MS-Admissions

Applications are now being evaluated for Fall of 2017 admission.

DEADLINE: March 31

Research Experience. We preferred, but do not require, prior research experience for admission to our M.S. program.

GPA. The minimum requirements for graduate admission at the University of Florida include a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, a minimum grade point average of 3.0 for all upper division (Junior/Senior) undergraduate work.  Please use the “Self-Reported GPA Computation and Worksheet for Graduate Applications” to calculate your junior-senior GPA.  Official transcripts must be received from all colleges or universities attended.  Applicants are expected to have taken general biology and chemistry including organic chemistry and biochemistry. If you do not take biochemistry before obtaining your Bachelor’s degree, you will need to take it over the summer before enrollment.  Advanced course work in the physical or life sciences sufficient to provide evidence of an interest and aptitude for graduate work in biomedical science is necessary.  Applicants are strongly encouraged to take courses in genetics, cell biology, and physiology.  Please be sure to identify your college major in your personal statement.

Although the university minimum GPA for admission is 3.0, the mean junior-senior GPA of entering classes of our program is about 3.5.  Applicants with weak undergraduate academic performance should consider pursuing a year of postbaccalaureate studies with the goal of demonstrating an ability to achieve satisfactory academic progress in graduate level courses.

GRE. Applicants must submit a satisfactory score on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) general exam.  Subject exam scores are not required.  The GRE exam must have been taken within the past five (5) years.

Applications are evaluated based on an overall assessment of research experience (personal statement and letters of recommendation), undergraduate course load, GPA, and GRE scores.

International students – International students bring a rich diversity of cultural backgrounds, knowledge, and expertise to our graduate program.  We welcome applications from a diverse pool of qualified applicants, and seek no predetermined number of students from any one country.  We simply seek the best students for biomedical science research training.

TOEFL. International students whose native language is not English and who have not studied at an institution in the United States or other English-speaking country for one year or longer must have a score of at least 600 on the written version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), or 250 on the computer version of the exam, or 100 on the internet-based TOEFL.  The TOEFL exam must have been taken within the past two (2) years.  Exemptions to the TOEFL score requirement are granted per University of Florida policy for English proficiency.

Due to the large number of inquiries we receive, we cannot offer an indication of how competitive your application will be before you apply.  If you are confident that a completed application will demonstrate exceptional strength as described above, we encourage you to submit your application.

Applications

We only accept online applications.  No paper applications will be accepted, and the only paper documentation accepted will be transcripts.  Letters of recommendation, c.v.’s, personal statements, and all other materials must be submitted online, either via the University of Florida application system.

Admissions Procedure

A two-step admissions process is used for applicants of the Masters Program:

Step A: To begin the application process navigate to the UF Graduate School website http://gradschool.ufl.edu/students/application-and-admission.html and complete the application to the UF Graduate School. These documents are then reviewed by the Masters Admissions Committee. Students meeting the requirements will be conditionally accepted into the Masters Program at the University of Florida College of Medicine.

Step B: Before you can be fully admitted into the Master’s Program, you are required to find a mentor http://idp.med.ufl.edu/faculty/. You will need to be accepted into a mentor’s laboratory willing to provide funding to cover your stipend, tuition, and healthcare for the two year program.  Faculty mentors must have College of Medicine graduate faculty status.

As a member of the Council of Graduate Schools, the University of Florida Graduate School abides by the April 15 deadline for students to accept offers of admission (or the next business day, if the 15th falls on a weekend).  For more information about the April 15 deadline, please link to the Council of Graduate Schools.

U.F. Graduate School – Information & Requirements

For general information about admission to the UF Graduate School and links to the UF Graduate Catalog, please see the Graduate Admissions webpage.