Undergraduate Degree

You must hold a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent from a regionally accredited college or university.

We do not consider 3-year bachelor’s degrees from India, Canada, Australia, Sri Lanka, Scotland and certain other countries to be equivalent to a 4-year US bachelor’s degree.  While we do accept outside credential evaluations from NACES and AICE members, if the degree is a 3-year bachelor’s degree from India, Canada, Australia, Sri Lanka, Scotland or other certain other countries, we will not consider the degree to be equivalent with a 4-year US bachelor’s degree.

Effective September 8, 2025, for applicants submitting applications to Fall 2026 term and beyond, The Graduate School will require third-party credential evaluations for transcripts and degrees awarded by schools outside the U.S.  The Graduate School welcomes course-by-course and degree evaluations from members of the following associations. You may choose any evaluator you wish to use from the following list. Commonly used credential evaluation services are below:

• TEC (formerly SpanTran) is a NACES member organization that has created a custom portal for The Graduate School at UConn that will ensure you select the right kind of evaluation at a discounted rate. You can access their portal here: TEC Application – UConn Graduate School
• IEE is a NACES member organization that has created a custom portal for The Graduate School at UConn that will ensure you select the right kind of evaluation at a discounted rate. You can access their portal here: IEE Application- UConn Graduate School
• NACES (National Association of Credential Evaluation Services) or
• AICE (Association of International Credential Evaluators)

International Students: see also "Additional Application Requirements" section.

For ALL STUDENTS, if you are accepted into the program, all official transcripts, mark sheets, or degree certificates/diplomas (international) will be required to finalize your admission to the program. Official transcripts are issued by the college/university attended and bear the impressed or colored seal of that institution or (if available from your college/university) are sent electronically directly from the institution to The Graduate School Admission Office at Storrs. Additional information on submitting official transcripts will be provided to accepted students.

GPA Requirements for The Graduate School

Except in exceptional circumstances, to be considered for admission to a graduate degree or certificate program, a student’s prior coursework must meet one of the following criteria:

• A cumulative GPA for any prior degree at the baccalaureate level or higher of 3.0 or higher for the entire degree, or
• If the most recent degree is an undergraduate degree or the student has not yet completed their undergraduate degree:
  • A GPA of 3.0 or higher for the entire two most recent years of full-time undergraduate coursework, or
  • A GPA of 3.5 or higher for the entire most recent year of full-time undergraduate coursework, or
• If a student has taken at least one semester of full-time study (9 credits or more) following the completion of the most recent undergraduate or graduate degree, a GPA of 3.0 or higher for all of their post-degree coursework.

Transcripts

• Upload unofficial transcripts from the educational institution where you received your bachelor’s degree and any courses taken beyond regardless of whether a degree was received (for additional information regarding attendance at institutions outside the U.S., see "Additional Application Requirements")
• Effective September 8, 2025, for applicants submitting applications to Fall 2026 term and beyond, The Graduate School will require third-party credential evaluations for transcripts and degrees awarded by schools outside the U.S.
• There is no need to upload transcripts and degree diplomas/certificates if a third-party credential evaluation has already been included in your application. (Please note: Official transcripts and degrees are not required to be sent to The Graduate School until an offer of admission has been made.)
• Be sure to include all transcripts. Failure to upload transcripts from all educational institutions, regardless of whether a degree was received, may be grounds for cancellation of admission.
• The most common reason for delayed consideration of graduate school applications is missing or illegible transcripts. Please make sure the transcript documents that you upload are readable; applications CANNOT be reviewed if they do not include legible transcripts.

• Three letters of recommendation are required.
• Recommenders should indicate the capacity in which they know you (instructor in a course, supervisor in a lab, etc.) and assess your skills and potential success as a doctoral student.
• You will provided a list of recommenders (including contact email) through the "Recommendations" link in the online application.
• Once you have saved the recommender information in the system, it will automatically send an email to them with a link and instructions on how to submit their online recommendation. Recommenders may upload their letter from a separate file or cut and paste directly into the online system.

Please be sure to complete and save the recommender information portion of your application as soon as possible, as recommenders can begin submitting letters prior to the completion of your application. Applications are often incomplete because they are missing one or more letters of recommendation due to recommenders not being provided access in a timely manner.

You do not need to wait until all letters have been received to submit your application; letters will automatically be added to your application as they are received.

