MS in Biotechnology | Admissions Requirements
CREDENTIALS AND PREREQUISITES
- Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited US college or university in the natural sciences or in engineering. Programs require a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Meeting the minimum GPA requirement does not guarantee admission. Applicants who received their bachelor’s degree in a country outside of the United States are required to provide a course-by-course credential evaluation and TOEFL scores if English is not their first language.
- Applicants with degrees in other disciplines may be able to enroll if their undergraduate work included the prerequisite courses that follow:
- Two semesters of biology
- Two semesters of college chemistry, preferably with laboratories
- Two semesters of organic chemistry, preferably with laboratories; students without adequate organic chemistry may be admitted provisionally to take 410.302 Bio-Organic Chemistry.
APPLICATION DOCUMENTS
- AAP Application
- Nonrefundable Application Fee: $75
- Resume or Curriculum Vitae
- 500-word Statement of Purpose (Discuss why you wish to pursue the MS in Biotechnology. Focus on your long term goals and how this academic program will complement these goals. Discuss the strengths of your academic and professional background, as well as any additional comments that will assist in evaluating your application materials.)
- Official transcripts from all college studies (A transcript is official if it is mailed directly to the Advanced Academic Programs Office of Admissions from the institution the student attended. If a student delivers the transcript in a sealed institutional envelope, then the transcript must be dated within in last three months.)
- Course-by-Course Credential Evaluation and/or TOEFL for international students
- The Admissions Committee reserves the right to request additional information from applicants, if needed, to assess their candidacy for admission.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS EXCEPTIONS
If you do not meet all the requirement criteria for admissions, you may still be admitted to a program. Admission in these cases are determined on a case-by-case basis. These candidates may be granted provisional status.
Provisional Student
Provisional students are admitted to this status because, in the view of the admissions committee, they do not fulfill academic requirements for admission as a degree candidate at the time of the application. Provisional students may be required to take specific prerequisite courses, and/or take a specific number of courses and complete them successfully in order to establish their eligibility to be admitted as a degree candidate.
During the time of this provisional status, students are held to grading criteria stricter than those required of degree candidates. (see page 16, Grading System, Requirements in the Academic Catalogue 2011-12.) Specifics of a provisional admission are outlined in a formal admissions letter mailed to the student. All listed criteria must be met for a student to continue to enroll in courses.
If you have a question about admission requirements, please don't hesitate to contact admissions.
Visa and Education Evaluation Requirements
Student Visas
Accelerated students and part-time students who have been admitted as degree candidates and who take at least three courses per semester, which is full-time classification, may request certification for an F1 visa. Students for whom this may be a possibility should indicate yes on their admissions application at the appropriate checkbox regarding initiating the visa process. The Admissions Office of the Advanced Academic Programs will assist in the certification process (aapadmissions@jhu.edu) which the student must complete with the Office of International Student and Scholar Services. The International Student Office is available to answer questions at 410.516.1013 or theworld@jhu.edu.
Foreign Credential Evaluation
Students who earned their post-secondary degree(s) in a country other than the United States are required to have a “course-by-course” credential evaluation with GPA performed by an outside evaluation service. A number of organizations render this service. The following two credential evaluation services are acceptable: World Education Services (WES) assists students with initiating the evaluation process and can be reached at wes.org or 800.937.3895. Students may also call the WES office in Washington, DC, at 202.331.2925, where a local representative can assist them. Also, Educational Perspectives, educational-perspectives.org or 312.421.9300. Please allow four to six weeks for an official credential assessment to be completed and forwarded to the Advanced Academic Programs Admissions Office in Washington, DC.
TOEFL Scores
International students whose native language is not English must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Submit results directly to the Advanced Academic Programs Office of Admissions. Please use the TOEFL code 8747. Photocopies will not be accepted. AAP requires a minimum score of 600 on the paper test, 250 on the computer-based test and 100 on the Internet-based test. For information, contact the nearest American embassy; write to TOEFL, Toefl Services, PO Box 6151, Princeton, NJ 08541 or visit their web site at www.toefl.org.