Admission to the Bioscience Ph.D. Programs
All applications to the Stanford Graduate Studies in the Biosciences must be made through Graduate Admissions at http://gradadmissions.stanford.edu/ by Tuesday, December 2, 2008. You may also request the Guide to Graduate Admission and information about applying to graduate programs in the Biosciences at this web site.
All transcripts and supporting documents should be sent to:
Biosciences Ph.D. Admissions
Stanford University
300 Pasteur Drive, Alway M105
Stanford, CA 94305-5121
Phone: 650/723-2460
Fax: 650/725-3867
Email:
Completing Your Application
Click here to check the status of your application.
Selecting Home Program(s): When you are completing the “Application Information” section of the application, you will be asked to select a "Proposed Program”. Although Bioscience applicants can apply to up to 3 programs, at this point please select your first choice. If you are interested in more than one Home Program, you will have the opportunity to select up to 2 additional programs while completing the “Biosciences Ph.D.” Supplementary Form.
Please study the information provided about each Home Program in our graduate brochure very carefully. Apply to more than one Home Program if you feel you have a genuine interest in the fields covered by each of them. The Admissions Committee will use the information you provide to match you with the Home Program that seems most suited to your background and research interests. Please recognize that entering through a particular Home Program does not restrict your future access to the other Home Programs for laboratory rotations and your dissertation research. Providing the names of faculty whose work may be of interest to you will also provide guidance to the review committee as choices for interviews are made.
Statement of Purpose: Because each program requires significant original research activities in fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree, we are interested in obtaining as much information as possible about your previous research experiences. Those who already have such experience are in a better position to know whether they are truly interested in performing laboratory research as part of a graduate program. Please include specific information about your research experience in your Statement of Purpose. You may also use the Statement to amplify your comments about your choice of Home Program(s), and how your past experiences and current interests are related to your choice.
Recommendations: Three letters of recommendation are required. Please be sure that you ask for a recommendation from at least one individual who can address your potential for original and creative research. In most cases, that individual would be the person in charge of or guiding your most recent research activities. Each recommendation should be from someone who knows you well.
All recommendations should be submitted online. When completing your application, you will be asked to submit the names and email addresses of your recommenders. Your recommenders will receive an email message directing them to the online evaluation form and instructions on how to upload their letter of recommendation. If your recommender(s) will not be submitting the evaluation and letter online, you must download a recommender form from the online application. Your recommender must send the letter and form directly to the Bioscience Admissions Office.Transcripts: Two official transcripts from every college and/or university you have attended one full academic year should be submitted directly to the Bioscience Admissions Office. In the case in which you took one or more summer or intersession courses from another school, and those grades are recorded on your transcript from the school awarding your degree, a corresponding transcript is not necessarily required. Please contact the Home Program(s) to which you are applying if you need further information on which transcripts may be required.
Optional: You may scan and upload a copy of your official transcript(s) from each college and/or university you have attended for one full academic year when completing the “Biosciences Ph.D.” Supplementary Form section of the Application. Please remember to include the “key to transcripts”, “transcript interpretation” or “grading system” with your scanned document(s). The Admissions Committee will use these documents in their initial review process.
In addition, you are required to send two official transcript(s) to the Biosciences Admissions Office by the application deadline for any further action to be taken on your application.
GRE Requirements: All programs in the Biosciences require the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test. In addition, some programs may also require the GRE Subject Test. Please consult the table below or the Guide to Graduate Admission for specific program Subject Test requirements. If you should have any questions regarding the “encouraged” or “recommended” GRE Subject Test requirement(s), please contact the Home Program(s) to which you are applying to for further information. Please note that we only accept examination scores from tests taken within the last five years.
