Food Science and Technology

Graduate Program Admission Requirements

 

Graduate Admissions prefers that all applicants apply on-line. Please review the Application Checklist. If you are unable to apply for admission online, please contact graduate admissions at graduate@unl.edu

Please send Items 1-6 below to Graduate Admissions at:

       Graduate Admissions
       University of Nebraska-Lincoln
       1100 Seaton Hall
       P.O. Box 880619
       Lincoln , NE 68588-0619, USA

1. Application (apply on-line)
2. $45 check. (You may also pay via credit card if you apply on-line.)
3. Two official, original transcripts of each college-level institution attended.

4. Official GRE Scores
    (required for All applicants; sent electronically from ETS)
    (UNL's institutional code is 6877; the Food Science code is 0107)

International Students must also include:

5. Official TOEFL Scores (sent electronically from ETS)
    Minimum score requirements for Food Science:
    577 (paper), 233 (computer) and 90 (internet)
    (Scores must be less than two years old.)

6. Financial Resource Certification
   Financial Resource Form
   (The form is also available via the Application Checklist above.)

Please send Items 1-3 below to:

       Graduate Committee Secretary:
       Dept. of Food Science and Technology
       University of Nebraska-Lincoln
       143 Filley Hall
       Lincoln , NE 68583-0919
       USA

1. Three Letters of Recommendation
    (The form is available on the Grad Studies webpage. Click here to download the form.)

2. Statement of Academic and Professional Goals (typically 1-2 pages)

3. Resume / Vita (optional)

4. Official GRE Scores (sent electronically from ETS: UNLs institutional code is 6877 and the Food Science code is 0107)
NOTE: The GRE is required for all applicants; however, it may, at the discretion of the Graduate Committee Chair, be waived for students having degrees from U.S. institutions.

Important:

The above TOEFL score is the minimum requirement for the Department of Food Science and Technology. Students who are accepted often have much higher scores. It can take several weeks for ETS to send the scores to Graduate Admissions, so please order them early.

Food Science and Technology does not have a separate Departmental Application. Also, our department does not have a separate application for financial aid. Please check the appropriate box on the application form.

Please understand that it can take 1-2 months to review application files, depending on when we receive application materials and official test scores from ETS. The review does not start until the applicant pays the $45 ( U.S. ) application fee and all of the above items are received, including official test scores.

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA ):

The Department of Food Science & Technology awards a limited number of annual research assistantship stipends to qualified applicants. Such GRA's or stipends are awarded on a competitive basis to outstanding applicants with strong academic backgrounds who also meet or exceed the test score requirements. Stipends for the 2005-2006 fiscal year are typically $16,475 for M.S. students and $17,485 for Ph.D. students and include tuition remission and health insurance benefits. (Most of the UN-L health insurance premium expense is paid through the student's graduate research assistantship; but the graduate student also pays a portion of the premiums.)

Important : In addition to having a strong academic background and meeting test score requirements, international students must also be accepted by a major advisor in the Food Science and Technology faculty; and they must be awarded a graduate research assistantship (GRA) by that faculty member . The only exception to this is if the international student has full funding from their government or has a full stipend from a recognized international organization such as the Fulbright program or Rotary International.

Additional fellowship(s) may be available depending on the applicant's qualifications and availability of funds

Masters or Ph.D ?

Sometimes students are not sure whether to apply to the Masters or Ph.D. program. Generally speaking, those students with a BS in a science-related field should apply for the MS program instead of the Ph.D. program. Please contact the Chairman of the Graduate Committee if you have additional questions on which program is best for you.

Academic Requirements :

Most of our graduate students have undergraduate degrees in Food Science and Technology, Biology, Microbiology, Chemistry, or Engineering. Applicants should have completed undergraduate classes in Calculus, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biology, Microbiology, and Physics. Graduate applicants who do not have an undergraduate degree in Food Science may be required to complete one or more undergraduate core courses in Food Science and Technology.

For more information please contact our graduate secretary using the Graduate Student Information Request Form.