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Admission Procedures For all degree programs in the Department of Biostatistics the applicant must meet the following requirements.
Please note, SOPHAS submits applications to the Graduate School of Public Health only after all required materials are received. Applicants who have submitted applications may track their status online. If you are a non-degree applicant, please visit http://www.publichealth.pitt.edu/interior.php?pageID=98 to see detailed instructions on how to apply. The following table summarizes the requirements for admission by degree:
Requirements for Admission by Degree
* Degree should be a professional health degree Nursing, M.D., D.D.S. or D.V.M. ** Deficiency can be made up first year. Students apply online. Information for the Admissions Process and Requirements can be found at: http://www.publichealth.pitt.edu/interior.php?pageID=96 Questions on the admissions process can be directed to: Office of Admissions Graduate School of Public Health 114 Parran Hall 130 DeSoto Street University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA 15261 Phone: 412-624-3002 Fax: 412-624-3755 E-mail: stuaff@pitt.edu Academic Programs Frequently Asked Questions Do I need a Masters (MS) degree before applying for the PhD program? No. You can apply directly to the PhD program. Do I need a background in biology? You must have three credits of undergraduate or graduate level biology for the PhD, MS & MPH program. You must have six credits of undergraduate or graduate level biology for the MPH program. If you have no biology course you may be admitted provisionally on the stipulation that you complete a biology course prior to graduation. What is the requirement on the TOEFL and GRE for financial assistance? To be admitted to the program, the student must have a TOEFL of at least 550 on the written test or 80 on the internet test. For financial aid the TOEFL should be at least 600. There are no minimum requirements for admission or financial aid for the GREs although most students entering into the MS program have a Verbal and Qualitative combined score of 1000 and for entry into the doctoral program most students are above 1200. What kinds of financial assistance are available for new international students? New international students are eligible for graduate student researcher stipends (GSR) and if they have good English skills and some background in statistics they are eligible for a teaching assistantship (TA). Both of these require 20 hours of work per week, and provide a monthly stipend along with a tuition waiver. Do you have support for MS students? We do have some support for new MS students. What is the deadline for considering financial aid? The completed application and all required materials should reach the Admissions Office by February 15 in order to maximize the chance for financial aid. However, the Office of International Services (OIS) may take additional time to process applications for international students, so it is suggested that international students apply earlier. Do you have a rolling process or collect all the application materials and then process them together? There is a rolling process for applications. I have been accepted into your program, but was not given financial aid and I do not have the money to enter the program? What can I do? Please send a request that your application be deferred until the next year. A letter (or email) from the student must be received by the department and approved and then forwarded to the Student Affairs office. In turn they will send you a confirmed letter of deferral. An alternative is to borrow money for the first year and if you do very well in the program your chances for financial aid will increase. What are the requirements for being given financial aid (teaching assistant or grant research assistants)? Strong GREs, grades and letters of recommendation. Assistantships require the student to work 20 hours per week, and provide a monthly stipend along with a tuition waiver. The Department also has some training grant positions that require US Citizenship or permanent residency in the US. Training grant positions do not require the student to work and include a tuition waiver and a stipend. What is the deadline for applications for the Fall term? To simply be admitted to the program, US citizens should have all materials submitted by August 1 for the Fall term. However, if the applicant is interested in financial aid, it is preferable that US citizens have all materials submitted by January 15 for the Fall term and international students should have their materials submitted earlier to allow processing by OIS. For international students, the applicant should submit application to SOPHAS by January 15. All other materials should be received no later than February 15 in order to allow processing by OIS. Do I have to apply separately for financial aid (i.e. a teaching assistantship or graduate student research assistantship)? No. You will automatically be considered when you apply. Can I start classes in the Spring of the Year? We discourage students from starting in the Spring since they may not have the prerequisites to take the courses offered in the Spring term. However, students with one semester of applied statistics such as BIOS 2041 and one semester of theoretical statistics such as BIOS 2043 can apply. In particular, students who already have an MS degree in statistics or biostatistics can start in the Spring term. |
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