[bioundgrd] Graduate Study at UC Berkeley

[Rachel McPherson]

Hello Bioscience major,

Thanks for taking time to read this email.  I am 
writing to you from the University of California 
Berkeley in sunny (65 degrees today) Berkeley, 
California, just minutes away from the great city 
of San Francisco.  I want to encourage you to 
think about applying to graduate study at UC 
Berkeley, specifically in the areas of 
Microbiology or Plant Biology.  My department is 
looking for qualified students in these two areas 
who are interested in obtaining a PhD.  And it 
may be easier than you imagine to apply and be 
admitted.

But before we get into applying, you should know 
that if admitted, everything you need is taken 
care of.  No more student loans.  No more weekend 
jobs.  All of our graduate students receive a 
$23,800 yearly stipend in addition to tuition, 
fees, health and dental insurance, and even a 
free bus pass.  This allows you to concentrate on 
coursework and research.  There are not too many 
places, if any, that are better to pursue 
graduate studies than UC Berkeley, rated the top 
graduate school in the U.S. by the National 
Research Council and located in one of the most 
cosmopolitan and exciting metropolitan areas in 
the world. 

Our application deadline is December 1.  That may 
seem quite soon, but that is only the deadline 
for submitting the online application. 
Supporting documentation, including GRE scores, 
letters of recommendation (you need three), and 
transcripts can arrive much later in December 
without interfering with the review process.  Go 
to 
http://pmb.berkeley.edu/newpmb/admissions/admissions_index.shtml 
for details on applying.  Getting in may not be 
as hard as you might presume.  Our successful 
candidates have GPAs over 3.2 with coursework in 
the Biological Sciences and have solid 
undergraduate research experiences described by 
solid letters of recommendations.  Over 30% of 
our domestic candidates were admitted last year 
in our department.  Those who choose to come are 
now rotating happily among various research 
laboratories figuring out the specific research 
direction they wish to pursue.  In addition, you 
may want to simultaneously pursue a graduate 
minor in Computational and Genomic Biology, which 
is detailed below.

Please let me know if you have any questions 
about applying.  I would love to see your 
application either this December or in the 
future.  Feel free to email me at 
kdukart at nature.berkeley.edu.

Sincerely,

Kyle Dukart
Director of Student Services
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology


The UC Berkeley Graduate Group established the 
Designated Emphasis (DE) in Computational and 
Genomic Biology to provide specialized 
multi-disciplinary training and research 
opportunities in the different facets of 
computational biology and genomics. The DE is a 
specialization offered by existing PhD programs 
at UC Berkeley.

A DE is awarded in conjunction with a PhD degree 
from one of UC Berkeley’s  graduate programs.  At 
UC Berkeley, acquiring a DE is like earning a 
“minor” with a PhD degree. The DE is aimed at 
students who wish to follow research careers in 
genomics or computational biology, as is 
appropriate for those with a strong background in 
one or more relevant fields: biostatistics, 
chemical engineering, chemistry, computer 
science, engineering, mathematics, molecular and 
cell biology, plant and microbial biology, and 
statistics.

The Graduate Group serves to orient students, 
systematize graduate training, catalyze research 
collaboration, and enhance an intellectual 
community which transcends traditional 
departmental boundaries. We are honored to 
provide access to a community of internationally 
respected biological and mathematical scientists, 
comprehensive training programs and 
state-of-the-art facilities.

For more information, please visit our website at 
<http://computationalbiology.berkeley.edu> 
http://computationalbiology.berkeley.edu or email 
Corie Goodloe at 
<mailto:corieg at berkeley.edu>corieg at berkeley.edu.

Kyle Dukart
Student Affairs Officer
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology
University of California Berkeley
(510) 642-5167
kdukart at nature.berkeley.edu
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