To begin your online application or to check the status on your application, please visit connect.grad.ucsd.edu/apply. Information you enter may be saved at any time.

The Admissions & Recruitment Committee recommends submitting your application as soon as you complete it, even if we have not yet received all your letters of recommendation. We also highly recommend that you answer some/all of our additional questions about your educational experiences.

We review PhD files continuously beginning in late November and try to get the good news out to those we are recruiting to our program as soon as possible. If you have yet to hear from us, your file is still pending a final decision.

Please note that submitting your application requires an associated application fee although under many circumstances you may request that this fee be waived. Please read the application fee link above and inquire with chemgradinfo@ucsd.edu if you have any questions or would like more information on the waiver options.

We recommend that you structure your Statement of Purpose to address the following four prompts:

• Describe your personal and professional motivations for pursuing research in the field of chemistry and/or biochemistry.
• Describe your previous research experience(s). For at least one project you have been involved with, try to describe
  • the overall context and importance of the work,
  • the specific goal of the work you were doing, (c) the methods by which you worked to achieve those goals
  • what you learned and what your new understanding means for the future of the project. Include a short discussion of how your research experience has shaped your decision to apply to our graduate program.
• Specify one or more faculty members in our department whose current research aligns with your interests. Provide some insight into why you made the choice(s) you did.
• Describe any obstacles that you have overcome to achieve your academic and personal achievements as well as any contributions to equity, diversity, and inclusion you have made.

We do not have a word limit, but we do recommend keeping your statement of purpose clear and concise.

We require three letters of recommendation. Letter writers that are able to provide context and clarity with respect to your ability and potential to excel in a graduate program are the most helpful in evaluating your application (e.g. a research advisor or a professors from a course that knows you well). UC San Diego students applying for the MS program need to submit at least two letters – at least one from a professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry.

If your letter writer needs a new link to submit their letter, please follow the instructions below:

1. Log into online application
2. Click “Update Application”
3. Go to “Letters of Recommendation” page
4. Click “Resend” next to the name of your letter writer

There are a couple of fee waiver programs offered by the Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA) and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

• Please fill out the application as much as you can (https://connect.grad.ucsd.edu/apply/)
• Do not submit the application nor enter any payment information
• Take note of your application's reference number (you'll need that for the next step)
• Fill out our Fee Waiver Request Form by November 26, 2024

Applicants that have recently studied full-time for one uninterrupted academic year at a university-level institution in which English is the language of instruction and in a country in which English is a dominant language, are exempt from language testing requirements.

Demonstrated proficiency in the English language (TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE) is required for all other international applicants whose native language is not English. Requirements for demonstrating proficiency are listed below.

International applicants must include an official report of their TOEFL iBT or TSE scores from ETS. The university-wide minimum TOEFL score for graduate admission is 550 for the paper based test (PBT), and 85 for the internet based test (iBT). The minimum for the IELTS Academic Training exam is a score of 7 and a score of 65 for the PTE Academic.

At minimum, international applicants must also have a TOEFL iBT Speaking subscore of 23, an IELTS Speaking subscore of 7, or a PTE Speaking subscores of 65.