The criteria used by the Graduate Committee in considering those requests for admission to the Ph.D. program by students who have or anticipate receiving a B.S. or students in our M.S. program who wish to bypass the M.S. and work directly toward the Ph.D. degree is outlined below.

Persons applying for admission to the Ph.D. program who hold B.S. degrees will be considered for admission to the Ph.D. program provided they satisfy the following criteria:

Only exceptionally qualified students with evidence of their research experience and communicative skills, in addition to the documentation required by the Food Science Graduate Committee and Graduate School (completed graduate school application, GRE scores, official undergraduate transcripts, three letters of reference, statement describing research interests and career goals, and TOEFL scores (foreign students only) will be considered for admission into the Ph.D. program. Research experience documentation should include reprints or preprints of publications, published abstracts and a listing of other formal presentations of their research.

Final approval of the application will be made by the Department's Graduate Committee using the same criteria for all Ph.D. applications. Following approval, the applicants' folder will be handled using established procedures. All applicants admitted to the Ph.D. program via this route are to fulfill all current Ph.D. requirements including any undergraduate Food Science course deficiencies plus a minor field of study. Those applicants denied admission into the Ph.D. program, but eligible for admission into the M.S. program, will be duly informed of the committee's recommendation by the Food Science graduate coordinator.

Graduate students who wish to bypass the M.S. degree and transfer directly into the Ph.D. program:

The procedure for transferring into the Ph.D. program is as follows:

A letter from the student to the graduate program coordinator should request direct admission to the Ph.D. program, bypassing the M.S. degree. The Department's Graduate Committee must be supplied with evidence of the student's research and communicative skills, such as reprints or preprints of publications, published abstracts and a listing of other formal presentations. The letter should outline the rationale for the transfer and state (or request) the arrangements for the student's support, if applicable.

A letter of recommendation from the M.S. Thesis Advisory Committee should be sent to the Graduate Committee. The recommendations of the M.S. Committee for transfer to the Ph.D. program should be made after at least one meeting at which the student presents his/her current research results and future plans for the Ph.D. thesis research. In the event that a M.S. committee has not been appointed at the time the transfer is requested, the Department's Graduate Committee will serve in this capacity. All applicants admitted to the Ph.D. program via this route are expected to fulfill all current Ph.D. requirements including any undergraduate Food Science course deficiencies plus a minor field of study. Please refer to the current  Graduate Program Policies and Procedures manual for specific details on the minimum course requirements for graduate degrees in Food Science.