Entrance Requirements

General Requirements

An undergraduate GPA of 3.00 or greater, with fundamental training equivalent to an undergraduate major in the biological sciences, is required for regular admission.  It is highly recommended that the applicant have at least one course each in biochemistry, molecular biology, and genetics.  Courses in developmental biology and cell biology are also recommended.  In addition, the student should have pre-requisite courses in physics, mathematics (including some calculus), and chemistry (at least through organic chemistry).  Previous research experience is highly desirable.  Applicants who have inadequacies with respect to these requirements, but who possess an otherwise promising record, may be granted conditional admission, with conditions as specified by the MCDB Graduate Studies Committee (GSC).

Academic Unit Transfer

Students may apply for an intra-university transfer from another Ohio State University academic unit by completing the Transfer of Graduate Program form, available from the GRADFORMS. In addition to the transfer application, the MCDB program requires:

  1. A current advising report;
  2. A current curriculum vitae;
  3. A statement of research interests; and
  4. Three recent letters of recommendation 

Transfer applications are typically reviewed with new applications for autumn semester admission.  Transfer requests are not automatically approved by the Graduate Studies Committee and are considered for admission based on competitiveness of the applicant pool.  If the Graduate Studies Committee approves the transfer, it will specify which previously completed courses (if any) will count towards the doctoral degree in MCDB.