Apply to BME (and What You Need to Know)

- Research culture that is heavily focused on the training, development, and positive outcomes of graduate students

- Educational programs and paths that are tailored to the needs and aspirations of individual students

- Sense of community that goes beyond an individual laboratory or research field

- Widespread drive to collaborate and help others succeed

- Accessibility of faculty and other senior mentors/advocates

- Availability of cutting-edge research resources in the UVA School of Medicine

- Leading public university with a vibrant and talented pool of Biomedical Engineering majors in the UVA School of Engineering

- Youthful and energetic leadership of a department with a 50+ year-old history in Biomedical Engineering

- Innovative educational components that recognize the various paths of modern graduate students

- Ambitious research programs with impact far beyond a subdiscipline of Biomedical Engineering

- Strong thematic cohesion within and among department research strengths

- Increasingly diverse student body: twice the percentage of Black and LatinX students as the national average

- Deans from three UVA Schools (Engineering, Medicine and Data Science) are appointed in BME

- 65+ biotechnology companies in the City of Charlottesville

Below is a list of BME faculty who were willing and able at this time to indicate a general outlook on recruitment in the current application cycle. Note that not all our faculty are listed. Some prefer not to disclose, and some are still uncertain about their recruiting needs, such that they could not with accuracy indicate a general outlook. Applicants are encouraged to contact faculty directly for more specific or up-to-date information about laboratory openings.

The following key indicates faculty research areas. 

• BI = Biomedical Imaging
• DGD = Drug & Gene Delivery
• TEB = Tissue Engineering & Biomaterials
• SBDS = Systems Biology & Biomedical Data Science
• BMMB =  Biomechanics and Mechanobiology

Actively recruiting!

Silvia Blemker (SBDS, BI, BMMB)

Liheng Cai (TEB, BMMB, DGD)

Sepideh Dolatshahi (SBDS)

Chris Highley (TEB)

Kimberly Kelly (SBDS, DGD)

Matthew Lazzara (SBDS)

Hui Li (SBDS, DGD)

Recruiting!

Sameer Bajikar (SBDS, DGD)

Tom Barker (DGD)

George Christ (TEB, BMMB)

Fred Epstein (BI)

Brent French (BI, TEB, DGD)

Andreas Gahlmann (BI, TEB)

Kelsey Kubelick (BI, DGD)

Kristen Naegle (SBDS)

Edward Nieh (SBDS, BI)

Rich Price (BI, DGD)

Gustavo Rohde (BI, SBDS)

Possibly recruiting!

Steven Caliari (TEB)

Mohammad Fallahi-Sichani (SBDS)

Kevin Janes (SBDS)

Kyle Lampe (TEB)

Craig Meyer (BI)

Cameron Mura & Phil Bourne (SBDS)

Jason Papin (SBDS)

Shayn Peirce-Cottler (SBDS, TEB)

John Platig (SBDS)

Rebecca Pompano (TEB)

Jeff Saucerman (SBDS)

Natasha Sheybani (SBDS, BI, DGD)

Not recruiting:

Dan Abebayehu

Bryan Berger

Don Griffin

Evan Scott

Aidong Zhang

Eli Zunder

Timothy Allen, Shannon Barker, Will Guilford, Brian Helmke

Note: Applicants interested in UVA's Center for Applied Biomechanics are encouraged to apply for graduate study through the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

From Kevin Janes, Professor and Graduate Admissions Director

The Biomedical Engineering graduate program offers three degrees that serve different objectives and intermediate- to long-term goals.  When applying, it is important to consider your internal motives for pursuing graduate studies.  This is more important than the availability of funding, the estimated timeline to completion, or the perceived number of slots.  Our experience is that student satisfaction is highest when their objectives are strongly aligned with those of their graduate program.

Master of Engineering (M.E.)

