Admission to the Master of Science in Forest and Natural Resource Sciences Degree Program

(Updated July 2025)

Basic Requirements

•    Undergraduate GPA: 3.00 or above
•    GRE is not required but recommended.
•    Undergraduate degree in forestry or a related natural resource discipline recommended

Application Deadlines

The Graduate School posts on its web pages the deadlines for applications for admission. Generally, domestic applications (including all transcripts and official scores) must be received by the Graduate School no later than one month prior to the start of the term the applicant intends to begin graduate work. Refer to the Academic Calendar for typical semester starting dates. International applications must be received by the Graduate School by March 15th for the same calendar year’s fall semester or by August 15th for the next calendar year’s spring semester. International students are not admitted for summer sessions.

However, the application deadline for individuals applying for Research or Teaching  Assistantships funded by the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources is usually February 1st (for assistantships beginning in the same calendar year’s fall semester). Application deadlines for assistantships funded by grants and contracts of individual faculty members are variable. Contact the Forestry and Natural Resources Graduate Program’s Director of Graduate Studies and/or the relevant individual faculty member to learn the specific deadline for your application.

Application Procedure

All of the following items must be submitted online, per the instructions on the Graduate School’s web pages:

• Online application and fee.
• GRE scores (if applicable).
• Transcripts of all previous post-secondary education.
• A signed and dated cover letter (personal statement) from you that:
  • describes your academic and professional goals and interests.
  • identifies the faculty member who agrees to serve as your major professor (i.e. Thesis Director if Plan A; Program Director if Plan B).
  • states whether or not you are applying for an assistantship.
• Your resume.
• Three (3) recommendations. Academic recommendations are best, but a letter from an employer may be useful if a relevant job helped prepare you for graduate study.
• As soon as you begin your application, contact the Director of Graduate Studies of the Forestry and Natural Resources Graduate Program to alert him that you will be applying. Also, it may expedite a decision regarding your application if you send copies of GRE scores (if applicable), transcripts, your cover letter, and resume to the Director of Graduate Studies of the Forestry and Natural Resources Graduate Program (in addition to submitting these materials through the online application system).
• For questions about how to submit online application materials, contact the Graduate School’s admissions officer.

Admission Decisions

• Normally, decisions are made as soon as possible after an application is complete. However, if an applicant for fall semester admission also applies for an assistantship funded by the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, the decision is normally made in March of the calendar year intended for admission, even if the application is complete earlier. If an applicant applies for an assistantship funded by a grant or contract of an individual faculty member, the decision date depends on the relevant funding agency’s timelines.
• An applicant may be admitted to the M.S. (Forest and Natural Resource Sciences Degree Program) degree program without condition or conditionally. Conditional admission means that the student must fulfill one or more specific requirements to continue in the degree program.
  • A student who is admitted conditionally due to low GPA must receive no grade lower than B until after the semester when s/he completes nine (9) cumulative graduate credits. In completing this requirement, graduate credits do not count if they were earned prior to the semester of admission to the M.S. (Forest and Natural Resource Sciences Degree Program) degree program at the University of Kentucky.
  • A student who is admitted conditionally for other reasons (e.g., lack of an undergraduate forestry degree) must fulfill in a timely manner all requirements stipulated at the time of conditional admission.