Please be advised: The EEB Graduate Office will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday from Wednesday, November 27th through Sunday, December 1st.
In order for your application to be considered by our admissions committees, you must submit your application by 11:59pm (PST) on December 1st. After the deadline, the application portal will no longer be available.
Thank you for your interest in applying to one of our graduate programs:
Common Inquiries
Application fee waivers: At this time, application fee waivers are no longer available for the 2025 admissions cycle. For additional information on application fee waivers, please visit or contact the Rackham Graduate School website.
Letters of recommendation: All application materials are handled by the Rackham Graduate School. Rackham provides some information for letters of recommendation here. If a recommender is experiencing technical difficulties, have them check their spam folder or contact Rackham directly at rack-admis@umich.edu. If a recommender is unable to submit their letter through the ApplyWeb portal, please have them fill out this form. They may then attach their letter and email both documents to eeb.gradcoord@umich.edu before the application deadline.
Transcripts: Check here for more information on submitting transcripts. If you have additional questions, please contact Rackham at rack-admis@umich.edu. EEB can accept a copy of a transcript at the time of application. An official transcript must be submitted if an offer of admission is made.
Academic Statement of Purpose and Personal Statement: Rackham requests a 500 word limit for the personal statement, and does not specify a word limit for the academic statement of purpose. Note: If you go over this limit that in no way makes your application invalid, but might make the admissions committee impatient; remember, they have many of these to read.
Testing Requirements: As of Fall 2019, the EEB department no longer uses the GRE to evaluate applications for our graduate programs. Additionally, we will not review MCAT or GMAT scores. Some students may need to take the TOEFL to meet the Rackham English Language Proficiency requirement. Rackham has a minimum requirement for the internet-based TOEFL of 84 for the combined score. Students who have an overall score lower than 84 cannot be admitted to the Rackham Graduate School and/or any UM graduate programs. EEB has no defined cut-off for TOEFL scores other than the Rackham minimum.
Application Overview
Training in chemistry, mathematics, and physics, as well as basic biology, is recommended for all three degree programs. However, students with undergraduate majors in non-biological subjects, such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering, psychology, and statistics are also invited to apply.
In general, our Admissions Committee is most interested in past academic performance, research experience, letters of recommendation, and the academic statement of purpose. The academic statement of purpose should provide insight into the applicant's specific research interests and experience, as well as demonstrate a depth of understanding and passion for the larger questions relating to ecology and evolutionary biology.
We highly recommend that applicants contact faculty whose research is of interest, prior to applying. Please mention any faculty you are interested in working with in your academic statement of purpose. Students are not admitted to our Ph.D. and non-Frontiers M.S. programs without an advisor willing to mentor them. In the Frontiers M.S. program, students have more flexibility in determining a lab, which occurs by the end of the first semester, but are also strongly encouraged to contanct potential mentors. Also, please note that in addition to the quality of your application, our admissions committee takes into account the abilities of our faculty to mentor additional students in their labs.
Deadline Information
The deadline for all EEB graduate programs is December 1.
All application materials, including letters of recommendation, should arrive by this date to be considered for the following Fall term. Applications that remain incomplete beyond the deadline will be at a competitive disadvantage during the admissions process.
How to apply
Applications to the Department of Ecology of Evolutionary Biology are received and compiled by the Rackham Graduate School. As a result, application materials must be submitted through the Rackham Graduate Schools online application system, or, in the case of official transcripts, sent directly to the Rackham Graduate School (address below). Application materials should not be sent directly to the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. However, if your recommenders are unable to access the online system to submit recommendation letters, please contact the EEB Graduate Office (eeb.gradcoord@umich.edu) and we may be able to arrange for a paper copy to be submitted by mail or e-mail.
A limited number of waivers for the application fee to EEB's graduate programs are available for students who meet eligibility criteria for a Rackham Merit Fellowship. Please contact eeb.gradcoord@umich.edu to obtain a code to be used when applying.
A complete application includes the following materials:
- A completed online application form
- An academic statement of purpose - including names of faculty with whom you are interested in working
- A personal statement
- Three letters of recommendation
- Official TOEFL, MELAB, or IELTS scores (use institution code: 1839) (only for international applicants or non-native speakers of English)
- A scanned or electronic copy of your official transcript uploaded through the online system
- Rackham Graduate School Application Fee (A limited number of waivers for the application fee to EEB's graduate programs are available for students who meet eligibility criteria for a Rackham Merit Fellowship)
Finally, after an offer of admissions has been made, the Rackham Graduate School requires the submission of one set of official transcripts from your degree-granting undergraduate institution only. Instructions for submitting official transcripts to Rackham and the option of submitting electronic copies of official transcripts can be found here.
Hard copies of official transcripts should be mailed only to:
University of Michigan
Rackham Graduate School
Attn: Transcripts/U-M ID# (if known) or date of birth (mm/dd/yyyy)
915 E. Washington St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1070
For applicants who are non-U.S. citizens or permanent residents:
- Please do not submit financial information at the time of application. Evidence of financial support will be requested by the Rackham Graduate School upon admission of the applicant to a Rackham graduate program.
- Please visit Rackham's website for detailed information about submitting transcripts and diplomas from non-U.S. institutions.
Holistic Review of Applications
In the holistic review process, the EEB Admissions Committee gives careful consideration to all the credentials presented by the student as they assess application materials for indication that the applicant possesses qualities known to contribute to successful completion of the degree program. Such a review seeks to determine if the applicant has not only the academic qualifications for admission, but also the skills and experiences that facilitate degree completion and a successful research career. You can learn more here.
Holistic review ensures that no single factor leads to either accepting the student or excluding the student from admission. One of its key values is the opportunity to recognize that an applicant's strength in one area might offset a weakness in another.
Questions?
For graduate program inquiries, please contact:
Graduate Coordinator
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
1105 North University Ave
2220 Biological Sciences Building
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1085
For questions specific to the Frontiers Master's Program, you may also contact the program director, Liliana Cortés Ortiz.