The Master of Engineering (M.E.) in Biomedical Engineering prepares biomedical engineers for professional careers in developing advanced healthcare technologies. Over 9 months, this 32-credit graduate program includes clinical observations, an advanced foundational biomedical curriculum, and an experiential project-based introduction to innovative technology development. Biomedical Data Science is a core element of the program and includes training and access to patient data, advanced analytics and modeling and a focus on effective data visualization. 

M.E. students pay tuition and fees and may apply for the Link Family Fellowship Award. Professional Career Planning is provided through instruction, networking and individual career advising. The M.E. program welcomes a diverse group of outstanding students from a variety of engineering and science backgrounds who are passionate about applying their professional skills to improve patient care.

While they are still pursuing their Bachelor's Degrees, UVA and Sweet Briar College students can apply for UVAccelerate, which enables students to do the B.S. and M.E. degrees as a "4+1" experience. Most UVAccellerate students take graduate-level course work in their fourth year, saving time and tuition dollars in their M.E. year.

Master of Science (M.S.)

The Master of Science (M.S.) in Biomedical Engineering is a graduate-level education in the fundamentals of the field and the research activity for our program.  M.S. students enroll in core classes plus electives, and the Master’s thesis provides a record of research effort and activity during the M.S. period.  The M.S. timeline is governed by coursework enrollment and fulfillment of requirements, which typically take 18–24 months.  The M.S. student pays tuition and fees, which might be offset by partial teaching or research assistantships, if available.  

The M.S. can be a good option for applicants from a non-BME field who seek to credential themselves for an industry career in the BME sector. Alternatively, an applicant may be uncertain about their commitment to research and seek to reevaluate after completing coursework.  The M.S. is also a viable option for applicants who do not feel that their undergraduate record accurately reflects their academic preparedness or readiness for a research degree.  M.S. students do occasionally transition to the Ph.D. program, but the M.S. is not a necessary or implied intermediate step on the path to a Ph.D.  We enroll about three M.S. students each year (range: 1–5).

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) 

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Biomedical Engineering is a mentored opportunity to become an expert on a specific research topic and train for a career involving independent research.  This means identifying a void in knowledge with your Ph.D. advisor and Ph.D. Committee members, devising a plan to fill the void rigorously and executing that plan all the way through analysis, interpretation and transmission of results to the broader scientific community. 

Foundational coursework and electives are tested holistically through a Ph.D. qualifying exam, and terminal progress toward becoming an independent scientist is judged by a candidate’s Ph.D. Dissertation Committee.  The Ph.D. dissertation communicates the gap in knowledge by synthesizing the existing literature, fills the gap with interpretable and actionable results and discusses the broader implications and future directions of the research topic.  

The timeline for a Ph.D. depends on research progress and the choice to pursue intervening activities, such as laboratory rotations and professional development programs.  Normally, Ph.D. candidates defend their dissertation in 5–6 years.  Ph.D. stipend, tuition, and fees are paid by research assistantships from the sponsoring laboratory (subject to satisfactory performance) or by predoctoral fellowships secured independently by the student.  

A Ph.D. is the option for those who know they want to pursue a research career in academia, industry, or government, although there are additional career paths that Ph.D. graduates can take.  We normally enroll about 16+ Ph.D. students each year, but this number fluctuates annually depending on the Department’s ability to sponsor research assistantships.

Occasionally, we receive applications where we are puzzled by an applicant’s choice of program given their background and interests.  The best place to explain your rationale for M.E., M.S., or Ph.D. is in the written statement of the application.  We look forward to reading it!

From Sepideh Dolatshahi, Associate Professor of BME

Biomedical Engineering is at the interface of engineering with biology, focused on integrating quantitative and physical principles with advances in modern biology. As such, we do not require that students have a certain undergraduate major to apply to BME.  We are inherently interdisciplinary, and receive and enthusiastically welcome applications from a wide variety of backgrounds, in addition to biomedical engineering. We welcome applications from students with science, math and engineering training and a commitment to making the BME transition.

