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 for 2023-24, and an additional $2000 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 13 graduate programs, the second year of funding for international students is through the BRET office. We continue to fund our international students through their second year, and after that the PI may fund their international student 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. Graduate student resources can be found here; of special interest to international students are the Campus Communities and International Student sections. 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. Currently, 8.3% of our students are international students.
Recently, around a third of our applications have been contributed from international candidates to our umbrella graduate programs. We continue to welcome and encourage these applications.
Yes! We prepare all our students for any career trajectory they are interested in. Please check out the website of our Office of Career Development!
You may apply for the program and find more information about the admission timeline at this link. Admission to our umbrella graduate programs is granted for the fall semester only. No students will be admitted to start in the spring.
Starting with Fall 2018 applications, our application fee will be $95. We have a robust waiver process as a part of this in order to ensure that we continue to recruit those students coming from groups that could be disadvantaged by the fee.
The general GRE exam, which includes the Verbal, Quantitative and Analytic sections, is not required for admission into the QCB program. An unofficial score report may be submitted if you would like, but is optional. 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 also 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 was English. We are also accepting IELTS and Duo-Lingo scores. The initial application scores are self-reported. Should you be offered admission, official scores would be submitted if you decide to accept the offer.
If you chose to submit GRE scores (these are optional), 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, or TOEFL score requirements. When reviewing applications, we consider the entire application package.
The admission deadline is December 1st. This date is when applications will begin 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. In addition, students receive a stipend. Compensation for 2023-24 will be $36,500 and a first-day one-time bonus of $2000 to be used for upfront costs associated with relocating to Nashville.
Interview offers are sent on a rolling basis via email or phone call from January through March. Currently, interviews are virtual on Zoom. Applicants who receive an offer of admission will be invited to visit campus on one of two QCB visit weekends.
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.
If you have additional questions about our umbrella graduate programs, you may contact:
Stephanie Richards, Ph.D.
Assistant Director for Recruitment
Stephanie.Richards@Vanderbilt.edu
(615)-343-6111