Scholastic Requirements

  • A minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent) from the institution where you have earned or will earn your bachelor's degree.
  • By the time they enroll, successful applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent that is comparable to a degree from the University of California both in distribution of academic subject matter and in scholarship achievement. Regional accreditation for U.S. institutions and authorization by a national higher education authority for international institutions (at the time the degree was earned) are used as the eligibility standard.
  • Applicants must submit TOEFL/IELTS/Duolingo scores unless they have earned or will be earning a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree from either a regionally accredited or foreign college/university which provides instruction solely in English. See the English Language Requirement section for details. 
  • A non-refundable application fee ($135 for domestic applicants, $155 for international applicants, or possible fee waiver for participants in approved Graduate Preparatory Programs).

  • UC Davis accepts the below English Language tests and requires the following minimum scores.  

    TOEFL iBT
    Minimum Score: 80 
    Institution Code: 4834
    No department code.

    IELTS
    Minimum Score: 7.0 on a 9-point scale

    Duolingo English Test (Fall 2024)
    Minimum Score: 115*

  • Please note that the scores listed above are the minimum necessary for submitting an application. Students admitted to the Integrative Pathobiology Graduate Group often have a higher score, and meet the TA/AI Language Proficiency Requirement. To meet the TA/AI requirement, students must earn a minimum score of 26 on the speaking subset of the TOEFL iBT and a minimum score of 8 on the speaking subset of the IELTS.
  • Expected Level of Study for International Students can be found here.
  • Prerequisite Coursework
    • Admission requires an undergraduate degree (B.S. or B.A) in a biological science, which should include prerequisite coursework in statistics, physics, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and cellular biology. Upper division courses in molecular biology, biochemistry, and genetics are encouraged.