Applications to the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences (WCGS) are accepted in seven programs of study for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
An applicant must have earned a baccalaureate degree or equivalent from a college or university of recognized standing, and show promise of ability to pursue advanced study and research, as judged by his or her previous record.
Students may apply to one of the following pre-doctoral programs:
- Allied BCMB Program
- Biochemistry & Structural Biology*
- Cell & Developmental Biology*
- Molecular Biology*
- Immunology & Microbial Pathogenesis
- Neuroscience
- Pharmacology
- Physiology, Biophysics & Systems Biology
*The programs in the Allied BCMB program operate as an alliance and include: Biochemistry & Structural Biology, Cell & Developmental Biology and Molecular Biology. Students applying to any one of these programs are automatically considered for admission to the BCMB Allied program.
Weill Cornell and Memorial Sloan Kettering also participate in the Tri-Institutional PhD Program in Chemical Biology (TPCB). Interested students must submit a separate application for TPCB. Students applying to TPCB in addition to one of our other graduate programs are eligible for a WCGS application fee waiver (to obtain the waiver code, please email a request to Margie Mendoza). More information about applying to TPCB can be found here.
Students are admitted once a year for the start of the academic year in the Fall, which is defined by the start of courses in September. The application process occurs in the preceding academic year (the application deadline is December 1st).
Admissions Process
After a completed application is received, the application and all supporting information are initially screened by an admissions committee of the program of study to which the student is applying. The strongest candidates are invited to attend the Graduate School's interview days held in February. During these two-day periods, applicants experience program orientation, personal interviews and opportunities to interact with fellow applicants, current graduate students and faculty.
Following interviews, each program forwards recommendations on candidates for acceptance to the Graduate School Dean for final decision, who then notifies candidates of their acceptance. The final date for acceptance is April 15.