Entomology and Plant Pathology

Admission Information

U.S. Students

Thank you for your interest in our department. We hope your interest continues and you decide to study with us. Here, at The University of Tennessee Entomology and Plant Pathology Department, you will have considerable freedom to choose your research area and project except when assistantships are designated for specific research projects. You will also be able to tailor your courses to your needs.

Important information about requirements and deadlines for graduate student applications is found online at http://admissions.utk.edu/graduate/.

Admission to the M.S. or Ph.D. program does not necessarily guarantee financial assistance. Financial aid is available to graduate student in the form of Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTAs) from the department or Graduate Research Assistantships (GRAs) from the Agricultural Experiment Station and individual faculty members who have continuing grant support for particular lines of research. Applicants wishing to apply for financial support should so indicate in their letter of intent. Students on assistantships are not required to pay tuition. For a tuition schedule, see the current U.T. Graduate Catalog at http://diglib.lib.utk.edu/dlc/catalog/index.html. You may wish to apply for one of the fellowships at http://gradstudies.utk.edu/fellowships.shtml.

We have been able to provide some financial aid for most of our U.S. students for the last few years in the form of Graduate Research Assistantships. These have annual stipends starting at $12,500 (Fall Term 2002) depending on the particular program. All GRAs include waiver of both in- and out-of-state tuition. There are also student apartments available at very reasonable rates. Off campus UT student apartments are available for $140 to $400 depending on location or if you have a roommate (housing information available online at http://web.utk.edu/~reshalls/).

Application consists of:

1) UT Graduate Application Form, Application Fee, Graduate Record Exam, and all college transcripts (send to the Office of Graduate and International Admissions).

2) Three rating forms or letters of recommendation, a letter of intent, and an updated resume (send to Department). Your letter of intent should state your general career goals and why you wish to attend The University of Tennessee.

Application deadlines are:

15 March for Summer and Fall semesters
15 October for Spring semester

Prospective U.S. students are urged to apply at least one month in advance of the deadline for the semester you wish to enter. Prospective students must electronically apply for admission to the Graduate School online (applicants are required to print out a signature form and mail it in with the application fee to have the application processed and evaluated) at http://admissions.utk.edu/graduate/. When applicants are offered admission (usually mid-October and mid-March for Spring and Fall semesters, respectively), professors have the option of declining to accept new students and successful students will be notified at that time.

In general, only those applicants for whom at least a potential major professor (thesis or dissertation advisor) has been identified will be accepted. Applicants are, therefore, advised to make direct contact with potential advisors in advance of submitting an application in order to verify that they will be accepting new graduate students and have financial support for those who wish to be considered for a GRA. Information on the professional interests of department faculty may be found at http://eppserver.ag.utk.edu/personnel.htm.

If you want further information please feel free to write, call, or email me or the department office. If you wish to discuss specific concentrations with any of our faculty you are encouraged to contact them directly. Current funded research projects reflect the professor's major interest(s) and students often (but not always) select projects that contribute to those projects.

Dr. Reid R. Gerhardt
Professor/Graduate Coordinator
Email: rgerhard@utk.edu