Our applicants can be students with solid quantitative training—for example, in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering or Chemical Engineering—who are confident in their ability to learn the biological sciences. We recommend that these students include cell biology and biochemistry in their undergraduate curriculum or demonstrate familiarity with these disciplines via previous research experiences. Alternatively, our applicants can be brave, quantitatively savvy biologists, immunologists or biochemists. Either way, we look for evidence in your application materials (coursework, research, your personal statement, reference letters and early contacts like Zooms) to gauge whether or not you will succeed in our biological, engineering and computational coursework and research in our BME laboratories.

Having come from a purely electrical engineering, telecommunication networks and signal processing background myself, I started my BME journey at the Ph.D. stage at Georgia Tech. I managed to convince my Ph.D. advisor that I had what it took to build the cell biology and biochemistry background that was needed for my Ph.D. research. There was a steep learning curve, which required enthusiasm and persistence. Many other faculty members in our department have non-BME undergraduate or even graduate training backgrounds. Regardless of your undergraduate major, you are a strong applicant if you demonstrate excitement for research, have an academic grounding in both quantitative and life sciences and have enthusiastic support from previous mentors. It is important that you are able to identify faculty within BME whose research aligns with your interests and have a rough plan for bridging the gaps in your background.

Sepideh Dolatshahi, Associate Professor of BME

International participation brings new perspectives and cultural enrichment to our program. The department currently has 40+ international graduate students and faculty from six different countries. We have many international undergraduates, and a significant proportion of our postdoctoral fellows are international. International students often choose between a new life in this country upon graduation, or they take what they have learned and experienced back to their home country to further advance the impact of our research globally.

Advice for international applicants:

Think carefully and methodically about your long-term career plans. What skills and experience do you want to learn and what is the logical pathway to your long-term career? Following that, take advantage of the UVA BME faculty pages and their lab websites to decide which labs are best aligned with your interests and aspirations. Read faculty pages closely and be open to new directions that add to your versatility as a professional Biomedical Engineer.

Compose a well-informed email or arrange to call or Zoom - “I would like to work in…(be specific).” Show genuine interest in the work of faculty that you are interested in, and ideally try to develop a mutual relationship well before the submission deadline. (Just be aware that different faculty have differing needs from year to year in terms of recruitment.)  Have good questions for faculty and try to draw attention to any relevant experience or skills that you have. For example, it is perfectly acceptable to develop skills in one application area and then reuse them for a new direction. Faculty are looking for enthusiasm, a self-driven nature and a hard-working, methodical attitude.  

Consider using your personal statement to communicate the aspects of your educational background that might be different from those of U.S. institutions. For example, GPA or curriculum differences may be worth clarifying relative to a biomedical engineering major. This will help faculty better assess your background.

Make contact with students in laboratories of interest to you—especially with international students. They may have advice. Our department and the University will help guide you through the visa process and the logistics of travel and accommodation. Generally, we recruit international students to the Ph.D. program - rarely to M.S. or M.E. programs. With few exceptions, Ph.D. students are supported throughout their studies with a Ph.D. stipend, tuition, and fees are paid their sponsoring laboratory (subject to satisfactory performance).

Useful Resources and Links:

• The International Students and Scholars Program (ISSP) at UVA strives to address the unique needs of the international student and scholar community, including cultural, social, educational as well as legal issues in regard to their immigration status.
• The UVA Graduate Biomedical Engineering Society (GBMES) is an active graduate student organization. The GBMES International Student Chair is selected each year by our current graduate students. 
• For current UVA students, Volunteers with International Students, Staff, and Scholars (VISAS) is a volunteer organization at the University of Virginia which organizes a variety of programs for speakers of other languages who would like to practice English and intercultural exchange.
• For US visa information, see DHS study in the states page and ICE student and exchange visitors program.

