Online Application and Application Instructions

Our online application for Fall 2026 opens on August 1, 2025.

Admissions Timeline and Instructions

Admission to the IGP is granted for the Fall semester only. There are no spring admissions.

IMPORTANT NOTES ON THE APPLICATION:
The above link takes you to the Vanderbilt Graduate School application and you have to specify which program within the Graduate School you are applying.

• Under Area of Study, select “Biomedical and Biological Sciences” or “Interdisciplinary Programs”.
• From the Program Selection menu, select the “IGP in Biomedical and Biological Sciences”.
  • Do NOT select “Biological Sciences” to apply to the IGP; that is a separate PhD program.
  • Do NOT select “Biomedical Sciences” to apply to the IGP; that is a masters program.
  • Do NOT select “Neuroscience” to apply to the IGP; that is a separate application to the Neuroscience program only.
  • Do NOT select “Pharmacology” to apply to the IGP; that is a non-degree granting application.

Application Instructions:

The application will include:

• Personal history: education, work, publications, experiences (which are research experiences and/or work research experiences)
  • Under Experiences, be sure to indicate the number of research hours for any research experience.
  • Work experiences that are not research related (working in the bookstore for example) should not be listed here. You can include them on your CV, but not in this section.
  • Projects or presentations that are part of a college course (ie Genetics) do not count as a research experience. An exception would be an independent study course or a thesis credit course, which is independent research.
• CV or Resume
  • Please still complete the “Experiences” tab of the application, even though you upload a CV or resume. In the “Experiences” section we ask for information about the amount of time you spend in each experience, which is not on one’s CV or resume.
• Statement of Purpose
• Please upload a PDF. Once you submit the application, you may not see this as being present in the application. This is an issue with the software, and it will be present but if you are concerned you can reach out for confirmation.
• Please upload your unofficial transcripts into the application; you will not need to send in your official transcripts until requested by the program.
  • For international applicants, a WES transcript is not required but can be helpful if you have it.
  • If your school does not calculate Class Rank, leave it blank
  • If you need to calculate your GPA, you can find instructions at the bottom of the Graduate School site page here.
• 3 Letters of Recommendation
  • You will be asked to provide the e-mail addresses of at least three recommenders. Vanderbilt will contact your recommenders by e-mail and provide them with instructions on how to submit their recommendations online. You may submit up to five recommenders. Please note that we cannot edit or change any submitted recommender information, so please confirm that recommender email addresses are correct before you submit your application.
  • We are unable to accept letters from Interfolio at this time.
• The GRE is OPTIONAL/not required.
  • If you are submitting GRE scores and would like to report your official scores, the GRE institution code for Vanderbilt is 1871. GRE scores older than five-years old will not be accepted, however, we are happy to accept unofficial, self-reported scores.
• Our application fee is $95.
  • All individuals who have performed research funded by a US entity are granted an automatic fee waiver. This waiver is on the Experiences page, and applies to US citizens, permanent residents, and international applicants who qualify. More information is found below.
  • For international applicants who do not qualify for a research waiver who wish to request a waiver due to financial hardship, please see below.
• TOEFL, IELTS or Duo-Lingo test scores if the international applicant graduated from non-English degree granting institution. See this page for more details on how to report your test scores.
  • If English is your native language or if you graduated from a University where instruction was in English, you do not have to submit language proficiency scores. Once you upload your Academic History and transcripts, it will be determined whether you would have that requirement waived.
  • It is helpful to upload “Supporting Documentation for English Test Waiver”; this will expedite the waiver.

Please note that applications will be reviewed by the IGP admissions committee only if they are officially submitted. Once you fill out the application, upload your Statement of Purpose, transcripts, test results (if applicable), and complete the recommender information, you can submit your application.

You do not have to wait for recommendation letters to be uploaded in order to submit the application; as the letters are uploaded they will automatically populate your application.

