IMPORTANT NOTE: The deadline for the receipt of all application materials for the Ph.D. in Biomedical Science program is December 1.

There are two steps in applying:

1. You will need to complete an application form

• Application to the program is made online. The application fee ($75 USD) must be paid with a credit card (Visa, MasterCard or Discover). The on-line 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, but 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).

 

2. You will need to submit the following materials:

• Transcripts (two steps)
  1. Upload into your application an unofficial transcript from the school where you received your bachelor’s degree and any courses taken beyond that degree, regardless of whether or not a degree was received.
     Your transcript is uploaded in the “Academic History” section of the application. (International students see below for more specific requirements).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 from all colleges/universities that you have attended both undergraduate and graduate, regardless of whether or not a degree was received, with your admissions materials; failure to provide transcripts from all educational institutions, may be grounds for cancellation of admission.
  2. AFTER you complete your application, request official transcripts from each college or university that you have attended. Official transcripts are issued by the college/university attended and bear the impressed or colored seal of that institution. Do not open the sealed transcripts you send to us. Unofficial, scanned, faxed, or notarized copies will not be accepted as official transcripts. If your University sends official transcripts electronically, they should be sent directly to the following email address only: GradAdmissions@uconn.edu (do NOT send them to the BiomedSci email address). Transcripts become the property of the University.

Official transcripts/degree certificates only should be sent directly to the main campus at Storrs:

The Whetten Graduate Center
Second Floor
University of Connecticut
438 Whitney Road Extension, Unit 1152
Storrs, CT 06269-1152

If you are selected for admission, all official transcripts, mark sheets, or degree certificates/diplomas (international) are required to finalize your admission to the program.

Your transcript(s) must meet the following criteria:

• 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)
• graduate work with a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 or better even if the undergraduate grade-point average meets the above criteria.
• Please note:  Official transcripts become University property and are destroyed after one (1) calendar year.  This excludes international transcripts, which have the following cover sheet.pdf sent with them. (This cover sheet can ONLY be used for international transcripts.)

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

International Students-Additional Information:

International students should upload both transcripts and course grades, if they are separate documents from your college/university. You must also include official degree certificates/diplomas for all degrees you have already received at international colleges/universities.

If you attended an international college/university, we require transcripts in both English and the native language of the university. Individual/yearly mark sheets or transcripts (course grades, not hours) are required for students who completed their education in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, or Sri Lanka and official documents should be sent as well as uploaded into the online application system.

We will accept outside credential evaluations from NACES members (such as WES, ECE, etc.), but they are not required to apply.

If you attended an international college/university and have one set of original documents or diploma, you can mail them to The Graduate School and we will make a copy and return the original document(s) to you. Please attach an International Transcripts Cover Sheet with your submission. If you submitted these documents when applying for admission to a university in the US which you currently attend, we will accept copies from the registrar or graduate school if they certify that these documents from your prior university were made from the originals.

If you have questions about what documents can be accepted for official transcripts, please contact the main campus at Storrs directly, where transcript evaluations are performed for all programs. Their email address is GradAdmissions@uconn.edu.

All other admissions inquiries should be directed to our campus at BiomedSciAdmissions@uchc.edu.

• • 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, please explain as succinctly as possible the following points:
    1. your reasons for undertaking graduate work,
    2. your overall career goals,
    3. any research experiences you have had,
    4. any academic honors, scholarships, or fellowships you have received

 

• Resume/CV
  Please provide a resume/CV that includes your research experience.

**IMPORTANT UPDATE**
The GRE General Exam requirement has been suspended for students applying to the Biomedical Science PhD program for Fall 2021 admissions.

• Official GRE Scores (requested from ETS to be sent directly to UConn Health)
  The Ph.D. program requires official scores from the General GRE exam (verbal, quantitative and analytical); unofficial GRE scores are not accepted. You should request that ETS send your official score report directly to UConn Health using code 3931; a department code is not necessary.The GRE should be taken well in advance of the admission deadline to assure consideration for the requested admit term. Keep in mind that it generally takes at least 2 weeks from the time you take your exam for your scores to be reported, thus you should plan on taking the exam prior to mid-November of the year you apply. Scores on exams taken on or after the December 1 admission deadline will not be considered. GRE scores are valid for 5 years from the date of the exam. Only valid scores will be considered for the program. While we do not have a strict cut off for the GRE General exam, a score of least a 4.0 on the Analytical portion and scores in the 50th percentile or higher are considered competitive. We do not require nor do we review the Subject Tests.
• English Proficiency (International Applicants ONLY)
  If you are not a native speaker of English, you may be required to submit evidence of your proficiency in the English language. TOEFL and IELTS 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.  The Graduate School MINIMUM requires:1.)    Receiving minimum scores of 79 (Internet-based test – iBT), 550 ( Old Paper-based test – PBT) or 22/30 on each of the Listening, Reading, and Writing sections (“New” Paper-based test- PBT) or higher on the TOEFL test.2.)    Receiving a minimum score of 6.5 or higher on the IELTS test.
  • However to be considered for financial support, the Biomedical Science Ph.D. program requires a score of at least 100 on the iBT or 600 on the old PBT or 7.0  on the IELTS.

  3.)    Receiving a minimum score of 53 or higher on the PTE test, or

  4.)    Qualifying for a Score Waiver.pdf (please click on link to review policy).

  Please note we do not accept TOEFL Institutional Testing Program (TOEFL ITP) results, unless they are from UConn.

  The TOEFL should be taken well in advance of the admission deadlines to assure consideration for the requested admit term. Scores on exams taken after the December 1st admission deadline will not be considered. TOEFL scores should be sent from ETS using institution code 3915 (this is the code for the main campus at Storrs where our TOEFL scores are processed). Official score reports are required from ETS.

Application and all materials are due in our office by DECEMBER 1.

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

Inquiries should be directed to:

The Graduate School Office
Ph.D. in Biomedical Science Program
UConn Health
263 Farmington Avenue, MC 3906
Farmington, CT 06030-3906

Phone: 860-679-4509
Email: BiomedSciAdmissions@uchc.edu

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