Graduate Program Application Requirements

The Department of Microbiology and Immunology, in the School of Medicine, offers programs of graduate study leading to the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) and Master of Science (M.S.). For admission to the Ph.D. or M.S. programs, the applicant must have earned the B.S or B.A. degree, or equivalent, with a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 point scale).  In addition, the following should be submitted online directly to Graduate Admissions (http://graduate.louisville.edu/apply):

•    A completed application form and $60 application fee
•    Official scores of the General Test Section of the Graduate Record Examination and the TOEFL (when applicable)
•   Three letters of recommendation
•   A brief statement of purpose describing interests and career goals
•   A current resume or curriculum vitae
•   Official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate course work(mailed to Graduate Admissions)
•   A letter of scientific support from a Department of Microbiology and Immunology faculty member (ONLY for MS PROGRAM)

The application deadline is March 1st each year. Submission prior to March 1 is strongly encouraged in order to ensure that all required materials (especially letters of reference) are received by the deadline.  In order to receive the test scores by the deadline an applicant must take the GRE no later than December. Qualified prospective students will be invited for a visit and personal interviews. Qualified prospective PhD students who apply by February 1, may be invited to interview before March 1st.

 A limited number of stipends with full tuition remission are available for highly qualified Ph.D. applicants.  The stipend may be renewed annually, provided the student maintains good academic standing, demonstrates satisfactory progress in the research project, and devotes full-time to his/her graduate studies.  It is expected that the student's stipend support and fees when the student is a Ph.D. candidate, will be provided by research or training funds from the Research Advisor's laboratory. 

M.S. students are not eligible for fellowships, departmental stipend support or any tuition remission.  To see the proposed Graduate Tuition Rates for the upcoming academic year, Click here.  Graduate non-resident tuition is about $20,168.00 annually, because of this, MS admission is usually limited to self-supporting resident students.  In addition, students applying to the M.S. Program are required to find a faculty research advisor.  The time required to complete the M.S. degree ranges from 2 to 3 years.

Specific course pre-requisites for all applicants to both the MS and Ph.D. Degree Programs include:

• one year of biology
• one year of organic chemistry
• one semester (or equivalent ) of introductory calculus
• one semester of biochemistry

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Please have universities mail your official transcripts to:

Graduate Admissions Office
University of Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky 40292
United States of America