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Overview MCDB Program EE Program MD/PhD Program |
Feel free to browse the FAQ to (hopefully) have your questions answered, or use these links to looks directly in a particular section for useful information. Application Process - Application Contents - For International Applicants - Graduate Life Application Process
There appear to be a number of different graduate programs at the University of Pittsburgh. Why should I apply to yours? Yes, in addition to our programs in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology (MCDB) and Ecology and Evolution (EE), there are several other graduate programs offered at the medical school. Most of those programs are excellent and many of our faculty participate in them too. So, how do our programs differ from those? Well, let's start with the EE program because that's easy: it is unique in its programmatic content. There really are no other programs in the University that you can get an advanced degree studying Ecology and Evolution. Our MCDB program is clearly not unique in that respect - there are hundreds of similar programs around the country - but ours is characterized by two distinguishing features. First, its size. Ours is a smaller program with only about 20 faculty and 40 students. Thus each incoming class of students shares many activities throughout their first year and develop friendships and relationships that last throughout graduate school and beyond. Moreover, the moderate size of the program enables each individual student to have close contact with his or her mentor, and thus learn directly from these nationally and internationally recognized experts. The second feature is the interactive nature of the two programs (MCDB and EE) that operate within the single department - i.e. Biological Sciences. As a graduate student in the department you get a much broader appreciation of the larger issues in biology, while maintaining your focus on your specific project. Of course there's a lot more to tell, so if you're not sure, then give us a call or e-mail us. Moreover, our graduate students like the programs here and have fun. Why not send an e-mail to one of our students and ask them about the program? If I'm interested in microbiology (or Genetics, or Biochemistry...) should I apply to your Department? Absolutely. The name of the MCDB program (Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology) is intended to a broad umbrella that covers microbiology as well as genetics and biochemistry among others. You can also get a good idea of the research that's going on here by looking at the research descriptions of each of the individual faculty. How many students do you admit each year? We aim for a class of 12 students, but we have had bigger classes when more candidates accept our offers. Do you accept international students? Absolutely! On average we accept 3-4 international students into the MCDB program each year. These students come from many different countries; past students have matriculated from Canada, China, India, Germany, Mexico, Panama, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey and the United Kingdom, but anyone is eligible. If you are from outside the US and applying to the EE program, you must get in touch with a potential faculty advisor before submitting your application, this is not necessary for the MCDB program. Do you admit students into your program to do Masters degrees as well as PhDs? For the MCDB program, all students enter into the PhD track. Occasionally, students will enter the EE program with the intention of pursuing only a Masters degree; you must discuss this possibility directly with a potential faculty mentor in the EE program. Do you admit students in the spring as well as in the fall? No, we matriculate only one class a year in the fall semester. This is necessary because the first year comprises a structured series of courses and research rotations; students entering at other times would not be successful. Is there an application fee? Not for applicants residing within the United States, or US citizen studying abroad. Due to the extra labor involved in handling applications from international candidates, there is a $50 application fee. Do I have to apply online? Yes. The School of Arts and Sciences has mandated that applications to all of its graduate programs must be made online, so please do not request or submit a paper application. You can access the site via the application page of this site. I tried to apply online but it only gave me the option to pay the fee by check or by credit, and you say elsewhere that there is no application fee for US residents? We apologize for this irritating problem. There is no application fee for our Department for applicants residing in the United States. Simply tick the box that says "Payment by Check" but then don't send any money! Do I have to apply for financial aid? No. All graduate students in the Department of Biological Sciences are supported by a stipend via some type of fellowship. In the first year students receive University Fellowships and after that they get either Research Assistantships or Teaching Assistantships. What is deadline for applications? For students living in the US, you should get your application to us by January 15 to ensure full consideration; international students should apply by December 15. We will review applications after that time, but please let us know prior to the deadline that you are intending to apply. When do you make decision on admissions? The Admissions Committee generally reviews applications shortly after they are received and typically begins making offers to applicants shortly after January 15. When should I expect to hear from you after I have submitted an application? From mid-November onwards we process applications at least once a week, usually more often, and send an email to acknowledge that we received your application. If you do not receive this email within a week of applying, please get in touch with us at biophd@pitt.edu. The next time you will hear from us will be after we have reviewed your application