Application FAQ

The Biophysics Graduate Group offers a program leading to a Ph.D. degree in biophysics. The interdisciplinary program prepares students to conduct independent research at the interface of physics, chemistry, and biology. Faculty members have particular research interests in structural biology, membrane dynamics, electron transfer, computational biology, theory, cellular regulation, and imaging. Students choose from the broad biophysics research venues a research laboratory that matches their interests and career goals.

Apply to the PhD in Biophysics by December 1st, 2025.

Application Deadline and Requirements

Can I apply for a Master's degree?
No. We only offer admission to students seeking a PhD.
What are are the required materials for my application (e.g., English-language tests)?
You do not need to provide any materials beyond what is required by UC Davis Graduate Studies. Please email gradadmit@ucdavis.edu if you have further questions.
What is the prerequisite coursework?
Because the Biophysics Graduate Program admits students from a variety of backgrounds, the courses listed below are a guide to the preparation needed for entering students. It is expected that, if a student has missing coursework in some area, deficiencies can be made up by taking suitable courses after joining the graduate program. Coursework deficiencies should not exceed two coursework requirements.

Corresponding UC Davis courses are indicated and linked below, for a full description of the required knowledge.
- One year of Calculus, Analytical Geometry and Vector Analysis, or equivalent content; at UC Davis, this would be satisfied by taking the MAT 21 series, A through D
- One year of Physics, or equivalent content; at UC Davis, this would be satisfied by taking the PHY 9 series, either A through D or HA through HE
- One quarter or semester of Introductory Statistics, or equivalent content; at UC Davis, this would be satisfied by taking STA 32
- One year of General Chemistry with laboratory, or equivalent content; at UC Davis, this would be satisfied by taking the CHE 2 series, A through C.
- One quarter or semester of Biochemistry or Organic Chemistry; at UC Davis, this would be satisfied by taking BIS 102
Does Biophysics require GRE scores?
No.
Will late applications be accepted?
No. All applications are due by 11:59pm Pacific Standard Time on Monday, December 1st, 2025.
Are there any financial aid options available to me if I cannot pay the application fee?
United States citizens and permanent residents, including undocumented applicants under AB540, are eligible to apply for the College of Biological Sciences' application fee fellowship.

Unfortunately, we are not able to offer any fee waivers to international applicants. This is due to federal policy, so we regrettably cannot make any exceptions, regardless of financial need.
Will late application materials (letter of recommendation, transcripts, etc.) be accepted?
Yes. You have until 11:59pm Pacific time on Friday, December 5th, 2025 to upload all final application materials, including letters of recommendation. After this date, no new materials will be reviewed.

We cannot accept the application fee late; this is campus-wide policy, and we cannot request exceptions.

We also cannot accept a late transcript from your undergraduate institution or, if applicable, the institution granting your Master's degree.

Late transcripts from non-degree-granting institutions, such as a community college where you took summer classes, are allowable.
Will you still review my application if a letter of recommendation is missing?
Yes. We understand that sometimes, extenuating circumstances apply to one of your letter writers and they are not able to submit their materials on time. However, applicants who are missing letters are seldom invited to interview. We cannot review applications with two or more letters of recommendation missing.

We encourage you to check in with your recommenders regularly, and monitor your email for confirmation that they have sent us their letters. If one of your recommenders is incapacitated (e.g., by illness) and cannot submit your letter in a timely manner, please email the Graduate Program Coordinator and CC your recommender.
My undergraduate GPA is below 3.0. Can I still apply to the program?
Yes! We evaluate applications using a process we call "holistic review," which means GPA is just one aspect of how we view applications. See the Application Review section of our How to Apply page for more information on this topic.

If you have an undergraduate GPA below 3.0, we look for whether your grades improved over time, your STEM grades were noticeably better than non-STEM, you have a Master's degree with a GPA over 3.0, or exceptional circumstances hindered your ability to do well in your undergraduate classes.

You are strongly encouraged to explain any circumstances that led to your low GPA in your personal statement. If your letter writers are familiar with your history and can advocate for you, they should. This will help your application shine!

Financial Support

What kind of financial support does the program provide for students?
Much like other biomedical PhD programs across the United States, the Graduate Group supports students financially during lab rotations, with the PI picking up the responsibility of funding when students join the lab.

