International Candidates
The Vanderbilt Biomedical Graduate Programs have a strong and lengthy history of recruiting outstanding candidates from the international community. We continue to encourage and warmly welcome applications from international students.
Funding
As with all accepted candidates, international students will receive full first year tuition coverage, health insurance, a stipend of $36,500 (effective 7/1/2023), and an additional $2,000 at the start of the graduate program to aid in moving costs. First year funding is guaranteed as long as the student is making good progress through the program. After completion of the first year and entry into one of our 11 graduate programs, the second year of funding for international students is through the BRET office. After the second year, the PI may fund international students is through a combination of institutional support, grants, and teaching assistant opportunities.
Support for International Students
All of our trainees receive strong support and have access to numerous resources through the Office of Biomedical Research Education & Training and the Graduate Program staff. Additionally, to address the unique requirements for international students studying in the US, the Biomedical Graduate Program staff works closely with the Vanderbilt International Student & Scholar Services in order to support a smooth transition to Vanderbilt and the States, and throughout our trainees’ graduate careers.
FAQs for International Candidates
We are excited to continue our tradition of accepting international candidates. While we don’t have a specific number in mind, and between 8-10% of the past incoming classes of IGP and QCB combined have been international students.
Recently, around a third of our applications have been contributed from international candidates to our umbrella graduate programs.
Yes! We prepare students for any career trajectory which interests them. Please check the resources available though our Aspire Aspire Office, Career Development!
You may apply for the program and find more information about the admission timeline at this link. Admission to the our umbrella graduate programs is granted for the fall semester only. No students will be admitted to start in the spring.
Our application fee will be $95. Information on application fees and fee waivers can be found here: Online Application.
Neither the general GRE exam, which includes the Verbal, Quantitative and Analytic sections, nor the subject tests are required for admission. If you have taken the GRE and would like to include it in your application, you may do so and the admissions committee will consider it in their holistic review. The GRE Institution Code is 1871. The GRE Department Code for this program is 0202 (No department code is necessary, but you may use 0202 if you are required to enter one).
TOEFL scores are required for international applicants; however, this requirement can be waived if you have received a degree where the primary language of the country is English-speaking. We are also accepting IELTS and Duo-Lingo test scores as well.
The GRE and TOEFL Institution Code is 1871. The GRE Department Code for this program is 0202 (No department code is necessary, but you may use 0202 if you are required to enter one).
No. There are no minimum GPA, GRE, or TOEFL score requirements. When reviewing applications, we consider the entire application package, including previous research experience.
The application submission deadline is December 1. Applications that are not complete by that date are not guaranteed to be reviewed.
Yes, international candidates receive the same funding as all accepted candidates: Our programs offer full financial support and covers all tuition, fees, and student health insurance. This year students will receive a stipend of $36,500 and an additional $2,000 at the start of the graduate program to aid in moving costs.
In order to address the unique requirements for international students studying in the US, the Biomedical Graduate Program staff works closely with the Vanderbilt International Student & Scholar Services in order to support a smooth transition to Vanderbilt and the States, and throughout our trainees’ graduate careers. We also have support for international students here in the BRET office.
If you have additional questions about our umbrella graduate programs, you may contact:
Stephanie Richards, PhD
Assistant Director of Recruitment for IGP and QCB
stephanie.richards@vanderbilt.edu