and have made a decision; this could be in January, or possibly as late as late February or even March if we are still waiting for some of your supporting dicuments. How can I find out if you have received all of my supporting documents such as my transcript, letters of recommendation and GRE scores? If you have received the email scknowledging that we have received your online application, please assume that we have received (or will receive) all of your documents. It is not feasible to confirm all documents with all applicants before we begin to review each application. However, if we review your application and find that something is missing (which happens very rarely), we will inform you and give you enough time to have the document forwarded to us so that your application receives full consideration. To what address do I send my application? You must apply on-line, but if you need to forward any documents to us, please send them to: Would it be possible for me to come and tour the Department? Absolutely. This can be simply arranged; just email us at biophd@pitt.edu with some possible days you can visit. Application Contents
If I am applying for the EE program, do I have to have already identified a faculty advisor? For applicants to the EE graduate program, it is suggested that you establish a dialog with a potential graduate advisor in Ecology or Evolution during the application process. This is not necessary for the MCDB program. This difference is because students in the EE program go straight into a lab to start their Ph.D., whereas in the MCDB program students do rotations in three labs in their first year before joining a lab. What is the minimum GPA or GRE score? It is impossible for us to provide an absolute minimum score because they as merely numbers and we review applications by looking carefully at each of the components: letters of recommendation, your personal statement, research experience, educational background, and of course GPA and test results. It is fair to say that most of our students have GPAs above 3.2, and the mojority much higher than that. But this does not mean that we have never admitted students with a GPA of 3.1. University rules makes it very difficult to admit any student with a GPA lower than a 3.0 on a 4 point scale. It is also fair to say that most of our students have average GRE score greater than 60%. Again, this does not mean that we have never admitted students with lower GRE score, but these applicants have had strong records by other measures, such as strong history doing independent research. While - like in all good programs - you will be competing against other strong candidates, we are after well-rounded students who are motivated, hard-working, and most of all, curious. Your previous education obviously has to be sufficiently appropriate and strong to prepare you for becoming a research scientist, but unless you are driven by your curiosity to figure out how this biological world works, we don't want you in our programs! What if I took my GREs several years ago; should I take them again? Well, it depends on when you actually took them. If was more than three years ago, you would probably improve your application by retaking them, especially if they were not particularly inspiring scores. Of course, if you got out-of-this-world scores five years, I would go with them! Do I absolutely have to have taken the GRE general test? This is not a University requirement (unlike the TOEFL test for international applicants), so we can waive this requirement in very rare circumstances for stellar students, but please contact us before you apply. Do I absolutely have to have taken the GRE subject test? We prefer it if you have taken the GRE subject test, but it is not required for admission. If you've not taken it, then it's best to go ahead and apply. What are the university and departmental codes to send my GRE scores? Your official GRE scores should be sent to us at institution code 2927. There are many different codes that can be used for the department code, but if in doubt use 0203. Is it necessary for me to have had some research experience before applying? Almost every student we have admitted into our program in recent years has had some independent research experience. Thre have been one or two exceptions, so if you have a very strong application but no experience then we encourage you to apply. However, you might also consider taking a year to, for example, work in a lab as a research assistant/technician where you would gain this experience. The reason why we place strong emphasis on this experience is that it confirms that this is what you really want to do for the next few years. Research experience is valued by all graduate programs in biological sciences for good reasons; you do not want to spend a year (or two or three) of your life realizing that going to graduate school was not what you wanted to do after all. I am at a small, liberal arts college with very few research labs; how can I expect to get some research experience? There are numerous summer research programs that are available; you might also consider taking a year to work as a research assistant/technician before applying. I'm interested in the EE Ph.D. program; is it necessary for me to have a Master's degree? Not at all; is fair to say most of our PhD candidates in the EE program don't have a master's degree. What if, because of my special circumstance, I haven't taken all the courses that say that I require? Don't worry about it. Obviously, if you are a music major and have taken no science courses, this might be bad advice. However, we recognize that students have a variety of educational backgrounds and if you are just missing a course or two it is best to go ahead and apply. If necessary, some areas can be brushed up by taking all or parts of the numerous undergraduate courses offered here. Can I transfer my credits from another program that I am currently enrolled in? Sometimes, but only on an individual basis. If we are convinced that you have previously done all or most of the coursework that we require then there is no need to repeat it. But