General Information

Request Information

Admissions Information

Admissions Requirements

Candidates who wish to apply must meet the following eligibility requirements:

1. Must hold a B.S. or M.S.
2. Meet the minimum cumulative GPA requirements of 3.3
   • Candidates who do not meet the minimum GPA requirements applications will not be considered for review.
3. Upload 3 letters of recommendation
4. Applicants must upload unofficial pdf versions of all transcripts when submitting their application in our GradApp system. 
5. International students must follow the Graduate College language test requirements.

 

Standardized Tests

Required test(s):

International Candidate English Proficiency Evaluation Exam scores:

ALL Candidates are required to send test scores to the University of Arizona Graduate College institutional code 4832.

 

 

Funding Opportunities

Please note that 1) the Department is not able to provide a guarantee of funding and 2) the International College requires that all international students provide a Financial Guarantee (see the Proof of Financial Resources located on http://grad.arizona.edu/admissions/admissions-requirements/international-students).

Graduate Tuition scholarships and Fellowships sponsored by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona Graduate College and the Department of Biosystems Engineering may be available on a competitive basis.

Applicants are encouraged to apply for institutional funding offered through the UA Graduate College, including Graduate Access Fellowships, UA/SIGP Fellowships, and NASA Scholarships, inaddition to UA Scholarship Universe.  Domestic students should submit a Free Application for Federal Student Loans, FAFSA, to qualify for institutional funding http://fafsa.gov/.  Detailed information on UA financial aid may be found at http://grad.arizona.edu/financial-resources.

 

Admissions Deadlines

Domestic Applicants:

• Fall: January

International Applicants:

• Fall: December

Application deadlines may be extended for candidates attending The University of Arizona or Alumni of The University of Arizona. The University of Arizona alums and current UA students need to contact Dava Jondall at davaj@arizona.edu to request permission to extend the application deadline.

 

International Conditional Admission

International applicants will not be considered for conditional admission by this program.

Other Information

The GRE Institution Code for The University of Arizona is 4832

ETS Major Field Code(s) for this program: 0117, 0119, 0102, 0103, 0107, 0122, 0112, 0114, 0199, 0224, 0226, 0205, 0206, 0212, 0308, 0409, 0405, 0502, 0605, 0631, 0705, 1004, 1001, 1101, 1102, 1103, 1107, 1109, 1199, 1301, 1399, 1501, 1502, 1602, 1615, 1616, 1612, 1699

Completion Requirements

Minimum Credit Units

63 

Core Coursework Requirements

7.3.2 Minimum Course Requirements for BE PhD

For a PhD in Biosystems Engineering, students must complete a minimum of 63 units, consisting of the following:

• 1 unit BE 597A (Effective 08-2020; for prior catalogs, can be substituted with 1 unit or BE 593 or Elective course)
• 1 unit of BE 597A
• 2 units of BE 501
• 3 units of STAT 571B
• 1 units of BE 596B (non-presenting)
  • Continuous enrollment in BE 596B for each semester he/she is not presenting is expected. Students must receive approval from the Department to be excused from this requirement
  • Any units exceeding the 2 units of BE 596B will not be listed on the student’s UAccess Plan of Study
• 4 units of BE 596A (presenting)
  • Any units exceeding the 4 units of BE 596A will not be listed on the student’s Plan of Study
  • EXCEPTION: Candidates with a BE MS degree are only required to take 2 units as the other 2 units were earned from their MS program
• 3 units of ENVS 508.*Students who completed Technical writing previously may request for to sub this requirement with an elective.
• 6 units of either Numerical Analysis, or other approved Mathematics/ Modeling courses
• 12 units of BE courses (limit of 3 units of house-numbered courses, i.e., 592, 593, 599)
  • may choose a 1-unit lab rotation experience (BE 593) as an elective
• 3 units of elective courses per approval of Major Professor (depending on the required minor units)
  • may choose a 1-unit lab rotation experience (BE 593) as an elective
• 18 units (minimum) of Dissertation units (BE 920)
• 9 to 12 units in the minor, depending on the Minor Department requirements

 All courses in the Plan of Study must be taken for a grade (A, B, C) except for BE 693 (Teaching Internship) and 1 unit of lab rotation (BE 593).

 

Elective Coursework

3 to 6 units of elective courses per approval of Major Professor (depending on the required minor units)

Students may choose a 1-unit lab rotation experience (BE 593) as an elective

 

Additional Requirements

To be considered for admissions, candidates must complete their graduate application through the University of Arizona Graduate Admissions online Application system, which includes uploading copies of Transcripts,  and/or English Speaking Proficiency Test scores (International applicants), as well as Letters of Recommendation and supplemental materials. 

 

Minor Requirements for Doctoral Students in this Program

BE PhD students are required to complete a minor. The minor subject area may be taken inside or outside of the BE Department, BUT it must be in a different area than the major focus. The student may choose one or two minor areas, which are determined in consultation with his/her Major Professor. The department in which the minor is sought determines specific requirements. The Graduate College requires that the minimum number of minor coursework is nine (9) units, but most minor programs require twelve (12) units of coursework.

The following are some suggested minors for BE students: Soil, Water, and Environmental Science; Plant Sciences; Chemical and Environmental Engineering; Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Hydrology and Water Resource; Resource Economics; Mathematics; Renewable Natural Resource; Systems and Industrial Engineering; Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering; Biomedical Engineering; and Optical Science.

 

 

Student Handbook

Please refer to the Graduate Student Handbook for students who are pursuing this program of study.

 

Program StatisticsInformation about these numbers

Program-level Information
Application Acceptance Rate	80%
Avg. Time-to-degree (years)	6.32
Department-level Information
Enrollment Percent Male	72.97%
Enrollment Percent Female	27.03%
Enrollment Percent International	18.92%
Enrollment Percent URM	13.51%

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