Apply to Grad School

Apply to Grad School

Applying for admission to our Graduate Chemistry Degree program requires an application fee. Fee waivers are available upon request for all domestic applicants and international students with degrees from an accredited US institution. Please contact the graduate coordinator (grad@chemistry.msstate.edu) to request the fee waiver.

While international applicants can also request a fee waiver at any time, priority will be given to those students who have initiated their application by December 1st for the following Fall term. Please contact the graduate coordinator (grad@chemistry.msstate.edu) to request the fee waiver.

To directly apply to the M.S. or Ph.D. program in Chemistry, you must complete the University's official application process. You do NOT need to fill out a separate application for financial aid. We consider all applicants for aid when we consider them for admission.

  1. Go to the MSU Graduate School admission webpage. This page contains general information about the application process.
  2. When you have read the material on this page, click the Apply Now link in the top right corner, or go to https://apply.grad.msstate.edu/.
  3. You will be asked to set up a MyBanner account with Mississippi State University.
  4. Open the online application and fill out Section I according to the instructions. Most applicants will fall into one of two categories in the application: US Student or International Student.
  5. If you know the faculty member(s) with whom you wish to work, list them in your statement of purpose.
  6. Online applications are submitted electronically. Any documents such as transcripts that cannot submitted electronically should be mailed to:

Office of Admissions
P.O. Box G
Mississippi State University
Mississippi State, MS 39762-5507 USA

International Students must submit a TOEFL or IELTS score, and the submission of a GRE score is recommended. The GRE and TOEFL code for Mississippi State University is 1480. If you can support your own studies, you should submit a "Declaration of Financial Support" form. All applicants are considered for financial aid and completion of this form will NOT reduce your chance of receieving aid. U.S. Students do not need to supply any test scores or the support form.

A complete application includes: 3 letters of reference, official university transcript(s), a statement of purpose (brief discussion of why you want to study for a graduate degree in chemistry), and payment of the application fee.

International students who wish to be considered for financial aid should complete their application and ensure ALL documents are received before:

  • February 28 (for Fall admission)
  • September 30 (for Spring admission)

US students and international students not seeking aid should complete their application as early as possible, but we have greater flexibility for later admissions.

Entrance Requirements

To enter our program, a student must have:

  • A bachelor’s degree in chemistry (or a related area with additional course work equivalent to the requirements for a traditional chemistry major)
  • A minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.75/4.0 over the last two years.
  • Have a bachelor's degree from an English-speaking country
    • or score a minimum of 477 on the paper-based “test of English as a foreign language” (TOEFL) exam exam (153 on the computer-based test; or 53 on the internet based test)
    • or score 4.5 on the “International English Language Testing Service“ (IELTS) exam.

A student who has not met one or more of these requirements may be admitted as an unclassified or provisional student. Check the Bulletin of the Graduate School for further details.

Financial support is available for entering students, but foreign students with low language scores (< 550 TOEFL paper; 213 TOEFL computer; 79 TOEFL iBT; or 6.0 IELTS) are unlikely to be awarded a TA during their first year of study.