Graduate Certificate

Graduate Certificate Application Procedure

Please complete all four steps to complete your application to the University of Florida’s online graduate certificate in Wildlife Forensic Sciences and Conservation

Contact us with any questions!



Step One: Mandatory Department Application

Applications and all application materials must be received by the final application deadline for the semester you are applying to.

Please contact masters@dce.ufl.edu with any questions regarding the application or related procedures.

Please fill out the form below if you are interested in applying to the University of Florida Online Graduate Certificate in Wildlife Forensic Sciences & Conservation.

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Step Two:  Graduate Certificate Application

Complete the UF Graduate Certificate Application

When completing and submitting the application, please note the following important information for each section of the application:

Getting Started

  • Keep the username and password that you create in order to log in and edit your application before submission.

Submitting the Online Application

Personal Information

  • Provide all of the requested Personal Information.
  • International Applicants:
    • You must enter your Surname and Given name in the Passport Name section even if you do not have a passport.
    • If you are a permanent resident alien and/or reside in the United States, you must provide your resident alien number and upload a copy of your permanent resident alien card directly to the application.

Conduct Disclosure

  • Accurately answer and report all information in the Conduct Disclosure section.

Application Information & Certificate Program

Under Application Information, you will be asked to select the Application Type and Certificate Program. Follow the instructions below to make the correct selections for the certificate you are applying for:

  • In the Certificate Level dropdown select Graduate.
  • In the Certificate Program section, click or search Agricultural and Life Sciences. From the expanded selection, choose:
    • Wildlife Forensic Sciences and Conservation
  • Choose the term you are applying for from the dropdown. Applicants applying for Summer admission must select Summer A/C.

Review your selection in the Certificate Program Display and verify that it is correct before moving to the next application step. If you need to amend your selection, choose Re-Select Certificate and Term.

Academic Background

  • Report your Undergraduate Major.
  • Enter all of the colleges or universities from which you have received a degree (Associates, Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctorate or Professional). Accurately report the degree, and degree date, you earned.
  • Accurately report the degree, and degree date, you earned.
    • Upload your unofficial transcripts for each school, if you have them.
    • Note that your application will not be reviewed for an admission decision until your official transcripts are received (instructions for sending official transcripts are on Step Three).

Activities

  • Report past and/or planned activities in this section, including pertinent work experience.
  • Pursuant to Florida Statute, your application requires inclusion of all post-secondary education and employment, as well as information about ongoing international affiliations and research funding. Please ensure this information is included on your curriculum vitae(CV) or résumé

Residency Information

  • Enter your residency information. The residency of our students has no bearing on tuition cost for our program, but this information is required by the University of Florida.
  • If you are a non-Florida resident, check the appropriate box.
  • If you are a Florida resident, fully complete the Residency Information section, including the numbers and original issue dates for two of the following three identifying documents. Documents may be directly uploaded to the application:
    • Driver’s License
    • Vehicle Registration
    • Voter Registration

Application Fee

  • The $37 application fee must be paid with the submission of the online application in order for the application to be submitted.

Additional Information

  • Add @ufl.edu to your ‘safe list’ on your email account. If you receive any emails from UF regarding your application, you must respond.

Go to Graduate Certificate Application

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Step Three: Official Transcripts

All students must have original, sealed transcripts sent to the University of Florida to verify all coursework taken after high school.

Domestic Applicants Only

If either your Bachelor’s or graduate degree(s) were earned in the United States, please see the transcript requirement below.

  • Transcripts can be sent via post or electronically. Request official, original transcripts from every school that you reported on the UF Graduate Application in Step 2.Send transcripts via post to the following address:

University of Florida
Office of Admissions
201 Criser Hall – PO Box 114000
Gainesville, FL 32611-4000

Send electronic transcripts directly FROM the institution TO the UF Office of Admissions at te@admissions.ufl.edu.The institution must use one of the following verified companies to submit transcripts or the transcripts cannot be considered valid and official:

Parchment, Faster, National Student Clearinghouse, Transcripts Plus, Credential Solutions, or E-script/Scrip-Safe

If one of these companies cannot be used transcripts must be sent via post.

  • Former UF students who haven’t attended any school after UF do not need to request transcripts.
  • If you are not finished with your Bachelor’s degree yet, please send a transcript with the finalized degree showing it was earned. Receipt of this transcript must be received and processed before a decision can be made on the application.

International Applicant Transcript Requirement

Transcript/Mark Sheet and Diploma/Degree Certificate

Graduate applicants must submit an official, original document in the native language of each transcript/mark sheet and diploma/degree certificate from each university or college attended. If the native language for the documents is not English, certified, exact literal English translations are required. The English translation may come from your university or may be completed by a certified translator. Original documents are strongly preferred, however, if you cannot send originals we can accept the WES ICAP evaluation. We cannot accept the WES evaluation report or any other evaluations from other credential services.

For applicants that do not need any of their documents returned, use the following instructions.

All academic credentials sent using these instructions become property of the university. They will not be returned to you or forwarded to a third party. Credentials of applicants who do not enroll will be destroyed.

Request official, original transcripts from every school that you reported on the UF Graduate Application in Step 2 and have them sent to the following address.

University of Florida
Maples Center for Forensic Medicine

Attn: Dr. Jason Byrd
4800 SW 35th Drive
Gainesville FL – 32608

For applicants who need any of their documents returned, use the following instructions.

We must have your original diploma verifying that the degrees reported were earned. Your transcript/mark sheet and diploma/degree certificate with English translations (if the native language is not English) should be assembled by you and sent to the address below in one package. If you would like your transcript/mark sheet and diploma/degree certificate returned to you, you must provide a return shipping label and return packaging in the package that you send. You must also include this checklist, filled out, in the package that you send containing your documents.

We keep your documents locked and safe until after your application materials are processed and an application decision can be made. Once the documents are reviewed, we will send them back to you via the label and packaging that you provide.  While the University of Florida handles all documents with care, we are not responsible for documents that are lost or damaged in the mail.

Packages that include documents to be returned must be sent to:

University of Florida
Maples Center for Forensic Medicine

Attn: Dr. Jason Byrd
4800 SW 35th Drive
Gainesville FL – 32608

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Step Four: TOEFL

The English Language Skill Requirement

If your native language is not English, or if you graduated with a bachelor’s degree from a non-English speaking country, you will need to take and submit your TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or other Graduate Council approved English language skills test scores.

Non-English speaking countries are those which are not included in the Graduate School’s list of English speaking countries.

Having the TOEFL or English Language Test sent to the University of Florida

All applicants must have ETS (Educational Testing Service) send their official TOEFL test scores directly to the UF Office of Admissions at code 5812. No department code should be selected.

Only official, sealed scores, direct from ETS, are acceptable. Self-reported scores, unsealed copies of score reports or photocopies of score reports cannot be accepted as official final documents.

Minimum TOEFL Scores Required

To be considered for the master’s degree, the applicant must score the following on the TOEFL:

TOEFL Exam Type Required Score
Paper-based 550
Computer-based 213
Internet 80

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