An application is COMPLETE after it is “Officially Submitted” (per step 3 of the application instructions) AND all supporting documents have been submitted. Only complete applications will be reviewed, so be sure to check on the status of your recommendation letter submissions before the December 1 application deadline.

If you have difficulty uploading your transcripts or with your recommenders receiving email links to upload their letters, contact Stephanie Richards via email, or phone 615-343-6111.

All applicants who are not selected to interview will be notified by March 15.

More Questions? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

Access the Online Application Here

Application Fee and Fee Waiver Information

Please read this closely; all individuals who have performed research funded by a US entity, public or private, will be granted an automatic fee waiver.

If this applies to you, your waiver will be processed within the application itself; simply check “yes” to the question that asks if you’ve performed US-funded research on the Experiences page of the application. Many of our applicants will qualify for this waiver, and no other waiver is necessary. E-mail Stephanie Richards (stephanie.richards@vanderbilt.edu) if you have any questions!

Application Fee

The Graduate School application fee is $95.00.

• After you submit your application online, you will see instructions to pay the fee with a credit or debit card via a secure payment portal.
• If you have qualified for a fee waiver, you will not be asked to make a payment.
• You only need one fee waiver for the application. If you qualify for more than one category of fee waiver, you only need apply one.
• If you submit applications to more than one program (maximum of two per year), only a single fee will be charged.
• In addition to fee waivers being granted based on the criteria below, a small number of additional waivers will be granted at the discretion of the program and school based on recruitment priorities.

A candidate’s eligibility for admission will not be impacted by an application for or receipt of a fee waiver.

Other Application Fee Waiver Eligibilities

Vanderbilt Sponsored Programs
Students that participated in any of the following VU sponsored programs within the past three years are eligible for a fee waiver.

• Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’s-to-PhD Bridge Program
• Vanderbilt NSF REU in Chemical Biology
• Vanderbilt NSF REU in Nanoscale Science and Engineering
• Vanderbilt NSF REU in Physics
• Vanderbilt Summer Science Academy
• Vanderbilt National Name Exchange (NNE) Diversity Fair
• Vanderbilt-hosted recruitment event
• VU-EDGE Pre-VU PhD Recruitment Event

Fellowship, Research, and Training Programs
Students that are members of the following VU-associated Fellowship, Research, and Training Programs are eligible for a fee waiver and who participated in the program in the past three years. Documentation demonstrating that student is/was member of the  VU-associated program must accompany the waiver request:

• California Polytechnic State University, Pomona Undergraduate Research Program
• Dozoretz National Institute for Mathematics and Applied Sciences (DNIMAS)
• Gates Millennium Scholars Program (GMSP)
• Initiative to Maximize Student Development (IMSD)
• Leadership Alliance Summer Research Early Identification Program (SR-EIP)
• Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP)
• NIH/NIGMS Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC)
• Mellon Mays Minority Undergraduate Fellowship Program (MMUF)
• National Name Exchange (NNE)
• Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement Program (RISE)
• Ronald McNair Scholars Program
• The National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science (GEM fellows and associate fellows)
• University of Baltimore Maryland County Meyerhoff Scholars Program
• University of Central Florida Academic Advancement Programs

Waivers of the application fee will be considered upon request for US citizens and US permanent residents¹ if they have a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.0 in their last program of enrollment AND meet at least one of the criteria below:

• Demonstrated financial need in the past year (Pell Grant eligibility).
• Current or former member of the United States Armed Forces.

¹US permanent residents must provide proof of this status, such as a copy of a Green Card – Permanent Resident Card.  International applicants attending US colleges and universities are also eligible to apply for a fee waiver.

Discretionary Fee Waivers for International Applicants who do not qualify for the Research Fee waiver:

Extenuating circumstances
Applicants with extenuating circumstances can apply for waiver; explanation with documentation must be provided with application.

Please visit our graduate school application fee information website for more information on the fee waiver policies.