The Department of Crop and Soil Science is looking for talented, driven graduate students committed to making a difference in agriculture and natural resource management. Steps for applying to the Crop Science or Soil Science Graduate Program are detailed below. Please follow the sequence to ensure that you’re not unnecessarily expending application fees required by the Graduate School.
Step 1. Identify an Advisor
- Review the faculty profiles to determine potential advisors in your interest area.
- Email a faculty member identified with that discipline and commodity focus to determine if he or she is willing to serve as your major advisor
- Provide a letter of interest, your CV, previous GPA, our Graduate Questionnaire and indicate if you require financial assistance
- Await a reply from the identified faculty member and ensure their willingness to serve as your mentor before applying to the Graduate School
- You must find a faculty member to be your major advisor and secure funding, if applicable, before you will be accepted into our graduate program
Step 2. Request/Apply for Financial Assistance
Funding for Graduate Research Assistantships in the Department of Crop and Soil Science is arranged by individual faculty members in our department and:
- Is limited and dependent on availability of funds of individual faculty members
- Is only offered by faculty members, it is not central to the department or the Graduate School
- Individuals must contact faculty members and make arrangements with them for Graduate Research Assistantship funding
- Funding must be secured before applying to the Graduate School
Graduate research assistants work on a part-time basis 12 months per year; all students must contribute to the sponsoring research project. Graduate research assistants do not pay tuition but are responsible for fees and a percentage of the health insurance premiums. General information on eligibility rules for low-interest federal loans can be obtained from the Graduate School.
Non-U.S. citizen applicants may seek fellowships from their home country, or from international agencies and foundations. To obtain a student visa, international students must show evidence of sufficient financial resources to support their entire educational program at Oregon State.
Step 3. Apply to the Graduate School (fee required)
- After you have identified a suitable mentor within the Crop Science graduate faculty and secured funding, submit your application to the Graduate School
- Taking the GRE may be required by your major advisor, however there is no program-specified minimum score
- Provide 3 letters of reference
- If you are a non-native English speaker and have not completed another degree in the US, you must provide evidence of English proficiency. OSU accepts several English language test scores, the most common of which are TOEFL and IELTS. Proficiency requirements are TOEFL: 550; TOEFL iBT: 80; IELTS: 6.5 (International Applicant Requirements)
Step 4. Submission Dates
We accept applications at any time of the year, and accepted students can enroll during any academic term. Priority application deadlines:
- Fall term - June 1
- Winter term - September 1
- Spring term - December 1
- Summer term - March 1
IMPORTANT: In order to be accepted into our graduate program you must secure a major advisor and funding, if applicable. If no faculty member is willing to serve as your major advisor your application will be rejected.
If you have any questions, please contact us:
Rachel Swindon
Graduate Applications Coordinator
109 Crop Science Bldg.
Corvallis, OR 97331
(541) 737-1286