From Chris Highley, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering

In my view, advice on connecting with faculty before joining a graduate program comes in two parts. One addresses the question of whether it makes sense to make a contact and how it relates to the application process/grad school. The other is how to go about it.

To address the first question: Does reaching out make sense and how might it affect admissions? The answer to this depends on what you hope to get out of the effort to reach out. Your contact should be sincere. If you email, that email should reflect your genuine enthusiasm for that person’s research. This might be reflected through an insightful comment or question, but the most useful inquiries will convey more than passing knowledge. If your interest does not yet go beyond broader interest in the field, that’s perfectly fine, but you will likely receive a more generic response. Our faculty make every effort to respond to thoughtful emails from interested students, but what does it mean if a faculty member does not return your email? It probably means that he or she is quite busy with other things. By no means should a lack of response deter you from applying to a program.  If you are interested in our program, apply—your faculty of interest will see your application and consider it carefully during admissions.

In-person interactions are always a great opportunity for direct exchange, so when you have the opportunity to chat with someone whose work you’re interested in at a seminar or a conference, go for it. These interactions are well worth overcoming any nerves to introduce yourself, ask a question or comment on research. Generally, the more knowledgeable you are of a researcher’s work, the better the chances of having a discussion that establishes a relationship. If you plan to attend the BMES Annual Meeting, our faculty have a strong presence there every year, and regardless of whether you are presenting work, we’d love to meet you and hear about your interests. 

So, how do you go about making connections that are durable and impactful? There is no particular formula here. As a budding researcher and potential grad student, you should be intellectually curious and not hesitate to express interest or ask questions when you have the chance. It’s worth emphasizing that you can help yourself a lot by getting to know the lab through published work and webpages that the lab uses to share information. You might then use your contact as an opportunity to ask specific questions about the research group or faculty member that you couldn’t find answers to elsewhere. All such interactions that help in determining a match between a student and PI are a critical element of joining a graduate program (this topic is addressed elsewhere in this guide). The pre-contact “season” typically runs from summer through fall. Earlier contact allows for more time for you and a faculty member to learn about one another, but you should reach out with your inquiry whenever you have it, even in November or December.

One closing note, if you are thinking that contacting faculty is a prerequisite to admission, this is not true. Taking my own group as an example: none of the students in my lab contacted me prior to applying to UVA. We found we were good matches for one another during the regular admissions process.  I always welcome the opportunity to exchange ideas and share our work with curious undergrads.

From Kevin Janes, Professor of BME, and Dan Abebayehu, Assistant Professor of BME

If you visit our Ph.D. application site, you will find that we have an incredibly detailed set of prompts for the personal statement:

(Required) Provide a 1–2 page personal statement or statement of purpose. Ideally, your statement will address one or more of the below prompts. We suggest addressing only one or a few of these prompts in detail rather than trying to address them all superficially.

1. Was there a singular experience that solidified your motivation and commitment to pursuing a graduate degree?  If so, please tell us about it.  If not, explain how you arrived at your decision to pursue graduate school.
2. Two of the Core Values at the UVA School of Engineering are “Educating Engineering Leaders” and “Excellence Through Diversity”.  If you have leadership experience promoting diversity in STEM or have the potential to add a unique perspective to our program, please share.
3. What accomplishment are you most proud of?  What challenges did you have to overcome to achieve success in reaching that accomplishment?
4. Is there something that you believe provides the strongest evidence for your readiness to pursue graduate studies?  If yes, please expand.  Speculate on how you think your readiness might align with a specific advising or mentorship style:  hands-on vs. hands-off, individual vs. team-based, etc.
5. Describe the themes that summarize your general research interests and how they relate to our program.  If these themes align with prior research experience, explain why you want to continue on with them.  If the themes are different, explain your rationale for the change.
6. In what ways do you hope or expect to grow during your time as a graduate student?  Comment on what a successful graduate outcome looks like to you if you have such an idea operationally in mind.  To what extent do you have a sense of how graduate school fits into your longer-term career plans?
7. If there is anything additional you feel that we should know about you in evaluating your application, please include it in this statement.

