Wildlife Ecology and Conservation department

Application Process

To be admitted to the WEC graduate program (MS thesis or PhD), you must have engaged with a WEC faculty member, and they must agree to develop a plan to fund your graduate career. As a rule, applying following the process below will be unsuccessful without first identifying a partnering faculty advisor.

A detailed overview of the admission process and a recommended strategy for beginning searching for a faculty mentor can be read here.

Below, we outline the steps for formally applying to enter the WEC graduate program once you have a potential supervisor identified.

Application to the non-thesis MS programs differ. Information on how to apply for the non-thesis MS or the Wildlife Forensic Sciences and Conservation can be found here.

Although admission is decided at the department level (by your prospective faculty advisor and the Department Chair), all applications to the WEC graduate program must apply online through the Graduate School web page (https://admissions.ufl.edu/apply/graduate/). You will sign up for an account there, upload your application materials, and send reference letter links. In addition, there will be a ‘Florida residency affidavit’ (where you declare whether you meet the Florida residency requirements or not) and a ‘conduct declaration.’

Application Checklist

You must prepare the following materials for your application to WEC: 1) A detailed curriculum vitae outlining your work, volunteer, and educational experience, plus any other relevant information (e.g., awards, skills); 2) official transcripts (unofficial transcripts are accepted for initial application; however, official transcripts are required by UF Admission office before final admission is granted); 3) two brief essays (described below); 4) three letters of recommendation.

The items mentioned above are required before admittance. Most are graduate school requirements (i.e., CV, transcripts, personal statement essay, three letters of reference). WEC requires an additional essay. All components should be submitted online through the Graduate School portal.

In addition, your faculty mentor will perform a Holistic assessment based on their interactions with you and your application materials (this step is conducted internally and is not submitted by the applicant). In addition, before the completion of the holistic assessment, applicants are requested to fill out the ‘mentoring alignment questionnaire’ for faculty to evaluate. You will likely be asked to provide copies of your application materials (CV, transcripts, essays, questionnaire) to your potential supervisor before submitting them to the graduate school so they can conduct their holistic assessment beforehand.

Items required from the applicant:

Item	Note
Official transcripts	UF admissions will require official copies from your previous institution. However, unofficial transcripts will be suitable for introductions to potential faculty.
CV (annotated*)	An annotated CV provides positions and dates and includes a summary for each. E.g., duties while in positions, descriptions of awards, estimated hours of experience, and description of volunteer experience.
Essay 1* – “Personnel statement” (500 words)	Summarize how your academic history thus far has prepared you for graduate training. Discuss your choice of your previous degree program(s), successes, challenges (and how you coped with them), and overall performance. This is an honest self-appraisal, not a personal advertisement
Essay 2* – “What recent scientific endeavors excite you about the lab you are applying to?” (500 words)	Find articles addressing research/education/extension topics that have led to selecting the faculty member you are applying to. In 500-1000 words, explain your interest, how you feel the lab will help you achieve your professional goals, and how you will contribute positively to the culture of the lab group and department.

Letters of Reference	Three (3) letters from academic or professional references who can speak to your readiness for graduate-level education

Mentor-Mentee alignment

The WEC graduate faculty strives to ensure a positive, nourishing educational experience for all admitted graduate students. One potential source of conflict between mentors and mentees is unspoken expectations that either party may be unaware of before agreeing to work together.

Faculty members are aware of their general mentoring habits and expectations but may still lack consideration of more nuanced issues that can occasionally strain relationships. Thus, we have provided a questionnaire ( Alignment Questionnaire) to help faculty clarify their perspectives on the mentoring relationship and to help shape the discussion with applicants.

Many new students (particularly those new to graduate school) do not enter their program having systematically considered what they anticipated as their expectations and roles in the mentor-mentee relationship, nor do they clearly understand their mentor’s style or expectations for the same relationship. We strongly recommend that applicants fill out the questionnaire and discuss expectations with their prospective graduate advisor to assist.

The mentoring alignment questionnaire is meant to provide the following: 1) A means for student applicants to ‘self-assess’ their perceptions of what working for and studying might look like with the guidance of a faculty member(s). 2) An early framework for discussion between faculty (mentor) and applicant (mentee) to assess how well each person’s perspectives on the mentor-mentee relationship might look like. 3) Provides a framework for fruitful discussion or re-alignment of expectations if mentoring conflicts arise. As such, this exercise should be done early in the relationship (i.e., ideally before letters of offer).

The ‘mentoring alignment questionnaire’ is not a selection filter for faculty. There are no right or wrong answers, nor should expectations be expected to be identical. There may be little need for discussion where faculty and applicant’s perspectives are closely aligned. If and where perspectives are at opposite ends of the scale, this can focus discussion and allow both sides to adjust or clarify their expectations or mentoring style with the prospective student to avoid unnecessary future issues. This effort early in the relationship will significantly increase the likelihood of productive collaboration and minimize conflicts.

The mentor and mentee should consider developing a compact to help frame a more structured relationship. Some examples of compacts and other resources are found here: https://ictr.wisc.edu/mentoring/mentoring-compactscontracts-examples/