{"id":51,"date":"2009-05-07T16:53:50","date_gmt":"2009-05-07T20:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/bioinformatics\/?page_id=51"},"modified":"2025-10-06T10:44:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T14:44:09","slug":"faq","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/bioinformatics\/admissions\/faq\/","title":{"rendered":"Admissions FAQ"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><\/h1>\n<h2>What materials do I need to submit along with the application?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Unofficial transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate universities (high school transcripts are not needed)<\/li>\n<li>Three recommendation letters\u00a0from professors or professionals are required. Recommendations should be solicited\u00a0from individuals who are familiar with your academic achievement, and can assess your potential for success in the Program. Letters from other individuals who\u00a0are qualified to evaluate your professional qualifications\u00a0and potential will be accepted if you have been out of school for a number of years.<\/li>\n<li>TOEFL (if applicable) test scores.<\/li>\n<li>Personal statement\/statement of purpose and Resume\/CV<\/li>\n<li>The application fee is $95.<\/li>\n<li>Please note that once admitted, international applicants are required to submit an International Student Data form and supporting financial documents.<\/li>\n<li>Please contact the Bioinformatics office to confirm all materials have been received.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What are the application deadlines?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>MS Program <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Fall semester<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Priority deadline February 1<\/li>\n<li>International applicant deadline April 1<\/li>\n<li>Final deadline July 1<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Spring semester<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Priority deadline October 15<\/li>\n<li>Final deadline November 15<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h6>*International applicants are encouraged to submit their application as early as possible to allow sufficient time to apply for a U.S. visa in their home country.<strong><\/strong><\/h6>\n<p><strong>PhD Program <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>December 1<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What if I don\u2019t have experience in both computational and experimental fields?<\/h2>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>English Proficiency Requirement<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>All students whose first language is not English* are required to submit one of the following English proficiency test scores with their application:<\/p>\n<h3><strong>TOEFL (internet-based) Test<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Minimum score of 90\/120 if the exam is taken before January 21 2026, or 4.5\/6 if the exam is taken after January 21 2026.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>International English Language Testing System (IELTS) <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Minimum score required is 7.0<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Duolingo English Test<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Minimum score of 130 is required; when you log in to complete the exam, please select <em><strong>Boston University Graduate &amp; Professional Programs<\/strong><\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em>as a score recipient. Once you have completed the Duolingo exam, please email <a href=\"cds-admissions@bu.edu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cds-admissions@bu.edu<\/a> with the following: Subject Line \u2013 <strong>Duolingo: <\/strong>include your<strong>\u00a0first <\/strong><strong>and<\/strong> <strong>last name<\/strong>, <strong>exam date<\/strong>, and the program you are applying to: <strong>Bioinformatics Program<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>*\u00a0 Students who have earned a degree from a university from any of the following countries are exempt from the English proficiency requirement: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom or USA.<\/p>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<h2>Scheduling\u00a0a Visit<\/h2>\n<p>Please contact us at bioinfo@bu.edu, include which of our programs you are interested in, Masters or PhD. Please attach your resum\u00e9\/CV to the email.<\/p>\n<p>View a campus map\u00a0to locate\u00a0accessible parking areas, audible crosswalk signals, TTY\/TDD payphones, as well as curb cuts and building wheelchair accessible entrances at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/maps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BU Maps<\/a> or head over to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mbta.com\/riding_the_t\/accessible_services\/default.asp?id=19946\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">T Access Guide<\/a> for information on the MBTA.<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-48-panel\">\n<p>The faculty, students and staff of the Bioinformatics Graduate Program recognize the importance of a diversified student body. We believe all of our students benefit from being part of a close-knit community where they can share and learn about each other\u2019s educational backgrounds, cultures, religious beliefs, physical and mental abilities, political views and career aspirations.<\/p>\n<p>If you require accommodations to assist with any part of the application, please visit the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/disability\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Disability Services<\/a> website, or contact the office by email at <a href=\"mailto:access@bu.edu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">access@bu.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What materials do I need to submit along with the application? Unofficial transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate universities (high school transcripts are not needed) Three recommendation letters\u00a0from professors or professionals are required. Recommendations should be solicited\u00a0from individuals who are familiar with your academic achievement, and can assess your potential for success in the Program. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1444,"featured_media":0,"parent":38,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/bioinformatics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/51"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/bioinformatics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/bioinformatics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/bioinformatics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1444"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/bioinformatics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51"}],"version-history":[{"count":50,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/bioinformatics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/51\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10160,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/bioinformatics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/51\/revisions\/10160"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/bioinformatics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/38"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/bioinformatics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}