we consider each request on a case-by-case basis. Should I get in contact with a faculty member before (or after) I apply? A For the MCDB program it is not necessary, in fact it will make no difference to your chances of being accepted as all admissions are done on a program basis. For the EE program we encourage US residents to establish a dialog with a potential mentor for the first rotation before they apply. International applicants to the EE program MUST establish a dialogue with a potential mentor before they apply.I applied last year but was not admitted; I would like to apply again this year. Do I need to resend my supporting materials or can you use the ones I sent last year? Unfortunately you need to send everything again. You should also get in touch with us to get an idea of why you were rejected last time, to determine how you can improve your chances this time. I will not receive my GRE or TOEFL scores before the application deadline, can I still apply? It depends upon how long after the deadline we will receive your scores. If we complete reviewing applications before your scores arrive then your application will not be considered. In general, if you think your scores will arrive more than three weeks after the deadline then we would advise you to wait until next year before applying. Do you have any further advice regarding my application? (1) Just because you have submitted your application online and we have acknowledged receiving it does not mean that we can begin to review it. All your other materials must have arrived also. The primary reason we must wait to review your application is that your letters of recommendation have not been received. Please give your recommenders ample notice that you will be applying. Note, when you start the application process online you do not have to complete the application that day, but you can proceed far enough to enter the names of your recommenders and they will receive an e-mail from us to send a recommendation. So that later, when you finish your application, your recommendation letters may have already been submitted and your application would be complete. We would advise you to start your application early, say in late November, which will give your recommenders ample time to submit their letters. And after you have completed your application and submitted it later, let your recommenders know and ask them to send you a quick message when they have submitted your recommendation. Also tell them that we will begin starting to review applications in early January; if you haven't heard back from them by January 15, send them a brief reminder. (2) Carefully consider who you ask to write your letters of recommendation; we take these very seriously. We expect them to be from science professionals so do not ask your high school coach. If you have done independent research we would expect a letter from the head of the lab. Get to know your professors, go to office hours, discuss your plans to go to graduate school with them, they want to help you and would like to write the best letter possible. (3) Take some time to write your personal statement, we also take this very seriously. Why have you chosen a career in science? What excites you? What research have you been engaged it, what were the questions you were addressing and how were you addressing them? What science being done in our department do you find particularly interesting? What do you think you might do with your life after grad school (don't worry we won't hold you to this, people do change their minds in five years!). Ask your favorite professor to read your statement and give you some advice. (4) Don't apply before you have received your GRE scores and enter these scores on your application before submitting it. For International Applicants
I am an international student; do I have to provide a TOEFL score? All students whose native language is not English must provide a TOEFL score. This is University policy and we cannot waive this requirement apart from students who have completed a degree course at another US institution. I am from Canada do I need to submit a TOEFL score? No, only students from countries in which their native language is not English must submit a TOEFL score. I am an international student but have been in the US at another college, do I still need to submit a TOEFL score? The TOEFL requirement for international students will be waived for international students who have completed a degree program at an accredited US institution. If you are not sure if you qualify, let us know what degree you have completed and where. I took the TOEFL exam three years ago, is my score still valid? No, University rules state that the TOEFL exam must have been taken in the two years before the application submission date (December 15). What is the minimum TOEFL score? The University mandated low score is 550, but most of our international students have TOEFL scores above 620 (paper-based), 260 (computer-based), 105 (internet-based), but we have admitted students with scores below this if they show promise in other regards. What are the university and departmental codes to send my TOEFL scores? Your official TOEFL scores should to be sent to us, at institution code 2927, department code 35. However, we will allow you to send photocopies, see below. I am an international student, how do I pay the application fee? You can pay this directly online with a credit card when you submit your application or you can forward a check or money order, payable to the University of Pittsburgh, to Cathy Barr, the graduate secretary. I am an international student and will find it very difficult to afford to pay the application fee, can this requirement be waived or can I pay it later if I am accepted? Unfortunately, the university will not allow us to waive the application fee and it must be paid at the time of application. We can make no exceptions to this. However, to help relieve the cost of application for international students we will permit you to send a photocopy of your GRE and TOEFL scores, see below. I am from outside the US and I cannot afford to pay the