Admission to the Program

Applying for Admission to the AEPS Graduate Program

Applications for admission to the AEPS graduate program are accepted year-round.  However, because admission decisions are typically made in January and February, applications received in the fall have the best chance of being considered for the following year.  Also, to meet the annual nomination deadline for College of Agricultural Sciences and Graduate School special fellowships and awards applications must be completed by mid-December.

Before deciding to apply for admission to the AEPS graduate program and an assistantship, the AEPS Graduate Admissions Committee strongly suggests contacting Department faculty members with research programs that match your interests to determine if they may be interested in sponsoring you as graduate student.  You can review all Plant Science Department faculty and their research interests in our faculty directory.

This procedure is usually necessary because assistantships are awarded competitively to students accepted for mentorship by individual faculty and thus, these professors make the decision about who is eligible for their assistantships.  If you find that a faculty member that may be interested in supporting your graduate work, be sure to identify the faculty member in your statement of interests and goals in the application. 

How to Apply

All applications for admission to graduate programs at Penn State must be made through the Graduate School at Penn State.  The Graduate School has application information and instructions on application procedures at: Graduate School application for admission.  The application fee is currently $65.00.