We are excited to continue our tradition of accepting international candidates. While we don’t have a specific number in mind, and approximately 12% 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. That means there are several hundred international applicants each year.

No, you do not need a Masters degree to apply to our programs. You need to have completed a Bachelors degree by the start of the program.

Yes!  We prepare students for any career trajectory which interests them. Please check the resources available though our Aspire Office of Career Development!

No, you do not need a faculty sponsor to apply to our program. All students rotate through 4 labs before joining what will be their research thesis lab.

Our application fee is $95. Information on application fees and fee waivers can be found here: Online Application. At this point, need-based fee waivers are only available for US citizens and permanent residents, We have a very limited number of discretionary waivers based on suitability for the program and recruitment priorities.

To be considered for a fee waiver by the program, your application must be complete and submitted. A complete application has the application information, transcript(s) (unofficial are fine), test scores if necessary, Statement of Purpose, and all recommendation letters. At that point the request will be considered by the program.

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

Only a small number of waivers are granted at the discretion of the program, based on recruitment priorities and other circumstances. 

• You may request a fee waiver directly from us only after you have submitted your completed application and confirmed that a fee is due. 
• The application must be submitted and complete, including letters of recommendation, before the request will be reviewed by the program.
  
• You must submit your request prior to the application deadline and include documentation to support the reason for the request.  

Please visit our graduate school application fee information website for more information.

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, IELTS, or DuoLingo 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 or if you attended a University where the language of instruction is English.

If you do not qualify for an exemption from this exam, you will be required to submit official language proficiency exam scores. See more specifics here.

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).

The official TOEFL or IELTS scores should be submitted to Vanderbilt University at this address:

Center for Data Management
Vanderbilt University (Institution Code 1871)
PMB 407833
2301 Vanderbilt Place
Nashville, TN
37240-7833

For DuoLingo tests, no school code is required. You will be asked to provide our school’s name: “Vanderbilt University” in the request. If Vanderbilt is indicated as a recipient of the Duolingo English Test, the results are received and posted to your application two days after taking the test.

You can find more detailed information here.

There are no minimum GPA or GRE score requirements. When reviewing applications, we consider the entire application package.

Vanderbilt University policy for the TOEFL iBT (internet- based test) is a minimum score of 89. For IELTS, a minimum score of 7.0 is recommended.

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. For 2025-26 students receive a stipend of $39,000 and an additional $2,000 at the start of the graduate program to aid in moving costs.

Interview offers are sent on a rolling basis via email from January through March. Currently, we are doing in person interviews here in Nashville, TN with a possibility of a virtual option for those unable to come to Vanderbilt.

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.

The Graduate School also has online sessions specifically for our international students, so once you have accepted an offer, watch for messages from the Graduate School Office.

If you have additional questions about our umbrella graduate programs, you may contact:

Stephanie Richards, Ph.D.

Assistant Director of Recruitment for IGP and QCB
stephanie.richards@vanderbilt.edu