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All applicants are strongly encouraged to explain their rationale for applying specifically to the Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. program at the University of Virginia.

We want to hear your story.  A richly informative personal statement, which adds context to the other components and demonstrates resilience, can distinguish and elevate an application within the BME Admissions Committee.  In an age of variable grade inflation, no GREs, and ChatGPT, the personal statement remains the one place where you words have the power to tell us what distinguishes you as an applicant.  Our belief is that everyone has facets of their academic, scientific, family, or life experiences that distinguishes them—we want to hear about those facets.  Likewise, each applicant has their own individualized reasons for applying to the University of Virginia and the Department of Biomedical Engineering specifically—we want to hear about those reasons, too.  Personal statements that are generic or overly cautious may be quick to write and quick to read, but they leave no impression about the applicant in the end.

One useful litmus test for a personal statement is to go through the document, remove the subject, and then ask, “Could these statements hold true for anyone BUT me?”  If the answer is “yes”, you are writing generic platitudes that we have seen before and not a personal statement.  It is also acceptable to take risks in a personal statement:  we would rather read something that surprises us than be unable to reach any opinion because we feel as if we have read nothing at all.  Our department is built on a culture of inclusion, support, transparency, and trust—there is no better way for applicants to cultivate a sense of belonging than by showing us these qualities in their personal statement.

From Kevin Janes, Professor of BME

For most graduate BME programs around the country, graduate admission proceeds in one of two ways:  1) “Program Admit” where an applicant is admitted and then, through to-be-determined rotations in the first year, must find a thesis advisor willing to sponsor their research; or 2) “Mentor Admit” where the offer of admission is tied to a prespecified thesis advisor.  Our program does not do Program Admit, because we think it is unfair to give applicants an impression that they have access to “any” thesis advisor when in fact they do not.  We do our fair share of Mentor Admit, and we also can accommodate a third path called “Rotation Admit” where an applicant is admitted to a pair or trio of candidate thesis advisors.  

During the application process, is there an optimal strategy for navigating these outcomes, such that it leads to the best possible outcome for the applicant?  We argue yes and will try to lay out that strategy here.

The plan starts with the application.  When filling it out, don’t be afraid to cast a broad net when indicating your research focus or potential faculty interests.  The application gives five open spots to list faculty: use them, and only indicate rankings if you have a strong preference based on your own study of the faculty or prior interactions with them.  If your scientific interests are broad, feel free to list more than one research focus, especially if you will speak to that breadth in your written statement.  The goal of your application packet is to generate as much enthusiasm from as many specific BME faculty as you can based on your application. Be sure to consult the “Who is recruiting this year for the Ph.D. program” tab to see who is looking for students this cycle—these are the faculty most likely to be reviewing your application.

As the process moves ahead, your strategy should change.  Take advantage of every interaction with our program and refine (or re-define) that broad-net list of faculty to a shortlist of possible advisors whom you are enthusiastic about and where the feeling is perceived to be mutual.  As a resource, be sure to use students currently advised by the mentors on your shortlist; think about how it would be like to become one of them.  The early interactions can be by email or Zoom, and they should culminate with the in-person visit to Charlottesville.  Prune and prioritize until you can go no further—we will be doing the same.

If, at the end, you have a clear frontrunner, then your preference should be for a Mentor Admit.  Often, applicants feel like they are “missing out” if they don’t get to do rotations; ironically, the opposite is true.  Matched students regularly interact with their mentors in the summer before the first year.  Some work in the lab full time, others iterate with mentors on project ideas and fellowship applications.  The intellectual investment of faculty toward rotating students is lower in the beginning, and the semester of rotations typically adds six months to a student’s graduation timeline.  Therefore, the option of Rotation Admit is not without its tradeoffs.

