IMPORTANT NOTE: The deadline for the submission of the application, payment of application fee, and receipt of supporting materials for the Ph.D. in Biomedical Science program is December 1 for consideration for admission in the following Fall.

You will need to complete an application form and submit your application fee.

• Application to the program is made online. The non-refundable application fee ($75 USD) must be paid with a credit card (Visa, MasterCard, or Discover) by the December 1 deadline. We will not consider applications for admission that have not paid the application fee by December 1.
  In some circumstances, UConn Graduate School Admissions may provide an application fee waiver for students participating in specific academic partnerships; please refer to the UConn Graduate School Fee Waiver Policy.  Your application is not considered complete until your application fee payment is fulfilled.

The online application form is used for several programs and campuses for the UConn system, so it is important to indicate the correct enrollment information in order to ensure that your application is routed to our program. This information is filled out on the online application on the “Intended Program” section of the application.

In the section labeled “Intended Program” please use the following information:

• For “Area,” select “Health” from the drop-down menu.
• For “Field of study” select Biomedical Science Ph.D. from the drop-down menu.
• For “Concentration,” you may choose one of the seven areas of concentration from the drop-down menu. If you are unsure which area of concentration you may be interested in, or have an interest in several areas, you may leave this blank (your choice of an area of concentration at this point is not binding, and is for internal use only).
• For “Campus,” select Health Center or Farmington from the pull-down menu (this should be the only choice available).
• For “Term,” select Fall and the upcoming year (this should be the only choice available).

You will need to submit the following materials:

• Transcripts
  Upload your unofficial transcript(s).  Include all colleges/universities that you have attended both undergraduate and graduate, regardless of whether or not a degree was received.  Failure to upload transcripts from all educational institutions, regardless of whether or not a degree was received, may be grounds for cancellation of admission. Your transcript is uploaded in the “Academic History” section of the application. Current/previous UConn students: If you have attended UConn, or are currently enrolled at UConn in a non-degree, undergraduate or graduate UConn program you must include this information and upload unofficial transcripts for the courses you have already completed in your application. The most common reason for delayed consideration of graduate school applications is missing or illegible transcripts. Please make sure the the transcript documents that you upload are readable; applications CANNOT be reviewed if they do not include legible transcripts. Be sure to include all transcripts. Your transcript(s) must meet the following criteria (International students** see below for additional specific requirements):
• you must hold a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent from a regionally accredited college or university*
• Applications will not be considered unless the candidate meets the following GPA requirements (except in exceptional circumstances).
  • A cumulative GPA for any prior baccalaureate degree of 3.0 or higher for the entire degree, OR
    • If the highest 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 most recent two 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
  • Following the completion of the most recent undergraduate or graduate degree, if a student has taken at least one semester of full-time study (9 credits or more) a GPA of 3.0 or higher for all of their post-degree coursework.

*If your degree is a 3 year bachelor’s degree from India, Canada, Australia, Sri Lanka 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), we will not consider the degree to be equivalent with a 4 year US bachelor’s degree.

**International Student Transcripts-Additional Requirements:

• Upload transcripts AND degrees from international institutions in both English AND the primary language of the university. Your application will not be reviewed without these copies.
• Upload individual/yearly mark sheets or transcripts (courses and grades, not hours) for students who completed their education in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, or Sri Lanka.
• If you completed a degree and it is not indicated on your transcript, then we require a copy of your degree to be uploaded to your application. The most common reason for delayed consideration of applications is failure to upload all required transcripts (and degrees from international institutions).
• While not required, you may upload copies of transcript evaluation/verification from the following agencies for your unofficial transcripts: NACES (National Association of Credential Evaluation Services), AICE (Association of International Credential Evaluators), WES (World Education Services), IEE (International Education Evaluations), ECE (Educational Credential Evaluators), CSSD  (Center for Student Services and Development, Ministry of Education, P.R. China), CDGDC (China Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Center), and TrueCopy.

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.

The Graduate School does not require third-party credential evaluations for international transcripts, however we welcome evaluations as official documents from members of the following services: NACES  or AICE .

Additionally, international transcripts can be sent electronically using the following approved verification services: International transcripts electronically from WES , IEE , and ECE ; transcripts and degrees from China that are verified by either CSSD  or CDGDC; and transcripts and degrees from India that are verified by TrueCopy.

While CSSD , CDGDC, TrueCopy, and electronic evaluations from WES, IEE, and ECE are options for sending official transcripts and degrees, original (paper) transcripts and degrees are also accepted.

• • Letters of Recommendation
    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. A list of your recommenders should be provided 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 him/her with a link and instructions on how to submit his/her 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.

• • Personal Statement- UPDATED requirements for Fall 2025 admissions
    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.

• • Resume/CV
    Please provide a resume/CV that includes your research experience details; any academic honors, scholarships, or fellowships you have received; and any publications or presentations (academic poster session at a conference, etc).

• • English Proficiency (International Applicants ONLY)
    If English is not your primary language (defined as a language used to communicate since childhood), you may be required to submit evidence of your proficiency in the English language. TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, and Duolingo scores are only valid for two years (from original test date to submission of UConn application).English proficiency exams taken ON OR AFTER Dec. 1, 2024 for the Fall 2025 deadline will not be considered for admission.Applications will not be considered unless the candidate meets the following English language proficiency exam requirements:
  1. TOEFL iBT: Minimum 100 overall score (Internet-based test iBT, or iBT Home Edition, or iBT Paper Edition) (We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Scores, or TOEFL Institutional Testing Program (TOEFL ITP) results, unless the TOEFL ITP scores are from UConn).
  2. IELTS: Minimum 7.0 overall score (IELTS General Training and IELTS Indicator are not accepted).
  3. PTE: Minimum 68 overall score (PTE Academic or PTE Academic Online)
  4. 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.

We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Scores, or TOEFL Institutional Testing Program (TOEFL ITP) results, unless the TOEFL ITP scores are from UConn. 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.

To send your official scores for admission consideration, all scores must be submitted electronically directly from the testing organization:

TOEFL scores should be sent using TOEFL University code 3915. PTE and Duolingo test scores should be sent directly by the testing company electronically.

When sending official IELTS scores, please use the following information if prompted to provide it:

Organization: University of Connecticut – The Graduate School
Name of Department Head: Leslie Shor
Email ID: gradadmissions@uconn.edu
Contact Number: 860-486-3617 (this number is for use in sending IELTS scores only; do NOT use this contact number for general inquiries about the Biomedical Science Ph.D. program)
Your IELTS testing center may require your UConn Graduate Application ID to request your official IELTS scores to be sent to our university. If this is the case, you can find this information on your Application Status Portal.

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 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 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 other applicants are required to provide evidence of English language proficiency.
English proficiency exams taken ON OR AFTER Dec. 1, 2024 for the Fall 2025 deadline will not be considered for admission.

NOTE: The GRE General Exam is no longer required NOR considered for admission to the Biomedical Science Ph.D. program.

Application, application fee, and all supporting materials are due by DECEMBER 1. Inquiries should be directed to: BiomedSciAdmissions@uchc.edu

We value diversity and actively encourage applications from women and underrepresented minorities.

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