Application Deadlines
The fall 2021 application will open in August/September 2020. Please note, the deadline for Fall 2021 complete applications, including all transcripts, letters, test scores, and statement, is January 15, 2021. Spring admissions are rare, and any applicant seeking consideration for spring must have a letter of support from a current, primary Fischell Department of Bioengineering faculty member.
Minimum Admission Requirements
Admission to the Graduate Program in Bioengineering requires a bachelor’s degree in a science or engineering discipline from an accredited undergraduate institution. Applicants with degrees in non-engineering disciplines, such as biology, chemistry, physics, or mathematics, are expected to have the following prerequisite courses: Calculus I, II, III; Differential Equations; and Thermodynamics. These courses would ideally have been completed by the time of application, but they may also be in progress.
Required Materials
As required by the Graduate School, all application materials are to be submitted electronically:
- Graduate application
- Transcripts
- Statement of research goals and interests
- Letters of recommendation
- Non-refundable application fee ($75) for each program to which an applicant applies
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is optional.
GRE and TOEFL scores are sent electronically from ETS. Please use institution code 5814. The department code is not important. Scores are downloaded once per month, so please request your score report well in advance. It may take up to four weeks for us to receive your scores.
IELTS scores can be sent electronically to the department to speed up the application review process. To submit your scores to the department, please email a scanned copy of your IELTS report to bioe-grad@umd.edu. Please ensure your Test Report Form (TRF) number is visible and legible. If recommended for admission, an official IELTS test report will need to be sent directly to UMD's Graduate School e-download account via the IELTS testing center:
University of Maryland - The Graduate School
The Graduate Building
2123 Lee Building
College Park, MD 20742
The Graduate School does not accept paper IELTS test report forms.
Application Instructions
Applications are submitted online via the Graduate School website. When creating your application account, ensure that your name matches the name listed on your official, government-issued identification (e.g., passport).
When you are filling out the online application you will see several tabs that ask for different information—detailed below.
After responding to all required and relevant items, you may submit your application.
- Application Type: Degree
- Level of Study: Masters or Doctoral
- Intended Program of Study: Bioengineering (BIOE), Ph.D. or M.S.
Enter your cumulative GPA for all schools attended as listed on your transcript. International students should not convert their GPA to the 4.0 scale, instead selecting the appropriate grading scale.
Upload your statement of purpose and resume/CV, respectively. Disregard any other items as these materials will not be considered as part of the application.
Add a minimum of three recommendation providers. Once entered, the system will send an automatic notification email with the sender identified as "University of Maryland, College Park – Graduate School."
We recommend that you contact these individuals in advance to ensure the provider will be willing to write a letter of recommendation.
- If you need to make any changes after you have submitted the application, you must contact the Graduate School at gradschool@umd.edu.
- For any technical difficulties with the online application, please contact gradschool@umd.edu.
- For all other questions relating to the application process, please contact the department at bioe-grad@umd.edu.
Admission decisions are generally based on quantitative metrics (GPA, GRE, and TOEFL scores), letters of recommendation, statement of research goals, as well as previous research experiences, especially archival publications.
Completed applications are reviewed by an admissions committee in each graduate degree program. The recommendations of the committees are submitted to the Dean of the Graduate School, who will make the final admission decision. Students seeking to complete graduate work at the University of Maryland for degree purposes must be formally admitted to the Graduate School by the Dean. To ensure the integrity of the application process, the University of Maryland authenticates submitted materials through TurnItIn for Admissions.
International applicants must also take either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam. The University of Maryland's institutional code for score reporting is 5814. No department or major code is needed. Please allow at least 2 weeks for score reporting to the institution.