costs to have my GRE and TOEFL scores forwarded to all the schools that I am applying to, can I send a copy of these documents to you instead? Yes, you can send a photocopy of your GRE and TOEFL scores (to Ms Cathy Barr, address below) and we will use these during the application process. However, if we make an offer to you this will only be provisional and you must arrange for official copies of these documents to be sent to us before you can be accepted into our program. Do you provide financial support to international students? International students are treated identically to those from the United States: every student receives a stipend which is more than enough to live on comfortably in Pittsburgh, as well as full health care, and no tuition costs! I am an international student and my undergraduate major did not use the American 4.0 GPA grading scale. How do I report my GPA? If your college does not use the 4.0 GPA scale used in US colleges you can do the following. If you have a numerical score (say out of 100) you can just convert this to a 4.0 scale (so that 90/100 would be a GPA of 3.6. If you have another type of score such as first class or second class, you must try to determine (by asking your professors) what percentage that is equivalent to and then convert to the 4.0 scale. However, just to make things a bit more complicated, you should also factor in differences between what sort of percentage is considered an A, B or C in the US and what is considered that in your country/college. In the US there is no absolute correspondence between percentage and grade but as a rough guess 90-100 would be A- to A+, 80-90 would be B- to B+ and 70-80 would be C/C+. If an A in your college corresponds to 80-100 then you would adjust your GPA upwards. Graduate Life
How much is my tuition? Never mind! It's all paid for by the Institution. Will I receive health benefits? Yes. Your heath will be insured for 12 months a year. And it's excellent coverage! How much is the stipend? One of our most-frequent FAQs! The normal level of support for our sudents is $23,400 a year, and a 3-5% cost of living increase in typical every year. We know it's not a fortune (and we'd love to pay you more) but since housing and food are relatively inexpensive and the buses are free with your Pitt ID, it's actually not bad. Do you mean that you actually pay me to go to Graduate School and get a Ph.D? Effectively yes. You do the coursework, field work or lab work, have fun in an interactive environment and get a Ph.D. that will act as your passport to your future career. And we pay you to do it! Can I choose my labs for my three research rotations in the MCDB program, or are they assigned to me? Sometimes departments make the student-mentor assignments for the research rotations, but we prefer that you to make the choice (with agreement of the mentor). You don't have to pick them before you arrive in the Fall, but it helps to figure out what your top choices are for the first rotation. Do I have a faculty advisor in the first year? The other thing we do is that we assign whoever is the faculty mentor in the first rotation as that student's first-year advisor - a person that they can go to for advice and who will talk to them about how they're doing in the coursework etc. Since the student chooses their first rotation, they've also chosen their first-year advisor! If things go swimingly then a student may not have much occasion to see their first-year advisor very much, but it can be extremely useful in resolving any issues or concerns. Of course, once a research mentor is chosen at the end of the first year that faculty member becomes your advisor for all aspects of the program. Will I have an opportunity to do some teaching? Yes. All of our Ph.D. students teach for one term, typically in the second or third year (but never in the first year). On each occasion, you typically get to assist a faculty member in either a lecture or a lab course that is relevant to your thesis work. It is thus rarely an impediment to barreling along with your research project, and provides an experience that is invaluable for you whether you pursing a career in either academic research or in teaching (and actually for most other jobs if you think about it!). What if I am interesting in teaching as a profession after I get my degree? We offer a teaching minor that will prepare you well for this career path. While one term of teaching is effective in preparing students to communicate ideas to borad audiences, professional terachers need more. Our teaching minor is designed for students with this career in mind. How long will it take me to earn my Ph.D? The average time in our department is 5-5.5 years, but can be as short as 4 years. It depends a lot on what type of study you are involved in, how hard you work (of course) and whether the Gods are looking kindly upon you. Who the heck would want to live in Pittsburgh? Well, for a start, we do! If you desperately need to be near the ocean waves then perhaps it's not the place for you. But if you fancy a small-medium sized city with friendly folks, low crime rate, affordable housing, low-cost of living and a whole bunch of stuff going on then you might like it as much as we do. There is also great music (of every variety from grass-roots to opera), museums etc, and if you like sports there's the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins. We've gathered together links to a few of these opportunities in our Pittsburgh Links page. Why does your web site say the University is in Oakland instead of Pittsburgh? Pittsburgh is very neighborhood-centric, and Oakland is the name of ours. Besides the University of Pittsburgh and Medical Center, Oakland is the home of Carnegie Mellon University, the Carnegie Library and Museums of Art and Natural History, the Phipps Conservatory, dozens of bookstores, dozens of restaurants and ethnic eateries, hundreds of shops, and a confluence of bus routes (all free with a university ID). Oakland is the intellectual center of Pittsburgh, just where a graduate student should be. |
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