QCB Admission Procedure
Our online application for Fall 2026 opens on August 1, and closes on December 1, 2025.
The QCB faculty admissions committee reviews applications for fall admission only.
QCB Admissions Timeline:
| August 1 | Online application available online for the following fall semester |
| December 1 | Deadline for applications. Be sure the application is complete, and click Submit! |
| January-February | On-campus interviews conducted for selected candidates |
| April 15 | Deadline for candidates to accept offers |
About application requirements, procedures and deadlines
To apply to the program, please use the online application, which is linked on this page with instructions. When you open your application, 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 “Quantitative and Chemical Biology Program”.
The application will include:
- Personal history: education, work, publications
- CV (optional but recommended)
- Statement of Purpose
- Transcript(s), unofficial is fine.
- 3 Letters of Recommendation, up to 5 allowed
- TOEFL, IELTS or Duo-Lingo test scores if English is not your native language or if the international applicant graduated from non-English degree granting institution.
- Application fee
A bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from an accredited institution in the United States or equivalent training at a foreign university is required. Students who will graduate and obtain their bachelor’s degree prior to the beginning of the Fall term are qualified to apply.
We do holistic review of our applications. Successful applicants have extensive independent, hypothesis-driven laboratory research experience, strong grades in their STEM courses, and strong recommendation letters that speak to the applicant’s research experience and interest.
Applications are due by Midnight (Central Time) on December 1. There is no priority deadline. Only submitted and complete applications will be reviewed by the IGP admissions committee.
Application review by the IGP Admissions Committee begins after December 1. With over 1200 applications to review, this process continues for several weeks, into February. As applications are reviewed, invitations to interview for the IGP will be issued via email. You will not see a change in your application status in the application portal. Email invitations to interview will contain instructions on selecting an interview date.
Once all applications have been reviewed, applicants will be notified if they have not been invited to interview. This typically will occur by the end of February.
Candidates who have interviewed and have been offered admission to the IGP have until April 15 to make their decision. Instructions to accept or decline admission are in the offer of admission letter from the Graduate School.
About the application
The application deadline is December 1. There is no other deadline. You may apply for the program and find more information about the application timeline by clicking here. Applications will begin review on December 2. No. The QCB only accepts students for Fall Admission. Our application fee is $95. In accordance with the interests of the US congress and its commitment to training well qualified students for careers in the biomedical sciences, fee waivers exist for any applicant who has performed biological or biomedically-oriented research which has been supported by the NIH, the NSF, or any other agency or private foundation within the US. This waiver applies to US citizens, permanent residents, and international applicants. You will find this waiver on the Experiences page of the QCB application. There is more specific information on application fee waivers on the Online Application page.waivers. Your application status will not change online. You will be notified if you have been invited to interview for our program. Otherwise, we will contact you when all interview invitations have been extended regarding your application status. Please see this page for more information. accordion title=”Do I need to find a faculty member to work with before applying?”] 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. [/accordion]
About interviews and admissions offers
Interview offers are sent on a rolling basis. If an applicant has not received an invitation by March 15th, they are not being considered for an interview with the QCB program.
Typically we will send an email and include a survey for you to select an interview date and share additional information. However, if you do not quickly respond to this email, we will send a follow up message. Be sure to check your spam folder!
The QCB committee meets after the application deadline. After the meeting, invitations to interview are issued. Once all the applications have been reviewed and interviews are scheduled, other applicants will be informed of their status.
You will make your own travel arrangements, and we will reimburse you for the cost of your travel. If your travel cost exceeds our allotted cost, reach out for pre-approval for the extra cost and the approximate amount. While here for the interview, we will pay for your hotel and meals on the interview day.
You have until April 15th to make a final decision. However, once you have made a final decision (either way) we would be grateful if you share those plans with us. It helps us as we consider other candidates on our waitlist. If you have anything else you would like to know during your decision making process, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
About the program and degree
No, the QCB is a Ph.D.-track program that feeds into the thirteen basic science departments and programs in the School of Medicine as well as the Dept of Biological Sciences in the College of Arts & Science.
Yes! We prepare students for any career trajectory they are interested in. Please check out the website of our ASPIRE Office of Career Development.
About the numbers
We always shoot for a range, this year the range is ~50 for both the combined IGP and QCB programs. We aim for a class of approximately 10 students in QCB.
The number has been increasing for some time, but currently we have over 1,400 submitted applications between the IGP and QCB programs.
About funding
Yes, the QCB program offers full financial support and covers all tuition, fees, and student health insurance, including vision and dental insurance. In addition, students receive a stipend. First year compensation for 2025-26 is $39,000 plus a relocation bonus of $2,000 to be used for upfront costs associated with relocating to Nashville.