PIBS accepts applications from early September to the December 1 deadline every year. Please apply the year before you wish to enter graduate school.

Some applicants may be eligible for a waiver. Please visit the Rackham Graduate School website for more information on fee waivers and grants.

One of the fee waivers listed is the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) Free App. Note that you must apply in advance to receive the CIC Free App waiver.

To research our faculty, we encourage you to utilize our faculty search page . On this site, faculty research interests can be searched by topic or their name. You may contact any PIBS faculty listed on our web site. You can also research faculty by exploring our 14 Ph.D. degree-granting programs.

You can apply to all 14 programs/departments participating in PIBS with one application. We encourage you to explore both the 14 Ph.D. degree-granting programs and ~500 faculty prior to submitting your application. On the application, you will be asked to select and rank two of the 14 degree-granting programs for review. After entering your first choice program/department on the preliminary page of the application, you will then be asked to select and rank your second and third programs/departments of interest on the supplemental form.

If you would like to change your program choices before applications are reviewed, please email your revised choices to us as soon as possible. Once you have accepted an offer at PIBS, you are free to choose any of our 14 degree-granting programs. In addition, during the first year of study you will be able to transfer freely between PIBS-associated training programs until you find your scientific home and formally join a Ph.D. program.

Although there is no required minimum GPA, entering students have an average GPA of 3.5 (range 2.8-4.0).

The UM Institution code is 1839 for GRE and TOEFL scores.
The PIBS department code is 45 for TOEFL scores.
The PIBS department code is unnecessary for GRE scores.

PIBS does not have a required minimum GRE score.

GRE Old Scores (Prior to August 1, 2011):
Entering students average 560 verbal (range 300-800), 710 quantitative (range 390-800), and 4.5 written (range 2.5-6.0).

GRE New Scores (Taken on or after August 1, 2011):
Entering students average 157 verbal (range 140-170), 157 quantitative (range 138-170), and 4.5 written (range 2.5-6.0).

Note: GRE scores are valid for five years. We cannot accept expired scores.

No, the subject GRE is not required.

Applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate English proficiency and are required to provide an official score report. TOEFL scores are valid for two years. Rackham Graduate School offers a full explanation of this requirement (including details for exemptions).

Rackham Graduate School sets and publishes the minimum score requirements for admission consideration for all English proficiency exams, including TOEFL.

• You must upload transcripts and submit the application by the December 1 deadline.
• Submit transcripts for Bachelor's, Master's, Professional and Doctorate degrees.
• Rackham offers a video how-to for uploading

Then, as soon as possible:
Submit an official transcript to Rackham. This copy must be received in an envelope sealed by the issuing institution.

• If you have uploaded electronic transcripts as outlined above, your application will be reviewed even if Rackham has not received the official transcript by our December 1 deadline.
• Do not mail transcripts to the PIBS office. Send official transcripts only to Rackham Graduate School.

Please also review Rackham's full transcript requirements and instructions.

The two most important criteria for admission to PIBS are evidence of extensive research experience and strong letters of recommendation from primary research mentors.  For this reason, it is essential that you carefully prepare your academic statement of purpose.

Be sure to include:

• For each research experience during your undergraduate and possibly postgraduate career, describe the following:  What was the overall goal of your project?  What hypothesis did you test? How did you test your hypothesis? (Meaning - What experiments did you perform? What techniques did you use?)  With whom did you interact (e.g. did you work with a more senior member of the lab? Did you work independently?) What were your results?  What was the physiological/medical/biological significance of your results?  How did your results fit into the overall goals of the lab?
• Have you presented your work at a scientific conference or symposium?  Are you a co-author on a scientific abstract or manuscript? This includes abstracts or manuscripts that have been submitted to a journal or meeting but have not yet been published.
• Where do you see yourself in 10 years?  How will earning a PhD in the biomedical sciences help you to achieve your goals?
• Why Michigan?  What is special about PIBS?  Are there specific PIBS departments/programs to which you are attracted?  Are there specific University of Michigan researchers in whose work you are interested?

Things to avoid:

• Lengthy philosophical discussions
• Lengthy descriptions of illnesses in your family
• Song lyrics
• Poems

In this document, let us know what makes you special.  First, how have your background and life experiences, including cultural, geographical, financial, educational or other opportunities or challenges, motivated your decision to pursue a graduate degree at the University of Michigan?

Other things to consider: How will you contribute to the diversity of the Michigan student body? Have you been active in organizations or activities that promote diversity? What adversity did you overcome to achieve your academic and personal goals?  Your answer may include financial hardship, being a first generation college student, having a disability, overcoming illness, or being a member of an underrepresented group.  Finally, is there anything that you want us to know when evaluating your application?  For example, were there extenuating circumstances for low grades in a given semester?  Do you have special needs?

In the required Resume/CV, be sure to include relevant academic and professional experience, research projects and any publications.

We recommend that you request letters of recommendation from primary research mentors. At least one of your letters must fulfill this requirement. The other two letters may be from professors who taught you in a course, from a professor who is the director of your academic program, or from a research supervisor in a company in which you were employed as a technician. Remember, it is important that your letter writers know you well. For example, a letter from a professor who taught you in a course along with 100 other students is likely not very valuable, even if you earned an A. Please make sure that letters from academic institutions are written by faculty members and not by postdoctoral fellows or graduate students. Please do not request letters from non-research-related employment supervisors. Finally, please do not request letters from personal/family friends.

Note: Letters of recommendation must also be submitted by the December 1 deadline.

During a typical application season we receive more than 700 applications.

PIBS class size averages between 70-80 students per year.

On average, 10% of our incoming students are non US citizens.

Both Rackham Graduate School and PIBS encourage students with disabilities to apply. Many services exist within the University to assist those with disabilities and help facilitate their success throughout graduate school. For more information on such services, please visit Rackham's Disability Resources page.

Your completed application must be received by December 1 to be considered.

After your application and application fee have been received by the Rackham Graduate School you will receive acknowledgement e-mails. These e-mails will confirm receipt of your application and provide you with your U-M ID number. They will also inform you of how to check your status online. For details see Rackham: After Applying.

Please note: the PIBS office can NOT help you check the status of your application (GRE, transcripts, letters) until you have submitted your application.

All applications are reviewed by members of the PIBS Admissions Committee. After the Committee review, all applicants will be contacted with a decision on their application.

Applicants may be:

• Invited to interview on campus or via Skype/phone
• Declined admission

Note: Decisions will be sent to the email address listed on the application.

PIBS hosts interview weekends towards the end of January/early February. Invited applicants will be notified as soon as possible.

Admissions decisions will be made after all interviews have been completed. Applicants will be contacted as soon as possible with information regarding the status of their application.

Note: Decisions will be sent to the email address listed on the application.