Admissions
The application for Fall 2019 is now closed. The application for Fall 2020 will open September 1, 2019.
- Prior to beginning your application, please carefully review the instructions and requirements below.
- When you are ready to apply go to the GMS Admissions page, review the instructions, and click “Apply Now”.
- Invitations for admission interviews will be extended by mid February. Interviews will be held mid to late March, and early April.
- All interviewed candidates will be notified of their status on the genetic counseling program through National Matching Services on April 26, 2019.
A candidate must submit the following to satisfy the application requirements for admission into the BU MS in Genetic Counseling program:
- A baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution with fulfilled prerequisites
- Transcripts from every post-secondary institution attended
- Satisfactory scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) (and TOEFL if applicable)
- Three letters of recommendation
- Personal Statement
- Resume/CV
- Personal experiences relevant to genetic counseling
BA degree, Transcripts and Prerequisites:
Applicants must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution. The majority of students enter the program with an undergraduate degree in biology, genetics, psychology, nursing, social work, or public health. However, this program is available to all individuals if following college-level prerequisites have been completed:
- one quarter or semester of genetics
- one quarter or semester of psychology
- one year of biology
- one year of chemistry
- one quarter or semester of biochemistry
- one quarter or semester of statistics
Additional considerations regarding prerequisites:
- At the application deadline, you may have up to two outstanding prerequisites that you plan to complete in the upcoming spring or summer. Please list your plans for any pending prerequisite courses on your application.
- If you are enrolled in Fall courses for which you will not receive a grade prior to the admissions deadline, they are not considered outstanding if you send an updated unofficial transcript to gcprog@bu.edu as soon as your grades are available. We ask that you contact us if for any reason your grades will not be available prior to early January.
Additional coursework in related fields (e.g. human genetics, psychology, anatomy, human development, public health, epidemiology, anthropology, sociology, neuroscience, maternal and child health, bioinformatics, computer science, scientific writing, etc.) can further strengthen your application.
We do not have a minimum GPA requirement. The average GPA for candidates that are selected for interviews is 3.50.
Transcripts:
- Transcripts should be provided from every post-secondary institution you have attended for at least one year as a full-time student and from schools that document fulfillment of prerequisite courses.
- If your transcript does not reflect your cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale and your individual grades on an A-F grading scale please provide us with this information or consult a transcript service company.
- Unofficial transcripts are acceptable for the application process. If you are offered admission at BU, official transcripts will be required at that time and additional transcripts may be requested.
- If you are currently completing your undergraduate degree, you should upload an unofficial transcript with your application and do not need to request an official transcript. If you are offered admission, official transcripts will be required at that time.
- If you are enrolled in courses that will be completed in December or January, please email an unofficial copy of those course grades or transcripts to gcprog@bu.edu as soon as they become available.
Official Transcripts may be sent to:
Division of Graduate Medical Sciences: ATTN Teresa Garrison
Boston University School of Medicine
72 East Concord St., L-317
Boston, MA 02118
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE):
- The general GRE must be taken prior to the application deadline. Score reports must be received by January 1st
- GRE scores cannot be more than five years old
- Subject GRE scores are optional
- Our GRE institution code is 3087 (you do not need to list a separate Department Code)
We do not have a minimum GRE requirement. The average GRE scores for candidates that are selected for interviews are at the 70th percentile in each category. If you take the GRE more than once, the highest percentages in each category will be evaluated accordingly.
Because genetic counseling requires strong written and spoken English skills, we require very high TOEFL or IELTS scores from international applicants. If you are a U.S. citizen, permanent resident or have received a degree from an English-speaking institution than a TOEFL score is not required by Boston University Graduate School of Medical Sciences.
Letters of Recommendation:
Please submit three letters of recommendation. There are no requirements regarding the background of your recommenders, but you are encouraged to choose individuals who can comment on different strengths.
Personal Statement:
We truly enjoy reading personal statements from all applicants. In addition to the following topics to be addressed in your personal statement below, please also make sure to tell us about who you are.
- How did you become interested in genetic counseling? Please tell us more about the academic, inter-personal and/or extracurricular experiences that led to your interest.
- Please make sure to highlight your personal characteristics that will contribute to your success as a genetic counselor in whatever path you pursue post graduation.
The personal statement should be 3-4 pages (double-spaced).
Resume/Curriculum Vitae:
As part of your online application submission, attach a resume or CV that includes the following:
(Please note, not all of these items are required, but all are considered in the selection of interview candidates. You are welcome to include additional information that you think highlights the strength and diversity of your application.)
- Undergraduate institution, degree, major, minor or concentration (if applicable) and cumulative GPA (on a 4.0 scale). If you have a graduate degree, please include this information as well.
- Your GRE percentile scores for all three sections
- A list of the course titles, numbers, and grades received for any courses you have taken to fulfill our prerequisite requirements
- A list of any courses that you plan to take this coming winter/spring/summer
- Any genetic counseling observations, phone interviews or internships (including location, supervisor, and length of time)
- Any volunteer or paid experience related to genetics, disabilities, or healthcare (including location and length of time)
- Any peer or crisis counseling experience (including location and length of time)
- Any bench or clinical research experience (including location and length of time)
- Any publications or abstracts on which you are named as an author
- Any other work or volunteer experiences related to the field of genetic counseling or which support your candidacy for this program
- Any leadership experiences, awards, honors, language skills, etc.
Personal Experiences:
Personal experiences relevant to genetic counseling are also
required. These
may include:
- Shadowing, interviewing or meeting with a genetic counselor.
- Volunteer or advocacy experience (support groups, summer camps, fund-raising events, etc.)
- Counseling experience (crisis hotlines, hospice work, etc.)
- Laboratory experience (academic or commercial)
- Research experience
- Related industry experience
