University
of Pittsburgh Carnegie Mellon University

Joint CMU-Pitt Ph.D. Program in Computational Biology

Robert F. Murphy and Ivet Bahar, Directors

Home
Background
History
Curriculum
Admissions
Training Faculty
Students
Journal Club
Seminar Series
Committees
Highlights
Alternative Programs
 
Contact Us

Admissions

Students with a variety of backgrounds will be admitted to the program. The program seeks outstanding students from the biological, physical and computational sciences, and engineering. For example, computational biology majors, or double majors in biology and quantitative sciences would be ideal candidates. For undergraduates who would like to plan ahead for this program, a list of recommended courses is provided. Admissions procedures are discussed in more detail below.

Minority students are especially encouraged to apply.

Frequently Asked Questions

The online application is available now!

The early deadline for completing your application is December 15. The final deadline is January 15. The admissions committee will begin reviewing files on December 15 for admission to the subsequent fall term.

The admissions process takes place only once per year. Spring admission is not offered.

Please complete the following steps in order to apply to the program

  • read about the research interests of the training faculty and identify at least three faculty with whom you would be interested in doing thesis research
  • submit the on-line application form
  • submit official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended
  • submit an official report of GRE scores (general + subject)
    • Use Institution code - 2927, University of Pittsburgh, GRE code - 0609, Medical Sciences
    • Submission of a GRE subject score is strongly recommended but not required
  • submit an official report of TOEFL or IELTS score (required for foreign applicants from countries other than Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, or New Zealand)
    • A minimum score of 250 (600 paper, 100 iBT) on the computer TOEFL or a minimum of 7.0 on the IELTS is required for admission to the program. Scores must be less than two years old.
    • For TOEFL submission, use Institution code - 2927, University of Pittsburgh, TOEFL code - 45, Biomedical Sciences
    • For IELTS submission, submit an official copy to the address below
  • submit the application fee of $50 (paid either online or via check to "Carnegie Mellon University")

All materials must be received by January 15, 2008. Transcripts and other hardcopy materials should be submitted to:
Computational Biology Admissions,
3064 BST3
3501 Fifth Ave.
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh PA 15213.

Questions about the application process can be directed to admissions at compbio dot cmu dot edu

Admissions procedure

Applications will be reviewed by the Joint CMU-Pitt Program's Admissions Committee. Each admitted student will be assigned an initial research advisor and receive an admissions offer letter from the University in which that advisor has his/her primary appointment. Students will have the ability to change advisors (subject to agreement of the new advisor and availability of support) and to transfer between the two universities to reflect advisor changes. Upon completion of the program, students will receive a Ph.D. in Computational Biology from the thesis advisor's university.