Prospective Student Guide
Admission to graduate studies requires a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. Students are generally admitted for the fall quarter, but exceptional cases for off-cycle admission can be considered.
The application deadline for admissions is April 1 for international and domestic students. Applications for fellowships are required by January 15; to recieve the highest priority in consideration of funding opportunities, we strongly encourage applications for any form of financial aid by that date as well.
Master's degree applicants must have earned a grade point average of at least 3.0 in the junior and senior years of college and must submit scores on the General Test of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) and three letters of recommendation. Doctoral students normally will have earned a minimum grade point average of 3.5 and must also submit GRE scores and three letters of recommendation. International students are expected to achieve a minimum score of 550 on the paper-based, 213 on the computer-based, and 68 on the iBT Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Teaching and Graduate Student Research Assistants must have a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA to hold an academic appointment. Research Assistant appointments, above 25% and not exceeding 50% time, provide full remission of in-state fees; Teaching Assistant appointments, above 25% and not exceeding 50% time, provide partial remission of in-state fees. This policy is reviewed for renewal each year.
Application Process
ALL OF THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY OUR DEPARTMENT IN ORDER FOR YOUR APPLICATION TO BE CONSIDERED
- Apply Online
- Statement of Purpose and Personal History Statement
- Three Letters of Recommendation. All letters must be submitted electronically by the referee.
- Certified Transcripts. Please submit transcripts only after your on-line application is marked complete and submitted. Send directly to: Graduate Program Coordinator, Institute of Transportation Studies, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616.
- GRE Scores - College Code is 4834 and Dept. Code is 1199
- TOEFL Scores, if applicable. Dept. Code is 94.
- TTP Prerequisite listing. (About this listing)
- (optional) Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways (STEPS) Supplemental Application Form, is part of the online TTP application. Please review Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways (STEPS) for more information about this program.
- (optional) Graduate Student Researcher Form.
Important Note: If you are applying for a graduate student research assistantship, please try to be in touch with a professor who has interests similar to yours either before you send the Application or soon thereafter, since they are the ones who make the final decisions with respect to assistantships. Although it's no guarantee of your being offered an assistantship, it is extremely important and cannot be urged strongly enough. It could make the difference between the successful outcome of your application and/or your not being able to attend UCD for financial reasons.
The UCD web site for internal fellowships is located at http://gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/ssupport/internal_fellowships.html.
If you have questions or need assistance, our Graduate Program Coordinator, Annemarie Schaaf, can be reached through e-mail at aschaaf@ucdavis.edu or by telephone at 530-752-0247.