How to Apply

Deadlines for Application

For  domestic and international applicants:

  • Fall Semester (August) - January 31st
  • Spring Semester (January) - August 1st

Application Requirements

Application to ALRS should follow the procedures as specified by the Graduate College. Detailed information may be found at https://grad.arizona.edu/futurestudents/.

Requirements include:

  • A Master's degree
  • Meet the minimum cumulative GPA requirements of 3.0.  Candidates who not meet the minimum requirements applications will not be considered for review.
  • A completed Graduate College application form for admission;
  • One official transcript from each university/college attended;
  • The graduate applications fees are: $95.00 for international students and $85.00 for domestic applications.

As stated in The University of Arizona Graduate Catalog, the Arid Lands Resource Sciences Executive Committee must approve all applicants for this degree program. To assist the committee in an orderly review, we have found it advantageous to circulate among members a dossier covering those areas of most concern to the committee members. Although providing all information requested may require considerable time to prepare, the thoroughness and orderliness of the dossier is a measure of the applicant's maturity, one of the criteria by which the applicant is evaluated by the committee. The completed dossier should consist of the following:

  1. Official transcripts of all previous college or university work.
  2. GRE scores no more than five years old.  NOTE: GRE scores are not required.
  3. English Proficiency - this is required for any international applicant born in a country where English is not the official language. You can see if you're required to provide an English proficiency test by country on the Graduate College website. Below are acceptable English credentials:

For more information on the English Proficiency requirement, please click here. Other required items in your application dossier are:

  1. A list of publications and special papers (whether published or not). Reprints of journal articles are helpful but not necessary.
  2. A minimum of three letters of reference. Letters should be from academic advisors as well as from professional supervisors.
  3. A curriculum vitae, giving name, date and place of birth, resume of professional work with dates of employment and identification of all previous and present employers, membership in professional organizations, academic awards, professional honors, and any other pertinent information that may be useful to the committee in evaluating your qualifications for the degree program.
  4. A brief statement, submitted separately or as part of your curriculum vitae, setting forth your long-range professional plans, such as the type of work you plan to pursue upon completion of the doctoral program.
  5. A proposed graduate program, which should include two basic areas:
    1. While not necessary, you may list specific courses by title and number. A general statement showing the relationship of various disciplines within your program is sufficient.
    2. A brief description of the type of research you plan to undertake for your dissertation.
  6. Applicants should specify one or more faculty members with whom they may wish to work. Applicants may learn more about the interests and research programs of ALRS faculty by (1) consulting the ALRS website (2) consulting the home pages of the faculty members' home departments, or (3) contacting faculty members directly (e-mail addresses provided on the ALRS website). Applicants who have contacted potential mentors are more likely to be admitted to the program, while otherwise well-qualified applicants may not be accepted if there is no mentor to match the applicant's stated interests.

  7. It is clearly understood that in many cases it will be difficult to delineate a research program without benefit of the advance course work that you will be pursuing. Nonetheless, your ability to identify a research project which can make a meaningful contribution to the understanding or solution of worldwide problems of arid lands is also a demonstration of your ability to complete an interdisciplinary doctoral program. The program is flexible enough so that you may, with the consent of advisor and dissertation committee, change the direction of your research, provided it is consistent with the goal of making a meaningful contribution to our knowledge of arid lands.

    Dossier materials are to be uploaded in UA Grad App at: https://apply.grad.arizona.edu/users/login

Admissions Process

  1. The program receives your application in the application system.
  2. After the application deadline, all applications are reviewed by the Executive Committee. This process takes about 2 weeks.
  3. Once the Executive Committee submit their decisions, the decisions to either recommend for admittance or deny are sent to the Graduate College.
  4. If recommended for admittance, the Graduate College evaluates and verifies the applicant's credentials. This process can take between 2-4 weeks.
  5. Once a successful verification is completed, the Graduate College will send out official offer letters of admittance.