEFL examination either electronically or on paper should be made directly with the Educational Testing Service, Box 592, Princeton, NJ, 08540 or at http://www.ets.org/toefl/index.html. The Division of Nutritional Sciences requires a TOEFL score of at least 560 on the paper test, 220 on the computer test, and 83 on the iBT TOEFL. Alternatively, the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test can be taken, with a minimum score requirement of 6.5. You may be exempt from this testing if you have completed at least 2 years of full-time study in a country where English is the primary language, and in a school where English is the language of instruction, within five years of the proposed date of enrollment at the University of Illinois.

In addition, you will be required to take the English as a Second Language Placement Test (EPT) immediately upon arrival on campus. The Division of English as an International Language (http://www.deil.uiuc.edu/about/ept.html) administers this test. Applicants receiving a TOEFL score of 613 or above on the paper-based exam, 257 or above on the computer-based exam, or 103 or above on the iBT TOEFL are not required to take the EPT. Candidates who have been accepted into Nutritional Sciences, but have TOEFL scores below 613/257/103 and have not taken the EPT exam, will be enrolled on "limited status" in the Graduate College. No minimum EPT score is required for admission; however, based on test results it may be recommended that students enroll in ESL 500 & 501. Upon satisfactory removal of the language deficiency, your status will be converted to "full", provided no further conditions have been placed on your admission.

Applicants applying for Teaching Assistantships must meet the University's oral English proficiency requirements either by taking and passing the Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit (SPEAK) Test or the Test of Spoken English (TSE) exam with a score of 50 or greater. The SPEAK test is administered by the Center for Teaching Excellence on campus.
SPEAK Test procedures can be found at http://www.cte.uiuc.edu/Did/ITAs/SPEAK/Spk_Test_Procedures.htm and SPEAK Test dates can be found at http://www.cte.uiuc.edu/Did/ITAs/SPEAK/SPEAKdates.htm.
You may make arrangements for the TSE examination with the Educational Testing Service, Box 592, Princeton, NJ, 08540 or http://www.ets.org/tse/index.html prior to coming to campus.

Financial Support for International Students:

If you are not offered a research assistantship for your graduate studies, you must submit evidence that you have sufficient financial support for the length of your graduate study program. As part of your application, you will be required to down-load a form entitled "Declaration and Certification of Finances for Admission to the Graduate College." This form should be completed and submitted to the Division of Nutritional Sciences at the address below.

If you have questions regarding the application process, please contact the University of Illinois International Admissions office by email at: gradadmissions@uiuc.edu.

Where do I send my supporting materials?

Transcripts, letters of recommendation and the Declaration and Certification of Finances for Admission (for international applicants only) to the Graduate College form, should be sent to:

Division of Nutritional Sciences
University of Illinois
449 Bevier Hall
905 S. Goodwin Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801