Some applicants, however, have a strong rationale for Rotation Admit.  Maybe you are changing fields or deciding between two fields and need an in-lab exposure to arrive at the best decision.  Perhaps you are coming in with your own fellowship support and have earned the flexibility to “write your own ticket”.  Or there might be a co-mentor arrangement developing where you are mentored by two advisors.  It’s best to think of Rotation Admit as a special case of admissions when the circumstances warrant.  It should not be thought of as a safer way to get an offer of admissions.  Applicants who indicate that they “would be happy to rotate with any three of the following six faculty” are the most likely to fall through the cracks.

In summary:  start flexible, prune continuously and use the in-person interview day to obtain those final pieces of information that yield a well-reasoned preference for Mentor Admit or Rotation Admit.  You are encouraged to ask our students about their match vs. rotation trajectory and how it impacted their early years of graduate study.  Of course, we are also available to serve as resources to help guide you through this process in a way that maximally benefits you and your unique strengths and interests when the time arrives.

From Reagan Portelance, PhD Candidate in BME

As somebody who recently went through the graduate recruitment process, I know how foreboding it can seem. This document is meant to clarify possible points of confusion about the expectations of the BME Ph.D. application in order to reduce some of the stress associated with it.

Personal Statement

Right off the bat, do not panic when you see the length of the prompt. It has undergone changes this year—with lots of input and support from current students—in an attempt to provide more guidance to the applicant and encourage you to provide a holistic depiction of yourself. The point of the personal statement is to allow the admissions committee to understand you better and assess whether you are the best fit for the program. The questions are meant to guide you through different ways you could present this information. There is no expectation to answer each prompt. In fact, it is likely more impactful to provide strong responses to only one or a few that best allow you to demonstrate your unique assets. No prompts are considered more important than others, and you are also not limited to only touch on these topics. The personal statement is your chance to tell YOUR story in whichever way you deem most effective. 

Optional COVID Statement

I know how devastating the pandemic has been and how much it has disrupted our activities and mental health. Internships and research may have been cancelled or moved onto virtual platforms. Furthermore, the mental toll of the past couple years cannot be overstated. This is an as-needed prompt to provide context for any aspects of your personal statement that were directly impacted by COVID-19, and there is no penalty for not responding.

Faculty Interest

I am assuming that you want to apply to UVA because you are interested in the research of at least one faculty member. The university would like to know who these members are to make sure that they get the chance to read through your application. While it does not remove the possibility of working with other faculty in the future, it is unlikely that anyone outside of the admissions committee and the members listed will weigh in on your admission decision. There is room to list 1-5 members, and the order in which you list the faculty will not be interpreted as a ranking. If you do have a ranking and would like to include it, simply add a number in parenthesis before the faculties' names (ex. 1 for your top choice). You may include the same number for more than one faculty member to demonstrate a tie.

Academic/Research Interests

Don’t worry if you don’t immediately know what Systems Biology means. These research areas are intentionally broad, and there are descriptions for each listed on the admissions website. Read through this breakdown and decide which ones sound the most appealing to you, whether they are familiar or not. Don’t feel like you need to be pigeon-holed into the field that you worked in during undergrad (if you have previous lab experience) if that no longer interests you. If you are still unsure which areas best apply to your research interests, you can always check the websites of faculty whose research you enjoy as they often list their own alignment.

I hope that this breakdown clears up any doubts you may have had and that you feel more confident about tackling the application. The best advice I can give you is to trust yourself and not be afraid to let your personality shine through. Good luck, I’m rooting for you!

From Mackenzie Grubb, PhD Candidate in BME

Who should I ask?
Thinking about who to ask for a letter of recommendation can absolutely be a daunting task, yet the strongest letter writers are usually the ones that know you the best. My advice is to seek out professors, mentors and research advisors who can speak to your strengths in a genuine way. This doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t or shouldn’t supplement their knowledge of you with additional information about your passions and accomplishments. If they are open to it, setting up a meeting with them to talk explicitly about your goals and motivations can be helpful! Even if they are not available for a meeting, it is always helpful to provide a letter writer a list of talking points to help guide them in what to focus on.

