Graduate Admission Requirements

Applicants must be admitted by both the Graduate School and the department.  

Applicants will be considered on the following requirements:

• A bachelor's degree from an accredited US institution or the equivalent from a foreign institution.
• A GPA of at least 3.0 ("A" = 4.0) on all undergraduate work (or last-half degree requirement) and a 3.0 GPA or better on any graduate work already completed.
  • International applicants must have at least a 3.0 GPA, or equivalent, on all college-level work attempted.
  • International students must take TOEFL and receive scores of 550 (paper-based test), 213 (computer-based test) or 79 (internet-based test) or above are required - OR - IELTS scores of 6.5 or above.
• GRE scores of at least 300 total.  (preferably averages of at least 150 V, 150 Q) 
  • GRE New Scoring System Explained Here
• Acceptance by the graduate faculty into the applicants area of study.

*Please Note: Due to the nature of competitive admissions, meeting minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission.

In order to be considered for one of the graduate programs in the Department of Geology & Geophysics, you must start by filling out an online application through the Graduate School website:

https://app.applyyourself.com/?id=gradlsu

The next step in the admissions process will be submitting the following items:

*Please read each item carefully as there are specific submission instructions.

• All OFFICIAL transcripts from all universities/colleges attended.  Submit to Graduate School.
• OFFICIAL GRE scores must be submitted from ETS to the Graduate School.  *Please Note: These scores are only sent once per month from ETS so it is imperative that you make sure to take your exam in a timely manner before the deadline.
• OFFICIAL TOEFL or IELTS scores from ETS to the Graduate School.  *Please Note: These scores are only sent once per month from ETS so it is imperative that you make sure to take your exam in a timely manner before the deadline.
• Statement of Purpose
• 3 Letters of recommendation - The easiest and fastest submission of the letters of recommendation is by electronic submission through the online applications system.  Any other way could cause delays in your application.
• Applicants must contact professor to try to gain support for admission.  Once the professor agrees to work with you, you must notify the Graduate Coordinator with this information.
• Highly Recommended but not required:  CV/Resume and Writing Sample

Specific Graduate School requirements for applicants who have completed degree requirements outside the US are given in the Graduate School Bulletin.

Admission to the Department of Geology and Geophysics is made by the department faculty and is based on evidence of academic achievement, promise in the field of geology and geophysics, faculty support, and available openings.

Deadline for Submission

In order to be considered for various types of funding, applicants must submit their applications before the following dates:

If you have any questions about the application process, please contact:

Heather Lee

Graduate Coordinator

heather@lsu.edu

If you have any questions about the graduate program, please contact:

Sam Bentley

Graduate Advisor

sjb@lsu.edu