PhD Admissions

The application includes personal information, academic history, achievements, and required documents. 

The application fee for all applicants is $70. 

The personal statement must be brief, between 1-2 pages. The statement should emphasize the applicant’s research experience, specifically, the hypotheses underlying the experimental work and the broader significance of the results. Briefly describe the experimental approach and avoid simply listing laboratory techniques employed. Indicate fields of research that you would like to pursue at IUSM including faculty whose work interest you. Briefly explain any gaps, problems or inconsistencies in your academic or professional records, e.g. grade(s) lower than a “B”, time away from studies or employment, etc.

Please be sure to answer all questions even if not required. Supplemental questions are questions created by the admissions committee to create a more holistic review of the applicant including research interests and your preparation for graduate school outside of coursework and research experience. 

The CV/resume should include the following sections, if available: Education, Research Experience, Teaching Experience, Peer-reviewed Publications*, Abstracts, Presentations, Patents, and Awards. Applicants may add additional sections. 

*Regarding Publications: 

Peer-reviewed/In Press- include all peer-reviewed publications, must provide a link to the publication. 

In Submission/In Review- include only if expected to be peer-reviewed, but do not include journal name. Optional, will support your overall publication record. 

In Progress/Preparation- include only if expected to be peer-reviewed. Optional, will support your overall publication record. 

Abstracts, articles, book chapters, etc. are not considered peer-reviewed publications. You may list them separately from your publication list. 

Copies of your education documents should be attached to this application in the Academic History, Colleges Attended section. 

• Institutions in the U.S. 
  We need a scanned copy of the transcript only. They are loaded in the Academic History, Colleges Attended section of the application.
• Institutions outside the U.S.
  We will need a scanned copy of the transcript, degree certificate, marksheets (if applicable), and diploma (if applicable). Please package these into one PDF for each reported institution and program. They are loaded in the Academic History, Colleges Attended section of the application.

If you are selected for an interview, you will be asked to submit official education documents. You may submit official education documents at any time, but we must have them on file in order to admit an applicant.

Letters of recommendation from a lab mentor, PI or senior lab researcher with direct knowledge of the applicant should address the applicant’s professional characteristics. Current or recent academic instructors and/or employers with direct knowledge of the qualities of the applicant that are relevant for graduate training are also accepted. Letters of recommendation should NOT come from family or friends. All letters of recommendation are due by the application deadline. 

Letters of recommendation should address: 

• How long and in what capacity does the recommender know the applicant? 
• How many students the recommender has known at this level? 
• What is the candidate’s intellectual potential; ability to plan and conduct research; creativity and originality; knowledge in the chosen field; ability to work independently and with a team; maturity; motivation for graduate study; writing ability; oral expression; integrity; and overall potential for graduate work in biomedical sciences? 
• Applicant's potential for research and an evaluation of the applicant's expertise in research.

Once you have saved an electronic recommendation, an email request will automatically be sent to the recommender on your behalf. Please advise your recommender to look for this email in their inbox, as well as their spam or junk-mail folder, as emails do occasionally get filtered out.

All applicants, including US citizens, are required to show English proficiency. This can be completed a number of ways, including TOEFL exam, IELTS exam, a degree issued from within the United States, or a few more ways.