There is no explicit rubric for who to ask, though a few general principles are helpful to consider. You should absolutely have someone that can speak about your research potential with strength and detail, since this is of primary importance in succeeding in your graduate career. If you’ve worked in multiple research labs, feel free to ask multiple advisors to write about your time in their lab. Just be sure to prioritize a letter from your longest and most meaningful research contribution. Outside of research, you can seek out letter writers that demonstrate who you are holistically. Think about what strengths you would bring to a Ph.D. program and reflect on the letter writers that have witnessed those strengths in action. These letters are a great opportunity to highlight distinct and complementary aspects of your application, but with a proviso: there's a risk that mentors outside of academia may not know how to speak to the things that graduate programs are looking for. Thus, be sure that these letter writers will remain focused on the qualities that the admissions committee is most interested in.

When should I ask?
It is in everyone’s best interest to ask as early as possible! The Fall semester is a busy time for everyone (especially faculty) and allowing ample time for preparation will always set you up for a more positive outcome. Thus, as soon as you have your letter writers in mind, go ahead and reach out! Three weeks in advance of the deadline is really the latest I would suggest asking. Once you’ve asked, don’t be shy to follow up periodically to ensure that your letter isn’t forgotten! Our program accepts letters through Interfolio, which is really helpful for faculty that will be submitting letters to multiple graduate programs for you. But since the admissions committee cannot go forward with your application until all letters have been submitted, making sure this process happens early will help ensure your application won’t be overlooked.

I hope this advice clears up any questions and hesitations around this aspect of graduate applications. Seeking out recommendation letters can be scary and uncomfortable, especially if it’s the first time you've done it. Starting early leaves lots of room for flexibility, spares you from panic and leads to you being able to showcase yourself in the best way possible. I hope this process leaves you encouraged, knowing there are many faculty who are rooting for your success! You’ve got this!

Some insights from Gabi Martinez and Kaitlyn Wintruba, PhD Candidates in BME

Question: What happens after I submit my application?

Answer: After the admissions committee and relevant faculty reviews your application, the next stage in the process will be for one of them to reach out as a first-faculty contact and request a phone call or Zoom meeting.  During this interaction, students may be officially invited to come interview at UVA; or, the official invitation may come afterwards. Applicants will hear back sometime in January or February if they were selected to attend an interview weekend in late February/early March. If you attend one of our two interview weekends, our goal through this process is to give you as much information about what life and research is like for students in our department so you can make the best decision about if UVA BME is right for you. While we do have plenty of fun activities planned so that you can mix and mingle with lots of current students, this is also an interview process. So, whether this is your first graduate interview weekend or not, here is some advice from us as current students!

Q: What should I expect during an interview with a faculty member?

A: Be prepared for faculty to ask you about your experiences and what makes you a strong applicant for their lab or the program more generally- being able to concisely and clearly explain any past research experience or what has influenced your current interests helps to make a good impression during interviews. While this is a time for faculty to see how well you would fit into their lab, it is as much a time for you to assess if that faculty member’s lab would be a good fit for you. Therefore, it is important to ask plenty of questions to the potential advisor and their graduate students based on what you are looking to get out of your graduate experience. These could be questions around lab culture, mentorship style, conference/publishing expectations, or all the above! It is also important to note that you should look into each of the labs that you will be interviewing with beforehand so that you can ask specific questions related to their expertise. Here are some questions you can ask any faculty member if you are not sure where to start.

