Requirements

Minimum requirements for admission to this program include the following:

• A recognized baccalaureate, graduate, or professional degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or a comparable degree from an international institution
• 3.0 upper-division undergraduate grade point average
• GRE scores which are acceptable to the program – Applicants who present a combined GRE score of 300 or higher will be most competitive for admission

Exceptions to these requirements are subject to recommendation by the department and approval by the associate dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and the dean of the Graduate School.

Please also see the UF Graduate School’s admissions requirements in the Graduate Catalog, as applicants must meet the requirements of both the academic unit and the Graduate School to be admitted for graduate study.

Non-US and Puerto Rican applicants: Please refer to the UF international student admission requirements on the Graduate Admissions website. 

Application Details

The following items must be completed to be considered for admission:

• Application Form
• $30 non-refundable Application Fee payment (credit card payments require an additional $7 processing fee)
• Official GRE Test Scores – UF Institution code: 5812
• Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions previously attended sent to the UF Office of Admissions, PO Box 114000 (201 Criser Hall), Gainesville, FL 32611-4000
• Three letters of recommendation: This part of the application is automated in the online application and will require contact information for your references. If they are not able to submit the forms electronically through the online application, please have your recommenders send their letters through email to Erica Diffenderfer or by mail to Erica Diffenderfer, PO Box 112060, Gainesville, FL 32611-2060.
• Statement of Purpose/Letter of Intent: In this statement, describe how your background and professional interests align with the AEC mission. Clearly articulate how the experience in our graduate program would position you for future personal and/or professional success. This statement should summarize your professional goals, career objectives, and motivation for graduate work in AEC. This part of the application is also automated in the online application.
• Résumé or curriculum vitae: The online application provides the option to upload additional files as needed. Please upload a current résumé or curriculum vitae in this section of the online application.
• Assistantship/fellowship application: Any student interested in an assistantship or fellowship must have their complete application packet –assistantship/fellowship application and essay – sent to Erica Diffenderfer. The application can be found here. Applicants should include information about work-related experience and skills which would be relevant to performing teaching, research, or extension assistantship responsibilities. 

Application Deadlines

Summer or Fall admission: February 1* (first review) | March 1 (final deadline)

Spring admission: September 1* (first review) | October 1 (final deadline)

*If you are interested in assistantship/fellowship funding, your application materials should be submitted by the first application review date to be most competitive for available funds.

Reminders

Before you begin the application process, please schedule and complete the GRE. For test site locations and registration, check out the GRE website.

Please note that application materials generally take two weeks to link to your UF graduate application. Please provide ample time for this to occur before the deadline.

Prospective Student Campus Visits

Campus visits provide applicants an opportunity to meet with department faculty and current graduate students as well as a chance to explore the University of Florida campus. We offer campus visits for prospective graduate students by appointment only. If you are interested in setting up a campus visit, please contact Erica Diffenderfer. If you are not able to visit our department in person but would still like to talk with AEC faculty, feel free to reach out to our faculty members through email or by phone. Contact information can be found in our online directory. Additionally, Zoom meetings with faculty members can be arranged.