The personal statement is a key component of your application and will be used to evaluate the following: 1) your personal motivation, 2) scientific interests, 3) research background, and (4) alignment with the program. The personal statement is composed of two parts, Part A and Part B (see details below).

The total length of the personal statement (which includes both Part A and Part B) is limited to no more than two pages [11-point font, single spaced, 1-inch margins, no attachments]. Upload the personal statement as a single document.

Part A: Please address your motivation for pursuing graduate study in a research-intensive doctoral program. Tell us about your career aspirations, including how the PhD will help you to achieve your goals. Please feel free to comment on any life and lived experiences that have impacted your academic performance and/or access to research opportunities.

Part B: Please provide a detailed summary of a significant research experience. Include information about your research mentor and institution, the hypothesis or experimental question addressed, the importance of your work, the primary findings, your specific role in the project, and what you learned about how to approach scientific questions. Tell us about what you gained from the experience and how this has prepared you for doctoral study. Please do not include a detailed description of methods used. If you were an author on a published manuscript, please clearly explain your specific contributions to the manuscript.

Please provide a resume/CV that includes:

• your research experience details
• any academic honors, scholarships, or fellowships you have received
• any publications or presentations (academic poster session at a conference, etc)

In addition to the information found under "Education Requirements," international applicants have the following additional application requirements.

Undergraduate Degree

>>You must hold a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent from a regionally accredited college or university.

>>The Graduate School requires the completion of a U.S. 4-year bachelor’s degree or the equivalent. Please note: 3-year degrees from schools outside of the U.S. are not generally recognized to be equivalent.

 >>In order to qualify for admission to The Graduate School, an international applicant must hold either a 4-year bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution in the US or provide evidence of equivalent qualifications. Equivalent qualifications include:

• A 4-year bachelor’s degree from an institution outside of the U.S. 
• A 3-year bachelor’s degree from an institution outside of the U.S. that requires the equivalent of 13 years of primary and secondary education (not including kindergarten) 
• A 3-year bachelor’s degree from an institution outside of the U.S. plus one of the following: 
  • A master’s degree (or higher)  
  • A post-graduate diploma 
  • A combination of 1 year of education outside of the U.S. either before or after a 3-year bachelor’s degree  

If your degree is a 3-year bachelor’s degree from India, Canada, Australia, Sri Lanka, Scotland or certain other countries, we will not consider the degree to be equivalent with a 4-year US bachelor’s degree. This is our policy, even if the degree has been evaluated as a 4-year degree by an outside credential evaluator that is a member of NACES (National Association of Credential Evaluation Services) or AICE (Association of International Credential Evaluators).

Coursework must be completed at an appropriately accredited university.  

Please note that we cannot give absolute assurance that your academic documentation will qualify you for graduate study until we have reviewed your documents once your application is submitted. You must include documentation from all post-secondary coursework at a college or university, even if a degree or certificate was not awarded. 

Transcripts

Effective September 8, 2025, for applicants submitting applications to the Fall 2026 term and beyond, The Graduate School will require third-party credential evaluations for transcripts and degrees awarded by schools outside the U.S. The Biomedical Science PhD program requires, without exception, third-party credential evaluations for applicants with international transcripts. The third-party credential evaluation must be uploaded in your Slate application by the December 1 deadline. Applications will not be considered if the third-party credential evaluation is not received by December 1.

Your credential evaluation must include:

• A course-by-course evaluation: Each of your post-secondary courses must be evaluated and assigned a grade in accordance with the U.S. post-secondary grading system (A-F).
• GPA calculation: Your post-secondary Grade Point Average (GPA) must be recalculated in accordance with the U.S. post-secondary grading system (4.0 scale).

Evaluations from members of the following associations are welcome. You may choose any evaluator you wish to use from the following list:

• TEC (formerly SpanTran) is a NACES member organization that has created a custom portal for The Graduate School at UConn that will ensure you select the right kind of evaluation at a discounted rate. You can access their portal here: TEC Application – UConn Graduate School
• IEE is a NACES member organization that has created a custom portal for The Graduate School at UConn that will ensure you select the right kind of evaluation at a discounted rate. You can access their portal here: IEE Application- UConn Graduate School
• NACES (National Association of Credential Evaluation Services) or
• AICE (Association of International Credential Evaluators)

>>Proof of degree completion must be included within the application. To meet this requirement for institutions outside the U.S., your third-party evaluation should include the degree awarded within the report.  If it does not, and you have completed the degree, you are required to upload a copy of your degree diploma/certificate to your application in addition to the third-party evaluation. Beyond the degree verification, unofficial transcripts and degree diplomas/certificates do not need to be uploaded in addition to the third-party evaluation for institutions outside the U.S.

