Application Deadline is December 15, 2025 to start Fall Semester 2026

Note:  You may apply at any time if you are a recent major fellowship awardee (e.g., NSF GRF, EPA STAR, NSERC, ARC, etc.).  In such cases, please contact zoolgrad@hawaii.edu for guidance.

For questions or problems with the application process, please call (808) 956-8303 or email lifesci@hawaii.edu.

There are two concurrent steps for applying for admission to the Zoology Graduate Program:  (1) completing your application (starting with this web page – see below), and (2) finding a graduate advisor. If you apply but do not have a faculty sponsor, then you will not be accepted by the program, so it is critical that you contact potential advisors directly well before applying. You can search for potential mentors using the Graduate Division database, just enter Zoology under graduate program. Master’s students need a level 2 or 3 faculty mentor, and Phd students need a level 3 faculty mentor. Details regarding the Zoology Graduate Program admissions process are available in the handbook.

To apply for admission to the Zoology Graduate Program, please complete the following steps:

1. Submit your admissions application to the UH Mānoa Office of Graduate Division here. This will include entering contact information for references within the application portal (Mānoa Graduate Division Recommendation Request). You will need three (3) letters of references to apply to the Zoology program and we recommend you choose a due date of 12/31 or earlier.
2. Please upload your unofficial transcripts to the Liaison application and request to have your official transcripts be sent from your post-secondary institution(s) directly to the UH Grad Division office.
   1. Your official transcripts can be sent either electronically or via mail to Grad Division:
      • Electronic: Sent directly from the institution to gradss@hawaii.edu
      • Printed: Mailed in a sealed, institution-stamped envelope to:
        University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
        Graduate Division
        2540 Maile Way, Spalding Hall 354
        Honolulu, HI 96822

3. Download and complete the Zoology Graduate Program Supplemental Form then attach it to your UH Grad Division Liason application, as a Supplemental Material upload.
4. Please remember to also submit the following documents as Supplemental Materials in your application:
   Curriculum Vitae
   Statement of Objectives

 It is critical that you contact potential advisors directly to determine the level of mutual interest in working together. You must have a Zoology graduate faculty mentor lined up before you apply to the program. Students without faculty sponsors are highly unlikely to be admitted to the program. You may search for Zoology graduate faculty through the Graduate Division database.