Bachelor's Degree

To be eligible for admission, an applicant must have earned or be earning a four-year bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution of higher learning (or the international equivalent). The degree must have been earned prior to the start of the first term of enrollment in the graduate program.

Duplicate Degrees

Students may not be admitted for a graduate degree that would duplicate a degree they already hold. However, students may apply for admission to a master’s or doctorate degree program in a different field of study. The graduate program where the student applies will judge whether or not its degree program represents an area of investigation that is distinct from that of the initial degree.

Minimum Grade Point (GPA) Requirement

To be eligible for admission, an applicant must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 based on a 4-point scale (or the equivalent GPA on a different grading scale) at their undergraduate degree granting institution. If an applicant’s undergraduate GPA does not meet this minimum requirement and the admissions committee wishes to recommend admission, the graduate admissions adviser may submit a justification and request for exception to be reviewed by the Associate Dean for Graduate Students.

GRE Scores

In using the GRE scores to evaluate applications, it is not appropriate to add scores from the quantitative and verbal sections of the GRE General Test. Additionally it is not appropriate to establish a minimum cutoff score for any section. Rather, GRE scores should be viewed in concert with other aspects of the application as part of a holistic review.

Applicants to programs that require GRE scores must have their scores reported electronically from ETS to UC Davis (Institution Code 4834). GRE scores are only valid for five years from the date the exam was taken.

Graduate programs should not accept photocopies or PDFs of the GRE score directly from the applicant. Graduate program staff members can use the online application review system to look up GRE scores for individual applicants.

English Language Testing Scores

At the time of application, applicants who a) did not receive a prior degree from an institution where English is the sole language of instruction, and/or b) are not from a country or region where English is the language of instruction, are required to submit scores from one of these two tests: Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), or International English Language Testing Service (IELTS).

The minimum TOEFL score required for admission to UC Davis is an overall minimum score of 80 on the Internet Based Test. The minimum IELTS score is 7.0 on a 9-point scale. TOEFL and IELTS scores are only valid for two years from the date the test was taken.

Applicants submitting TOEFL scores must have them reported electronically from ETS to UC Davis (Institution Code 4834). Applicants submitting IELTS scores must have the score reports sent electronically from IELTS to UC Davis (An institution code is not required, so please send the scores to: University of California, Davis Graduate Studies). Graduate programs should not accept photocopies or PDFs of the English language testing score reports directly from the applicant.