If you are accepted into a degree program all official transcripts, mark sheets, or degree certificates/diplomas (international) will be required to finalize your admission to the program. Official transcripts are issued by the college/university attended and bear the impressed or colored seal of that institution or (if available from your college/university) are sent electronically directly from the institution to The Graduate School Admission Office at Storrs. Additional information on submitting official transcripts will be provided to accepted students.

In place of official transcripts and degree certificates/diplomas, The Graduate School will accept:

• International transcripts electronically from WES (World Education Services), IEE (International Education Evaluations), and ECE (Educational Credential Evaluators).*
• Transcripts and degrees from China that are verified by either CSSD (Center for Student Services and Development, Ministry of Education, P.R. China), or CDGDC (China Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Center).*
• Transcripts and degrees from India that are verified by TrueCopy.*
• Transcripts and degrees from Nigeria that are verified by ETX-NG (Electronic Transcript Exchange and Certificate Verification System for Nigeria).*

* While CSSD, CDGDC, TrueCopy, ETX-NG and electronic evaluations from WES, IEE, and ECE are options for sending official transcripts and degree diplomas/certificates, original transcripts and degree diplomas/certificates are also accepted for matriculation.

English Proficiency

Regardless of visa status, students whose primary language is not English, must show evidence of proficiency in the English Language by submitting either TOEFL, IELTS, PTE or Duolingo scores. A primary language is defined as a language used to communicate since childhood.

TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, and Duolingo scores are only valid for 2 years (from original test date to submission of UConn application). English proficiency exams taken ON OR AFTER Dec. 1, 2025 for the Fall 2026 deadline will not be considered by the Biomedical Science Ph.D. program for admission.

Applications will not be considered unless the candidate meets the following Biomedical Science Ph.D. program English language proficiency exam requirements:

• TOEFL iBT: Minimum 100 overall score (Internet-based test iBT, or iBT Home Edition, or iBT Paper Edition)
  We do not accept TOEFL Essentials, TOEFL MyBest Scores or TOEFL Institutional Testing Program (TOEFL ITP) results unless the TOEFL ITP scores are from UConn.
• Online IELTS: Minimum 7.0 overall score
  We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake, IELTS General Training, and IELTS Indicator.
• PTE Academic/Academic Online: Minimum 68 overall score
• Duolingo: Minimum 120 overall score

>>Please note that these minimum score criteria for our program are higher than the score criteria cited for general admission to the UConn Graduate School.<<

All test scores are only considered official by The Graduate School when sent electronically directly from the testing agency. Scores that an applicant self-reports or uploads to an application are considered to be unofficial. Official scores that meet our English proficiency requirement must be received directly from the testing agency.

Please see the following chart on how to submit your official scores:

Important: Please verify with your testing agency that your name and email address match what is listed in your application. If they do not, please email gradadmissions@uconn.edu.

Policy on Waiver of Language Proficiency Examinations

U.S. citizens and applicants with permanent resident status are not required to provide test scores (TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, Duolingo) showing English-language proficiency. In addition, the following categories of applicants are not required to provide test scores (TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, Duolingo) showing English-language proficiency:

1. International applicants whose primary language is English (a primary language is defined as a language used to communicate since childhood).
2. International applicants who have received a degree from a post-secondary institution outside of the United States whose language of instruction for the entire degree is English. Official documentation will be required from the institution’s Registrar’s office stating that the medium of instruction for the degree received was English.
3. International applicants who have completed one year or more of full-time coursework at a post-secondary institution in the United States (30 credits undergraduate level work or 18 credits graduate level work). The total amount of academic work completed must be officially graded by the registrar of that institution and have a cumulative GPA value of 3.0 or higher.

All applicants other than current UConn graduate, UConn Health, or UConn Law students are required to provide evidence of English-language proficiency.

Effective date: March 1, 2013; Revised date: June 22, 2023