Master of Science Degree
Master's Admissions
Competitive applicants will have a minimum of a bachelor's degree from an accredited college of university, a GPA of 3.5 or greater, and research experience in a relevant discipline. Please review the admissions information, deadlines, and requirements below.
- Apply through the Virginia Tech Graduate School.
- Submit all undergraduate and graduate transcripts.
- Submit a personal Statement. Statement should include applicant's interest in the program and career goals. Applicant should include faculty they plan to work with. Matching with a faculty member is required prior to entry of M.S. degree program.
- Submit 3 letters of recommendation. Recommendation letters should be from individuals qualified to evaluate the applicant's potential for success in this program.
- Submit CV/Resume.
- Submit GRE scores. (Optional)
- International students should submit TOEFL score (90 minimum for internet bases tests, with scores of 20 or greater subsections, or a 550 minimum for paper based tests) or IELT score (6.5 minimum). Send to institution code 5859.
The priority deadline for Fall 2024 enrollment is Dec. 15, 2023. Applications received after this date will be reviewed on a rolling bases. No applications will be accepted after April 15, 2024.
Master's Coursework
Students pursuing a M.S. must earn a minimum of 38 credit hours beyond the Bachelor of Science degree. Students will engage in research throughout both years in the program, while completing most of their core coursework by the end of year one.
Students will:
- Take an intensive “Gateway” course in semester one, where they will learn the fundamentals of biomedicine, physiological systems, and translational science.
- Then select a focus area in semester two and take two intensive “Fundamentals” courses (4 credits each) covering in depth the fundamentals of that focus area, with heavy emphasis on translational exemplars and case studies.
- Continue a core curriculum in parallel with their focus-area-specific coursework, which includes professional development, ethics, and statistics, as well as program retreats and presentations.
- In total, students will take 24 credits of core coursework, 3 credits quantitative requirement, and a minimum of 11 credits of thesis research.