Welcome to the website for the Biology graduate program at UTPA!

Thanks for checking into our graduate program. If you are just at the point where you are considering graduate school in general, but are not sure if grad school is right for you, let me offer a simple test. If you have ever been reading a research paper, or listening to some scientist describe his or her research, and thought to yourself, "That is so cool," you might be a grad student.

Grad school is all about personal connections, not just taking more classes. There are two things that are critical to a good grad school experience. The first is having a good working relationship with a supervisor. The second is to have a project that you like. (Even our non-thesis students have a research component to their degrees.) If you have those two things, grad school can be a great experience. But if you don't have either of those two things, grad school is not worth it.

So the best advice I have if you're considering grad school is to talk to potential supervisors. Your supervisor is your "go to" person, who will be looking out for your best interests. Face to face conversations are best, but if you aren't living locally, try to arrange some phone calls, web chats, or consider making a visit. Tell them Zen sent you.

If I can answer any questions about our program, do not hesitate to contact me. Email is best and most reliable: zfaulkes@utpa.edu.

Apply Now!

Zen Faulkes
Graduate Program Coordinator
Department of Biology