Admissions FAQ

Financial Aid

MS / There is no financial assistance available; however, work-study placements may be possible in local biotech companies during the second half of an M.S. student’s year in the program.

PhD / The National Institutes of Health, Graduate Partnerships Program, is available for U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Boston University Presidential University Graduate Fellowships are available for all applicants, as well as Research Assistantships with individual faculty.

No separate application is needed to be considered for financial aid.

For more information about aid and the types that are available please visit the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Financial Aid page.

Test Scores

  • TOEFL scores are needed for all international students whose first language is not English. The minimum scores in each component of the internet-based test are: Reading: 21; Listening: 18; Speaking: 23; Writing: 22.  Or scores of at least 213 for the computer-based test or 550 for the paper-based test.
  • Students who have earned a degree from an English speaking university do not need to submit TOFEL scores.
  • GRE Subject tests are not required.
  • GRE General Test is required for PhD applicants only.
  • The School code for the GRE and TOFEL tests is 3087. Bioinformatics does not have a department code. Please mark “other” or “other biological” instead.
  • There is no minimum GRE score needed since admission depends on many factors.

Suggested Academic Background

  • Computational: Intro to C, Intro to Probability and/or Statistics, Intro to Algorithms, Knowledge of PERL
  • Experimental/Scientific: Cell Biology, Physical Chemistry, and Biochemistry.

What if I don’t have experience in both?

Applicants are not required to be well versed in both fields. Even if you do not have the academic background in both the computational and experimental fields we are looking for highly motivated students.

Application

What materials do I need to submit along with the application?

  • Transcripts form all undergraduate and graduate universities (High School transcripts are not needed)
  • 3 Recommendations from academic professors if possible. If you have been out school for a few years please submit recommendations from people who know your work the best.
  • GRE and TOFEL (if applicable) test scores.
  • The application fee is $70 and must be submitted along with the application in order to be reviewed.

Documents of achievement are not needed; these can be detailed in the application or in a Curriculum Vitae or Resume.

The application deadline for the Fall Semester is December 1. The application deadline for the Spring Semester is October 1.

Please do not send application materials directly to Bioinformatics. They should be sent to the Graduate School or Arts and Sciences Admissions Office, 705 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215.

Scheduling A Visit

Please contact us 3 weeks in advance of when you would like to visit with the names of the Professors that you would like to visit along with the dates and times that you are available. Please attach your resume/CV in the email. We do not offer general tours.

Programs

The Post-Bachelor’s Ph.D. Program consists of 64 credits – 32 course credits, and 32 research credits. This program typically takes 4-5 years to complete.

The Post-Master’s Ph.D. Program consists of 32 credits – 16 course credits, and 16 research credits. This program typically takes 3-4 years.

Master’s Program consists of 32 course credits along with an industrial internship.

The Ph.D. degree program in our graduate program is research-oriented. Students will be working in a collaborative effort between two faculty researchers (one computational and one experimental) on a Bioinformatics Research Project.

The M.S. degree focuses on industrial training. Hence, most students will participate in an off-campus employment opportunity within a Bioinformatics division in one of the biotech companies (participating in our program) in the Boston area.

International Students

International students must submit the International Student Data Form along with the rest of the application.