Frequently Asked Questions

How do I access the online application process?

Go to the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Admissions page.

What are the application deadlines?

• Domestic Applicants: December 1, 2013 for priority consideration. The final deadline is January 5, 2014.
• International Applicants (those who are neither citizens nor permanent residents of the United States): November 15, 2013

What are the differences in the application process for domestic and for international applicants? How do I tell which one I am?

International students who are attending a U.S. university should use the domestic application. International students who are attending international universities should use the international application.

What is the code for submitting GRE scores to the UTHSC-Houston Registrar's Office?

The code is 6907; no department code is necessary.

What are the institution and department codes for the Educational Testing Service to send official GRE and TOEFL score reports?

The institutional code for The University of Texas - Houston is 6907; no department code is necessary.

Who needs to take the TOEFL Exam?

International applicants who have received a diploma from a university at which English is the language of instruction are not required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language exam. If this school is not located in an English-speaking country, the application should include evidence of the language of instruction.

What factors are considered for admission?

The Medical Physics Program Applicant Review Committee and the GSBS Admissions Committee consider the following factors in evaluating applicants for admission:

• Previous research experience and accomplishments, including participation in science fairs
• Enrollment in laboratory and research-based courses
• Involvement in research projects and publications
• Expressed commitment to a career involving biomedical research
• Undergraduate grade point average
• Performance in undergraduate courses in the biological and physical sciences, physics and mathematics
• Trends in academic performance
• Degree difficulty of undergraduate academic program
• Previous graduate-level study
• Honors and awards for academic achievement
• Performance on the Graduate Record Examinations (and, for international applicants, the Test of English as a Foreign Language and the Test of Written English)
• Success in overcoming socio-economic and educational disadvantages
• Letters of recommendation
• Statement of purpose

What are the average GRE scores for applicants who are offered admission?

A competitive combined score for the Verbal and Quantitative sections is 310 (1300 in the old scoring system). A competitive score for the Analytical Writing section is 4.2.

Do you have a minimum GPA requirement?

Applicants are expected to have a grade point average of at least 3.0 on a scale of 4.0 on all undergraduate and previous graduate level work. The average GPA of the applicants who were admitted to the Specialized Masters and PhD Medical Physics Programs in recent years has been:

What are your recent recruitment statistics?

What stipends and financial support are offered?

We offer financial support to all PhD students who are admitted to the GSBS. This award includes an annual stipend of $29,000 (in the 2012-2013 academic year). In addition, tuition, fees and health benefits are covered.

For the SMS Program, a limited number of partial stipends may be available.

What is the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Med-Into-Grad Fellowship opportunity?

The Rice University Biomedical Engineering Program and the GSBS Medical Physics Program collaboratively administer an HHMI “Med-Into-Grad” (MIG) program. Starting in Summer 2010, MIG positions were made available for highly qualified students entering the Medical Physics Program.

Each year, 10 highly qualified new students from Rice University and the UT-Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences are admitted to the program. In their first summer of enrollment in the Rice University Biomedical Engineering Program or the GSBS Medical Physics Program, the HHMI MIG program provides them stipend support while they complete an intensive cancer internship that includes the study of gross anatomy, cancer pathology, cancer biology, and cancer medicine. These didactic opportunities are integrated with clinical rotations in diagnostic imaging, medical oncology, surgical oncology, and oncologic radiotherapy, providing a unique multidisciplinary learning opportunity. Seminars for the HHMI MIG fellows continue after the summer term, and joint interdisciplinary mentorship is provided.

The Medical Physics Program faculty members encourage applicants to the program to review information on this unique HHMI MIG program and to contact the Medical Physics Program Director, Dr. Richard Wendt, if they are interested in being considered for admission. More information can be found at http://medintograd.rice.edu/index.cfm. Please do note that the requirements for the medical physics fellows in the HHMI MIG program differ from those for others in the program with regard to certain required formal courses. Dr. Wendt can provide specific information.

What about letters of recommendation?

The applicant should arrange to have the recommendations submitted directly to the GSBS Office of the Admissions by at least three persons who are well qualified to evaluate the applicant's scholastic performance, scientific ability, research interest and motivation, and personal attributes such as character and personality. If the applicant is currently enrolled in or has completed a graduate degree program, one of these recommendations must be from the applicant's academic advisor or mentor.

Mailing address:

GSBS, Office of Admissions
6767 Bertner Avenue, Suite 3.8344
Houston, TX 77030

May new students matriculate in any semester?

The majority of students enter the Medical Physics Program in the fall semester. However, there have been rare occasions in which a student was able to enter the program during the summer semester due to special circumstances.

What sort of academic background are you looking for in applicants?

In addition to admission standards established by the GSBS, the Program will use the following standards in evaluating Medical Physics applicants:

Degree:

• B.S., B.A., M.S., or M.A. in Physics
• M.S. in Medical Physics, or B.S., B.A., M.S., or M.A. degree in a physical science or engineering discipline with adequate physics preparation. 

Please note that some non-physics programs (including some B.S. programs in Medical Physics) do not include sufficient physics in their standard curricula.

A suitable preparation in physics would be completion of upper level (junior, senior and graduate) courses in:

• Electricity and magnetism
• Modern physics and quantum mechanics
• Additional upper level courses in classical mechanics, thermodynamics, and atomic and nuclear physics, or their engineering equivalents

Mathematics should include multivariate calculus and ordinary differential equations. Additional study in linear algebra and probability and statistics is desirable.

Computer programming and computer science courses are viewed favorably.

May I waive previously completed coursework?

Once a student officially enters the program and wishes to waive a course in the program, he or she would meet with the course coordinator to compare the syllabus of the course taken elsewhere to the syllabus of the program's course. The course coordinator could recommend either an unconditional waiver of the course or a waiver with conditions.

The student's waiver request would next be submitted to the Program Steering Committee for approval. If the course would be used to meet a GSBS area course requirement, after approval by the Program Steering Committee the request would then be submitted to the GSBS Academic Standards Committee for final approval.

What are the typical durations of the SMS and PhD programs?

• SMS Program: 2 years to 2 years, 1 semester
• PhD Program: 5 years

What are the demographics of your students?

How successful are your graduates in finding employment?

Our recent graduates have obtained employment directly after graduation or have entered residency programs and post-doctoral fellowships. In the future, the importance of clinical residencies will be greater than it has been heretofore.

Do you require interviews?

Not all applicants will be invited to interview. Our program requires an interview before any offer of admission is extended. The graduate school or the Program will cover the cost of reasonable travel expenses to visit and interview during one of the GSBS  visitation weekends, which are held each year during the months of January through April. The program will not invite international applicants for an on-site interview unless they are currently located within the 48 contiguous US states. However, we will arrange to interview international applicants by telephone.

I have an unanswered question. Of whom can I ask it?

Please contact us.