Graduate School Information

The Florida State University is recognized by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as engaged in very high research activity, the highest status accorded to a doctoral-granting university. Graduate and professional studies are pursued by approximately 8,500 graduate, law, and medical students. We offer a wide range of doctoral, master's, specialist, joint, combined bachelor's/master's and professional degree programs.

Graduate study is a time of exploration and immersion in a particular specialty. It is a time for the free exchange of ideas, acquisition of new skills, and creation of new knowledge. It is a time when faculty change from being your teachers to being mentors and colleagues. Graduate study at the Florida State University is the right choice for a student who aspires to make a difference and have a long and distinguished career.

Dr. Nancy Marcus
Dean of Graduate Studies
2001-2002 Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor
http://gradstudies.fsu.edu

Florida State University is an internationally-recognized teaching and research institution committed to preparing our graduates for a global society. We are proud of our top national rankings in various areas.

• The Florida State University hosts the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL), the largest and highest-powered magnet laboratory in the world. The NHMFL attracts scientists from all over the world and provides graduate research opportunities for students in a variety of disciplines.
• Florida State faculty members attract almost $200 million a year in research dollars. The Florida State University consistently ranks in the top 10 universities nationally in physical sciences grants awarded by the National Science Foundation.
• The Florida State University’s Chemistry department synthesized the cancer treatment drug Taxol. Its new state-of-the-art building and research facilities will support its robust Ph.D. and postdoctoral training programs.
• The Department of Oceanography is ranked among the nation’s top 10 by the National Research Council.
• Florida State’s graduate program in Nuclear Physics was ranked 8th among public universities by U.S. News & World Report.
• The Meteorology Department is one of the top climate research facilities in the country.
• The College of Motion Picture, Television and Recording Arts is one of the top film schools in the country (ranked third), recognized in 2004 by the Directors Guild of America for its distinguished contributions to American culture.
• The College of Information’s Graduate Program ranks in the top 10 nationally according to U.S. News & World Report.
• The Florida State University established the first new allopathic medical school of the 21st century.
• The College of Criminology and Criminal Justice’s Ph.D. program is ranked 11th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
• The College of Human Sciences consistently ranks among the top 15 programs nationally.
• The College of Music was named 12th best in the nation and the Opera Program 3rd among public universities by U.S. News & World Report.
• The Graduate Program in the Sociology Department is one of the best nationwide according to U.S. News & World Report.
• The international graduate population at The Florida State University has more than doubled in the past decade from 483 in 1998 to 982 in fall 2007. International graduate students make up 11.5% of all graduate students at The Florida State University.
• The top 10 countries/areas of origin of our graduate students are: China, Republic of Korea, India, Taiwan, Turkey, Lebanon, Japan, Canada, Indonesia and Vietnam.
• The top fields of study among graduate students are Physics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Information Studies, Instructional Systems, Public Administration, Financial Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, and Sports Administration.

» Click Here for a list of Graduate Programs

Our faculty includes: members of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences; Pulitzer Prize winners; a Nobel Prize winner; Emmy and Oscar winners; Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellows; and recipients of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Among our distinguished faculty are:

Nobel Laureate:
Sir Harold Kroto, Chemistry (1996)

Pulitzer Prize:
Robert Olen Butler, Fiction
Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Music

National Academy of Sciences:
Donald L.D. Caspar (Emeritus), Biophysics
Lev P. Gorkov, Physics
Michael Kasha (Emeritus), Chemistry
Sir Harold Kroto, Chemistry
Melvin E. Stern (Emeritus), Geophysics
J. Robert Schrieffer, Physics

National Academy of Engineering:
David C. Larbalestier, Superconducting Materials
Simon Ostrach, Space Science/Mechanical Engineering

American Academy of Arts and Sciences:
Donald L.D. Caspar (Emeritus), Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Frances C. James (Emeritus), Evolutionary and Population Biology and Ecology
Michael Kasha (Emeritus), Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Simon Ostrach, Space Science/Mechanical Engineering
Melvin Stern (Emeritus), Astronomy and Earth Sciences
Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Visual and Performing Arts

The Florida State University wants to continue to attract the most outstanding international students to contribute to study and research efforts at the graduate level.  Since some highly qualified graduate applicants meet all of the academic requirements for admission but do not have the required IB TOEFL score of 80, The Florida State University and some departments may offer conditional acceptance to these applicants.  Students would enroll in intensive language study at The Florida State University Center for Intensive English Studies (see http://cies.fsu.edu for more information) and, once the IB TOEFL score of 80 or more is achieved, students would be formally accepted into The Florida State University and to the department.