Admissions
Thank you for your interest in the Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Group!
Applications for Fall 2023 admissions were accepted starting in October 2022. The deadline was December 1st 2022.
The Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Group (CAMB) is part of Biomedical Graduate Studies (BGS), an umbrella organization administered through the Perelman School of Medicine that includes CAMB and other biomedical-related graduate groups. Within this integrated graduate group are six discipline program areas: Cancer Biology (CB); Cell Biology, Physiology, and Metabolism (CPM); Developmental, Stem Cell, and Regenerative Biology (DSRB); Genetics and Epigenetics (G&E); Gene Therapy and Vaccines (GTV); and Microbiology, Virology, and Parasitology (MVP). You can apply for one of the six CAMB programs through the Biomedical Graduate Studies (BGS) Admissions process. BGS also offers certificate programs in medicine, public health, and environmental health sciences. Please see Life at Penn for information about campus life.
All aspects of the application are important to us. We expect that all of our applicants will have had significant research experience. Please include specific information about your research experience in your personal statement. Please also be sure to ask at least one of your research mentors to provide a letter of recommendation; preferably, that should be the person who has been your mentor in your most recent research endeavor. Research experience, publications, and letters of recommendation play an important role in the selection process.
As of July 2018, we no longer require or accept the general GRE test. Applicants whose native language is not English are required to take an English proficiency exam (either the TOEFL or the IELTS); this requirement is waived for applicants who have or will have obtained a degree from a US or other approved English-instructed institution. There are no minimum score requirements. In order for your application to be considered complete, official TOEFL or IELTS score reports must be received by the BGS office by the application deadline. It is important for students applying to this program from outside the United States to realize that funding for overseas students is very limited, and thus the application process is extremely competitive.
2022 Admissions Season
We had 961 applications to our PhD program for entrance in Fall 2022; 584 from US citizens or permanent residents of the US, and 377 from international citizens. We interviewed 145 and accepted 131. Our incoming class has 78 students (76% female, 26% under-represented minority, and 8% international). The average GPA score was 3.71.