Application to the BME Ph.D. Program

How To Apply

The application deadline deadline for academic year 2010-11 is December 15, 2009. All credentials must be received by December 22, 2009.

General Information

The Program accepts applications for the PhD program until December 15, 2009. We typically recruit students in four areas: Computational Biology, Imaging, Tissue Engineering, and Neural engineering. The program is unique in that it offers the BME student the strengths of one of the best medical schools in the world. If you wish to combine engineering with cutting edge research in medicine, this may be the program for you.

In their first year, our students have the option of taking many of the same courses as the medical students, including human anatomy, molecules and cells, and genes to society. In their second year, our students take advanced engineering courses. Therefore, students that apply to our program need to not only have a strong background in engineering and mathematics, but also sufficient background in chemistry (including organic chemistry) and biology (at least two introductory courses).

The admission process is by committee. The applicant should specify which area they are interested in, and write about the kind of research they are considering. The faculty in each area vote and rank the applicants. The final pool of applicants is ranked and voted on by the entire faculty.

All accepted students receive a full fellowship. The fellowship covers tuition and provides for a monthly stipend. In this way, the students are free to choose from almost any research lab in the university. To facilitate this process, students do two or more rotations during their first year and typically choose a lab by the end of the summer of their first year.

About one third of our incoming students are international students. A short list of these students is formed by committee and the top candidates are interviewed by phone. Like all admitted students, international students receive full financial aid as well as a monthly stipend. They too have the freedom to choose from any lab.

Applications should be complete when submitted. In order to be considered a complete application we must have:

• A completed online application form.
• Official transcripts from each college or university attended - Sealed, official transcripts or certified records of all university (undergraduate and graduate) study must be submitted. If you have attended more than one institution, transcripts from each must be included with your application.
• Official Graduate Record Examination scores (GRE) / MCAT scores will be acceptable, and can be arranged through the Office of Graduate Affairs (address provided below). The GRE code for applying to graduate programs at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine is 5316.
  
  The BME Ph.D. program does not rely heavily on the GRE exam in making admissions or financial aid decisions. Research experience, course grades, and recommendations carry more weight. However, because the GRE score is part of the application and does affect admissions decisions in some cases, foreign applicants who took the GRE in its electronic form, in a country where the electronic test is no longer offered,  are advised to retake the exam in its paper form.  Applications will be considered regardless of which form of the exam was taken.
• Three letters of recommendation - These letters should come from faculty members who are acquainted with you and your academic work. These letters should be sealed and comment on your aptitude and promise for independent research.
• Personal Statement - a typewritten statement (one page maximum) indicating the basis of your interest in graduate study and your career objectives. Included should be a discussion of any research experience you have had.
• TOEFL scores (for foreign students only; official copy)

Applicants for admission must fulfill the following course prerequisites:

• one year of college level biology (may include quantitative biology or physiology)
• one semester of organic chemistry
• differential equations

If you are interested in applying and do not have the prerequisite courses, you may want to submit your application with an explanatory note indicating you have made/will make arrangements to take the prerequisites before you would matriculate, if your application is accepted. In the past, applicants have taken the prerequisites at their present schools, local community colleges, etc. Courses taken at any accredited college or university are acceptable.

Each applicant must have received a BA or BS degree or its equivalent prior to matriculation. A Masters degree is not required for admission to our program.

The application deadline for academic year 2010-11 is December 15, 2009. All credentials must be received by December 22, 2009.

All written correspondence and supporting documents should be sent directly to:

The Office of Graduate Affairs
The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
1830 E. Monument St., Suite 2-107
Baltimore, MD 21287
(410) 614-3385 phone
(410) 614-3386 fax
grad_study@jhmi.edu

Processing: The Ph.D. Program admissions committee will not consider any application until it is complete. Once an application has been received the applicant will be notified if supporting materials are missing.

Interview: The admissions committee will review completed applications and invite applicants to come to Johns Hopkins for a personal interview with faculty. Applicants from North America must come for an interview to be considered for admission. In the case of overseas applicants, for whom such a trip is not possible, a small number of telephone interviews will be conducted.  The final admissions decisions will be made from the pool of interviewed applicants. Interviews will be conducted on March 6 and March 13, 2009.

The Johns Hopkins University is a signatory to the Council of Graduate Schools Resolution Regarding Graduate Scholars, Fellows, Trainees, and Assistants.

INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS INTERESTED IN APPLYING TO THE COMBINED M.D.-PH.D. PROGRAM
Infomation about applying to the combined M.D.-Ph.D. program can be found at http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/mdphd/admissions/Howtoapply.html. Applications submitted for consideration of the combined degree will be reviewed by the Medical School admissions committee. If the Medical School admissions committee accepts the application, it is then passed along to the Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. Program admissions committee for review. A student applying to the combined program who wishes to be considered for the straight Ph.D. program must submit a written request to have his/her application forwarded to the Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. Program office for admission consideration if his/her application is not accepted by the Medical School admissions committee.