Students can be funded in a variety of ways, the most common being employment as a researcher (GSR) or teaching assistant (TA). Our students also win a variety of fellowships and awards, such as the NSF GRFP, NIH F awards, internal fellowships offered by UC Davis, and trainee spots in NIH T32 programs.
What is the dollar amount I should expect to take home as a graduate student?
For fall 2025 and winter 2026, we have offered our rotating students a $10,500/quarter stipend, plus tuition, fees, and health insurance if needed.

Note that the stipend is quarterly rather than monthly; this is because in fall quarter, the payment is split out over four months than three. Therefore, our first-year students are paid $2,625/month from October 2025 - January 2026 and $3,500/month from February - April 2026.

When most Biophysics students join a faculty member's lab in spring of their first year, they become employed as graduate student researchers, teaching assistants, or trainees on a training grant; academic employees' stipends are specified in the labor contract agreed upon by the UC Office of the President and the United Auto Workers Local 4811.

It is the Graduate Group's recommendation that Biophysics students are paid a minimum stipend of $42,500/year as of October 1, 2024.
How do I apply for first-year fellowships?
Your application to the University also serves as your fellowship application. You will be asked questions pertinent to the fellowship application process; no additional materials are required.
When will I find out whether I've been awarded a fellowship?
You may receive an offer for an internal fellowship from UC Davis Graduate Studies anytime from late February through mid-April.
What about tuition and fees?
The Graduate Group pays your tuition and fees when you are rotating.

When you join a lab, working at least 25% FTE (10 hours a week) as a graduate student researcher or TA comes with tuition and fee "remission" - that is to say, the tuition and fees are paid because of your position as an academic employee.

Communicating with Biophysics

Do I need to contact a faculty member prior to applying?
No. Biophysics students will rotate in various faculty laboratories at the start of their doctoral studies. Students will select a mentor after rotations have concluded. This means you do not need to contact any faculty prior to applying.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't, though! It's good to get on the radar of faculty you're interested in rotating with.
I'm really interested in (name of scientific pioneer) here! Are they accepting students?
We do not know; you should reach out to them directly to express your interest. This is partially because they likely do not know yet; most faculty make decisions about the number of graduate students they can accept on the basis of their grant funding, and they often make decisions about how many students they can accept during the summer prior to your enrollment in the program.

We strongly recommend that you do not set your heart on joining any one faculty member's lab; they may not be able to take you on as a student, no matter how outstanding you are.
I have general questions about the application and/or program. Who do I speak to?
We encourage you to reach out to students in the program, particularly those who are in the labs you're most interested in, to get their perspective on the student life. You are also encouraged to ask UC Davis Graduate Studies' admissions team any questions you may have about the admissions process.

Requests to meet with the Graduate Program Coordinator cannot be accommodated.

Interviews

When will I know if I've been asked to interview?
We generally spend the first two to three weeks of December evaluating applications; the members of our admission committee work hard to read each and every application with the care it deserves, which takes time.

It is our intention to notify you as soon as possible if you have been asked to visit the campus and interview with our faculty. You may be asked to interview later in December, or in January, if we are able to fund more visitors to the campus.

Inquiries asking when we will have news of our admission decision to you will not be answered.

If we are certain that we do not intend to invite you for an interview, we will strive to let you know as soon as possible in mid-late December.
I was not invited to interview and would like to know more about the reasons for that decision.
Unfortunately, we do not have the administrative bandwidth to accommodate requests of this nature. We receive as many as 600 applications in a given year, and generally do not invite more than 60 applicants to interview. While we receive applications from extraordinarily brilliant scientists, financial constraints limit our capacity to take in large cohorts of students. Emails to the Graduate Program Coordinator or Admissions Chair asking about the the program's denial of your application will not be answered.

If you are seeking to improve your prospects for future applications, you are strongly encouraged to utilize your networks of professional support. If you are still interested in the program, we encourage you to reapply in the future; many of our current students were offered admission into the program on the basis of their second application.
I was invited to interview in the past, and was not this year. Why is that the case?
Every group of applicants is different; you are certain to have learned and grown as a result of professional experiences since your first application, but you are also being evaluated with an entirely new group of people, with their own strengths and weaknesses.

It's important for us to judge every application fairly and equitably; this necessitates that we refrain from prioritizing you for an interview on the basis of your admissions history.