Doctoral Degree in Biological Engineering
Initial Steps
Minimum Academic Requirements
A prospective Ph.D. student must complete an approved course of study with a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 on a four-point scale or its equivalent. This generally includes Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and Master of Science (M.S.) degrees from an accredited university or equivalent experience. In rare instances, an exceptional student will be allowed to study for the Ph.D. without first completing an M.S. degree.
In addition, prospective students must take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) no longer than five years prior to application to the Ph.D. program. Biological Engineering faculty prefer prospective Ph.D. students to have received a 1,100 or better combined score of verbal and quantitative sections and 4.0 of analytical writing score on the GRE.
Students who did not attend high school (or equivalent) where English was the language of instruction will be required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The minimum TOEFL score required for acceptance into the Biological Engineering Ph.D. program is 550 for the standard version of the exam, or 213 for the computerized version, or 80 for the internet-based version and a 6.0 Academic IELTS score. The TOEFL may be waived for students with a B.S. or M.S. degree from an institution where English is the primary language of instruction. Contact the Biological Engineering Program for additional information.
Under unusual circumstances, students with less than the minimum requirements may be accepted on probation without financial assistance at the discretion of an individual faculty member in consultation with the director of graduate studies. Students accepted under these conditions will receive a letter informing them of the terms of their probationary status.
Acceptance
Students should assemble the appropriate documents to show that they have met the Minimum Academic Requirements described above. Students need to apply online at MU Graduate School.
Once the required materials, i.e., official transcripts, TOEFL score, GRE score, etc., are assembled, all students should send them to:
Graduate Admissions
University of Missouri
210 Jesse Hall
Columbia, MO 65211-1300
Application fees for domestic students are $45 and $60 for international students (as of August 20, 2008).
Upon receipt of the documents, the Graduate Admissions committee will examine the application materials. Each application will be circulated to the Biological Engineering Program faculty. Faculty members will decide if they are willing to serve as a mentor for the student.
Students will be informed as to their provisional acceptance to the program usually within two months after submission of a complete application packet. Please note that provisional acceptance will only be given to students with an identified faculty mentor. Faculty members sponsoring prospective Ph.D. students must be members of the Doctoral Faculty at MU, or identify another faculty member on the Doctoral Faculty to serve as co chair on the student’s Doctoral Program Committee.
Please note that acceptance does not imply that the student will receive financial assistance. If financial assistance is provided, the acceptance letter will include that information.
All the deadlines mentioned in the following paragraphs will be measured from the first day of classes in the first semester in which a student begins their Ph.D. Program of study.
