Students who have received the baccalaureate in biological sciences or a related field may apply for the master's or the doctoral program. Candidates usually enter the program in the fall quarter. Applications should be submitted by February 15th and no later than July 30th. Applications for admission to the program will be evaluated by the departmental admissions committee as they are received. Considerations for admission will include overall academic record, the recommendations of the sponsors, results of a recent Graduate Record Examination (GRE), and the description of the applicant's own aspirations and interests. International students are also required to submit a recent result of a TOEFL test. The minimum score requirements for the GRE is 500 for English, 500 for math, and 4.0 for the analytical section. The minimum TOEFL score required is 213 for the computer–based test and 550 for the paper-based test. The minimum GPA accepted is 3.0 out of a 4.0 scale. In very rare circumstances, students that do not fulfill these requirements may be accepted at the discretion of the Division and the Graduate College Council. Personal interviews will be arranged for potential candidates after the preliminary screening. Students will be admitted into the program at levels other than first year only under exceptional circumstances; this will require approval by the graduate program director. Those students may be accepted directly into a particular laboratory and will have that faculty member serve as their PhD academic/dissertation advisor or may be accepted as an at-large and will have the graduate program director serve as the student's faculty advisor. The students will be required to fulfill a minimum of two laboratory rotations until a dissertation research advisor is assigned to them. All student-advisor assignments must be approved by the Department Chairperson.