Admissions

Application to all graduate programs in the School of Medicine (with the exception of the M.D.-Ph.D. Program) is made through the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Consortium of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Faculty members in the BMG Department are aligned with several of the disciplines in the interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program. Approximately 35 predoctoral students are accepted into the School of Medicine’s graduate programs each year. More than 200 students are currently enrolled in the PhD. and M.D./Ph.D. programs, yielding a faculty-student ratio of slightly more than one-to-one.

The application deadline for fall admission is December 1. Applications are forwarded from the Graduate School to the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, where they are screened by an admissions committee. The top-ranked applicants are generally invited to interview on The Grounds in Charlottesville. The program pays the cost of travel, lodging, and meals. The interview visit gives prospective students the opportunity to meet and talk with faculty members, current students, and postdoctoral fellows, as well as familiarizing them with the University, the city of Charlottesville and environs. If a student is admitted into the Biomedical Sciences program for the fall semester, pre-enrollment summer research rotations are available, and are supported with a stipend. Students generally select a mentor and specify a Ph.D. program by the end of their first year in the Biomedical Sciences Program.

The general requirements for admission to pre-doctoral programs in the School of Medicine include:

1. The B.S. or B.A. degree in a discipline in the natural or physical sciences;
2. Positive factors for admission include courses in calculus, physical and organic chemistry, physics, introductory biochemistry, and biology;
3. Some training in quantitative sciences;
4. Foreign students must provide scores from the TOEFL exam (Test of English as a Foreign Language) taken within the previous two years. A score of 90 is required by the Graduate School.
5. A $85, non-refundable application fee; Apply for an application fee waiver here: https://graddiversity.virginia.edu/application-fee-waiver
6. Letters of recommendation with particular emphasis on undergraduate or postgraduate research experience.

FINANCIAL AID. Financial support in the form of full tuition and fees, health insurance, and a twelve-month stipend to cover living expenses is generally provided for all students accepted into the program. The sources of this support are individual competitive fellowships, University fellowships, training grants, teaching assistant ships, and research assistantships.