To apply to our Accelerated M.S, M.S, or Ph.D. programs in the department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Oklahoma State University, please submit your application at the website of the OSU Graduate College.  To ensure full consideration applications need to be completed by a deadline of January 15. Please note that our Accelerated Non-Research MS has a rolling admission and there is no deadline for the program.

If you have more questions about the application or about the graduate program in general, please see our Frequently Asked Questions.

Supplementary Materials for Your Application:

All applicants will be required to have the material into the graduate school by the deadline mentioned. Each applicant will be responsible for the following documents:

1. Official transcripts from every undergraduate institution attended and for every degree awarded, including overall GPA
2. Three letters of recommendation (There is no special format required)
3. Personal statement
4. Curriculum vitae/resume
5. TOEFL Scores (International Applicants only)

Note: you will be required to pay the processing fee ($50 for domestic applications, $75 for international applications) at the end of the application process.

Apply Now to the OSU Graduate College

Graduate Application Guidelines

Graduate Application Guideline (Ph.D., MS (thesis), and MS (non-thesis)

The below steps provide guidance on how to apply to our graduate program, and the steps in our review and admissions process.

Step 1: You submit your application online.

To apply to our Microbiology and Cell and Molecular Biology Ph.D. or MS program, you must apply to the OSU graduate college. The Graduate College will help with the technical steps in uploading your application documents. The OSU graduate College web site is at  https://gradcollege.okstate.edu/application-process/index.html. Also, you can reach them by phone at 405-744-6368 or by e-mail at grad-i@okstate.edu.

Notes:

• Make sure that you submit all needed documents, so that your application is complete. Complete applications contain all the required supplements and information. The above portal will provide information on application material, the steps in applying, and supplementary material needed for your application.
• In our graduate program, we do not directly admit graduate students into specific labs, so there is no need to contact faculty members in our department to gain admission. However, perspective students are free to contact by e-mail to any faculty members in the department whose research interests you. You can discuss your background, research interests, and/or available positions and opportunities to join faculty lab(s).
• The application deadline is January 15.
• GRE is NOT required for any of our PhD or MS graduate programs.
• TOEFL is required for non-native English speakers.
• We offer three graduate programs: Ph.D., MS (thesis), and MS (non-thesis).
• We financially support all applicants who are admitted into our graduate program with RA or TA (research or teaching assistantships). The RA and TA stipends are sufficient to cover the cost of education and the cost of living of the student in Stillwater.

After you have uploaded your complete application through the OSU graduate College web site at https://gradcollege.okstate.edu/application-process/index.html, the Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Department and the OSU Graduate college work together as team.  We will access all the completed application packages from the Graduate College, “Slate platform” following the application deadline.

Step 2: We review your application.

The Microbiology Graduate Committee, comprising five faculty members, will review all complete applications. The graduate committee ranks the strength of all applications, and selects applicants that will be interviewed by Zoom.

Step 3: We interview selected applicants via Zoom.

We contact selected applicants via email and arrange a date and time for a Zoom interview with members of the Microbiology Graduate Committee. These interviews typically take place around the second and third week of February.

Step 4: We send offer letters to admitted students.

After the interview process, we will send offer letters to admitted students.  Applicants may also be placed on a waitlist.  Waitlisted students may be informed as to their acceptance into our program in the second or third week in March. 

The number of applicants selected to our program each year depends on the number of openings in the department. 

Step 5: You let us know if you accepted or declined our offer of admission.

Offer letters to admitted students will include information on the deadline for informing us if you will accept or decline our offer of admission into our graduate program. During this period, students are strongly encouraged to ask further information about our graduate program.

Step 6: Preparing to travel to Oklahoma State University (OSU).

Admitted students who decided to join our graduate program will be encouraged to make arrangements for travel to OSU in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and to make and housing arrangements. We will help you with making those arrangements. International students will receive help from the OSU international office to arrange visas. Also, you will receive invitations for orientation sessions for new graduate students.

Step 7. Getting started in our graduate program, selecting a faculty research advisor, and joining a lab.

Each new cohort of graduate students will join our department in the Fall semester. The new students have the entire Fall semester to explore the research in our department, meet our faculty and graduate students, and identify a suitable lab for your graduate thesis work.  If you like, you may briefly work (2 weeks) or shadow graduate students in the labs of your interest to explore their research.  Finally, once you have an idea which lab you like to join, you will meet and discuss your interest with the professor who runs that lab and who would serve as the major research advisor for your thesis.  For the best outcome, we recommend shadowing or working in more than one research group or lab before identifying the lab in which you wish to perform your graduate work.   

For additional information about the graduate programs in the department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, please contact:

Randy Morgenstein - Associate Professor - Graduate Coordinator
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
Oklahoma State University
420 Life Sciences East
Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078
Email: randy.morgenstein@okstate.edu