Biomedical Informatics (BMI) Ph.D. Applicants Only: MCAT scores accepted in lieu of GRE for U.S. physicians or medical students. Please contact the BMI program if your MCAT scores are older than five years. BMI applicants are also required to complete additional forms described at http://bmi.stanford.edu. M.S. applicants apply directly to the BMI program.
|
Home Program |
GRE Subject Test Requirement |
|---|---|
| GRE Subject Test encouraged but not required. | |
| GRE Subject Test not required. | |
| GRE Subject Test not required. | |
| GRE Subject Test encouraged, but not required, in one of the following areas: Biochemistry, Biology, Cell and Molecular Biology, Chemistry or Physics. | |
| GRE Subject Test encouraged but not required. | |
| GRE Subject Test encouraged but not required. | |
| GRE Subject Test encouraged but not required. | |
| GRE Subject Test encouraged but not required. | |
| GRE Subject Test not required. | |
| GRE Subject Test not required. | |
GRE Subject Test encouraged but not required. |
|
| GRE Subject Test encouraged but not required. | |
| GRE Subject Test encouraged, but not required, in one of the following areas: Biochemistry, Biology, Cell and Molecular Biology, Chemistry or Physics. |
If you are reading this in early November, you should have already taken the GRE Examinations so that your scores can reach us by mid-December. Since our initial reviews of all applications are virtually complete by the end of January, it is unlikely that scores from those who take the December tests will reach us in time for adequate review. For more information on registering for the Graduate Record Examination, you may call 1-609-771-7670 or review the online information at http://www.gre.org. The institution code for Stanford University is 4704, the department code is not necessary.
TOEFL Requirement: Foreign applicants whose first language is not English are required to submit scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) taken within the last eighteen months. Exceptions are only granted for applicants who have earned a degree from a college or university accredited by a regional accrediting association in the US, or the equivalent of either degree from a non-US college of recognized standing where all instruction is provided in English. Please consult the table below or the Guide to Graduate Admission for minimum TOEFL requirements. For more information on registering for the TOEFL Examination you can review the online information at http://toefl.org/. The institution code for Stanford University is 4704, the department code is not necessary.
Minimum TOEFL Requirement |
Computer- Based |
Paper- Based |
Internet- Based |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doctoral Programs: All Fields | 250 |
600 |
100 |
Please Note: Official GRE and TOEFL test scores can take up to 3 weeks for receipt from the Educational Testing Service. Once received, scores are connected to your application in Stanford's data base after approximately 7 business days from the date the on-line application is received. If after checking your application status you find that the test information is not received, contact the Biosciences Admissions Office directly using the information provided above.
Other Supporting Materials: For most applicants, the credentials described above should be sufficient to allow an admissions committee to reach a decision regarding an interview or further action on the application. Please do not send additional materials or information to us if they have not been requested. For example, reprints of recent publications, copies of master's degree dissertations, etc. are not used by the admissions committee.
Application Review and Interview Process
Your application will be evaluated in late December/early January. The committee will create a list of top-ranked applicants to be invited, at our expense, for a four-day interview session on the Stanford campus. The selected applicants will be invited to arrive on Wednesday, March 4, 2009 and depart on Sunday, March 8, 2009. Highly qualified applicants residing in other countries and for whom an interview trip would not be possible may be selected for a telephone interview.
What happens if you apply to more than one Home Program? In that case, the admissions representatives confer and attempt to determine which Home Program should serve as your host for the interview weekend. The final decision will be related to the information you have provided about your choice of Home Programs and the list of faculty you provide. In some cases, a committee member or the Associate Dean may contact you directly to discuss with you which Home Program would be the best to host your visit. You will often have an opportunity to visit with faculty affiliated with other Home Programs during the interview weekend.
In general, if one has not heard about a possible interview by early February, it is unlikely that you will be invited to Stanford for interview weekend or admitted. Applicants who are not selected for an interview will receive a letter which states that no further action will be taken on their application by the Committee on Graduate Admissions and Policy.
Please note the Biosciences Admissions Office will be closed Monday, December 22, 2008 through Friday, January 2, 2009.
Thank you for your interest in the Biosciences at Stanford University.