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*
• a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 for your entire undergraduate career, OR
  a grade-point average of at least 3.0 for your last two undergraduate years, OR
  exceptional work in your entire final undergraduate year (3.5 or better)
• for any graduate courses completed, even if your undergraduate grade-point average meets the above criteria, your transcripts must show a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 or better for all graduate 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 electroically 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
    The goal of the personal statement is to convey to the admissions committee aspects of your experience or qualification that cannot be expressed quantitatively. ​In 500-1000 words (no more than 2 pages maximum), please explain as succinctly as possible the following points:
    –your reasons for undertaking graduate work,
    –your overall career goals,
    –how your research experiences have impacted your academic and career goals

• • 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). You may use the results from one of the following standardized tests to satisfy this requirement for The Graduate School:
  1. Receiving minimum overall scores of 79  (Internet-based test iBT, or iBT Home Edition, or iBT Paper Edition) or higher on the TOEFL test.
  2. Receiving a minimum overall score of 6.5 or higher on the IELTS Academic test (IELTS General Training and IELTS Indicator are not accepted.).
  3. Receiving a minimum overall score of 53 or higher on the PTE Academic, or PTE Academic Online test.
  4. Receiving a minimum overall score of 100 or higher on the Duolingo test.
  5. Qualifying for a Score Waiver. Note that even if English proficiency is waived for purposes of admission, Teaching Assistants (TAs) must still provide proof of English proficiency in accordance with UConn’s English Proficiency Policy for TAs and Testing Procedures).
  6. The UCAELI (University of Connecticut American English Language Institute) Proficiency Certificate as evidence of meeting academic proficiency in English.

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

The above scores are the minimum requirement for The Graduate School. However to be considered for financial support, the Biomedical Science Ph.D. program requires a score of at least on one of the following:

100 on the iBT,
120 on the Duolingo,
7.0 on the IELTS Academic test, or
68 on the PTE.

To send your scores for admission consideration:

TOEFL scores will only be accepted when sent electronically through ETS. Please use TOEFL University code 3915.

PTE and Duolingo test scores are required to be sent to our University electronically directly by the testing company used in order for scores to be accepted as official.

Your IELTS testing center may require your UConn Graduate Application ID to request your official IELTS to be sent to our university.  If this is the case, you can find this information on your Application Status Portal. IELTS test scores are required to be sent to our University electronically directly by the testing company used in order for scores to be accepted as official. When sending official IELTS scores please use the following information if you are prompted to provide it:
Name of Department Head: Kent Holsinger;
Email ID: gradadmissions@uconn.edu;
Contact #: (860) 486-3617 (this number is for use in sending IELTS scores only; do NOT use this contact number for general inquiries abut the Biomedical Science PhD program)

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 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.

 

**IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR ALL STUDENTS**
The GRE General Exam is no longer required NOR considered for admission to the Biomedical Science PhD 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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