The Infectious Diseases PhD program admits students through the Integrated Life Sciences (ILS) program. The ILS program allows first-year graduate students to explore the research areas of more than 270 faculty and 16 participating PhD graduate programs. A hallmark of this competitive graduate program is its emphasis on existing and emerging interdisciplinary research areas. During the Fall semester, entering students perform three laboratory rotations and follow a streamlined and innovative curriculum designed to facilitate the transition to graduate education and research. At the end of the Fall semester, students choose a graduate program and thesis advisor to oversee their thesis research. From that point forward students are a member of their chosen graduate program. 

Please visit the ILS website (www.ils.uga.edu) for more details on the program, participating faculty, and admissions processes.

Competitive applicants will have:

• Bachelor’s degree or master’s degree in any biological science from an accredited institution (For international applicants, an equivalent to American bachelor’s degree requiring a minimum of four years of training is required)
• Demonstrated research experience

For a list of current tuition and fees, see UGA’s Bursar & Treasury Services. Financial assistance is available from the Department of Infectious Diseases.
A majority of our students are funded by research and teaching assistantships, training grants, and fellowships. Please contact the department directly for more information.

Step 1: An online application must be completed through the UGA Graduate School. ILS program applications must be submitted to the UGA Graduate School using the ILS major code (PHD_ILSC). The online application will include the submission of unofficial college transcripts*; a résumé or curriculum vita; three letters of recommendation; and a personal statement describing your experiences, interest in infectious diseases, and your reasons for applying to the program.

*Official college transcripts will be required, if admitted to the program.

Foreign applicants are required to submit additional documentation as part of their online application. See the Graduate School’s website for a list of supplemental information for your country.

Step 2: Apply to the Integrated Life Sciences Program. This requires completion of the ILS Background Interest form and a personal statement.

ILS only admits students for Fall semester; applications for matriculation in spring or summer semesters are not accepted. All application materials must be complete by December 1st at 11:59 PM EST for the following Fall term. For example, applications to begin the program in Fall 2025 must be completed in entirety by December 1, 2024, at 11:59 PM EST.

GPA is important, but we also look at where you went to school and the degree you obtained. Our faculty members must be confident that you will be able to maintain the minimum 3.0 GPA required in graduate level courses.

This is your chance to “talk” to the Admissions Committee. Express why you want to enroll in our graduate program, what strengths you feel set you apart and highlight your research qualifications.

The graduate program assistant is the administrative professional who is responsible for handling incoming applications, maintaining student records, approving forms and submitting information to the Graduate School. You can reach the graduate program assistant at [email protected] or by phone at 706-542-0389.

Dr. Melinda Brindley is the graduate program coordinator for the department. She chairs the graduate committee that evaluates applications, makes recommendations about the program, and works on programmatic issues such as making application decisions, seeking assistantship funding for new students, and evaluating curriculum changes.

If you need a form signed or a question answered, see the graduate program assistant. If you are seeking a change to the program as a whole, or need assistance troubleshooting some unusual circumstance, see the graduate coordinator.

All students applying to our graduate program through the Integrated Life Sciences program at UGA will participate in three different laboratory rotations prior to choosing a major professor. Research rotations provide an opportunity for students to explore the breadth and depth of life science research available at UGA through ILS before formally committing to a thesis project and advisor.

Schedule

Rotations are scheduled for six weeks in each lab starting in September. After each rotation period, faculty will submit to the ILS graduate coordinator an evaluation form assessing the performance of the student during the rotation.  Students will be able to start in their new labs at the beginning of the spring semester.

Expectations

Students on rotations are expected to spend as much time as possible in the mentoring lab and get immersed into the research culture of the environment. The principal investigator of the lab has the last word about admission of a student into his or her laboratory. In order to make that decision, the professor will assess the student’s performance during the rotation and will have access to the student’s application file.

There is no departmental teaching requirement for students who enter our graduate program through the Integrated Life Sciences Program, and whose subsequent stipend support is provided by a grant to their major professor. In the event that a student is supported for a time on a departmental assistantship the student will be required to TA in one of the IDIS courses for each semester they are supported by the department.

Students who are not required, but wish to have teaching experience, may find teaching opportunities in the Department of Infectious Diseases or in departments with large undergraduate teaching components, such as Microbiology or Cellular Biology.