Potential Questions for Faculty

• How would you describe your mentorship style?
• Are you open to your graduate students pursuing industry internships?
• What are your expectations around graduate students applying for training grants/fellowships? Do you have students currently supported by grants/fellowships?
• How do you assist new graduate students in determining their project direction?
• How many papers do your students typically publish while they are here?
• Do you provide funding for conferences/travel?
• What are your expectations for work hours during the week and on the weekends?
• Potential Questions for Current Graduate Students in the Lab
• How would you describe Dr. ____’s mentorship style?
• What influenced your decision to join this lab? Did you rotate or direct match?
• How would you describe the lab culture?
• Is there something you wish you could change about your lab?
• What is your favorite part about being in this lab?
• How does Dr. ___ support you when you feel overwhelmed/stressed?
• How do you feel about the work/life balance in this lab?
• What should I expect for the rest of the weekend?

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Outside of interviews, this will be your time to really get a feel for the department community as a whole and life in Charlottesville. You will be paired with a graduate student host who will reach out to you before the weekend starts and will help guide you through the weekend by taking you to your interviews, introducing you to other graduate students, and giving you more insight into their own experience at UVA. You will get to meet other recruits and their hosts through several casual social activities such as small group dinners, happy hour, and more. Potential questions for your graduate student host/other students you meet include:

• What made you decide to join UVA BME?
• How would you describe the department culture?
• What do you do for fun outside of lab?
• What kind of things are there to do around Charlottesville/do you like living in Charlottesville?
• Do you feel like your stipend is sufficient to comfortably pay rent, buy groceries, etc.?
• Have you had any teaching or scientific interactions with Dr. ___?
• General questions around required classes, TA-ships, PhD timeline, etc.

After the weekend ends

After you have had lots of good food, met lots of graduate students, and had exciting conversations about your scientific interests with faculty, you will have to decide which faculty you best connected with and what your ideal offer would look like. This will either be a rotation between a few labs (typically 2-3) or a direct match to your favorite lab. If there are any labs you feel strongly about, feel free to follow up with that faculty member to maintain contact- it always helps when faculty understand the level of interest from the prospective graduate students who they talked to.

Note that there will be very little time between the interview weekend and when you need to submit your lab preferences, so don’t hesitate to ask as many questions as needed to make an informed decision. Then, once your preferences have been submitted, faculty will review these forms and offers will be given when the student and faculty preferences align. Offers will begin to roll out in waves over the series of a few weeks. Some students will receive their decisions after 1 week and some after 4, so do not stress if you do not hear back immediately. Lastly, if you have any additional questions after the weekend is over or after you get an offer, you can reach back out to your graduate student host or the recruitment chairs, and we will make sure you get the resources you need!

Learn about what life is like as a BME Graduate Student.

The general requirements for admission to the Ph.D., M.S., or M.E. programs include a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university, a completed application packet with short essay and letters of recommendation. GRE scores are optional.  TOEFL scores are required for international students whose first language is not English. Qualified applicants who are deficient in certain prerequisites may be admitted with the expectation that they will remedy the deficiencies during the master's program. Prerequisite courses include introductory chemistry and biology, physics (two semesters based on calculus), mathematics through differential equations and computer programming (Matlab, C++ or Java).

We evaluate each application on its own merit recognizing that a diverse student body has diverse backgrounds. You may find it helpful to know that a typical entering class of graduate students has an average undergraduate GPA above 3.5 on a 4-point scale. For students whose first language is not English, TOEFL scores of 250 computer-based/600-paper based, IELTS scores of 7.0 or above or iBT scores of 90 to 100 are recommended.

GRE scores are optional for 2020 applicants. GRE scores are an optional credential and as an applicant you may decide if you want to submit your scores as part of your application. If you have already taken the GREs and count them as reflective of your abilities, feel free to submit them. If you choose not to submit test scores, you will not be viewed negatively. Applications are evaluated as a total package. Each application is scoured for excellence and best fit via recommendation letters, research experience and interest, tenacity and curiosity, leadership abilities, and prior academic abilities.

We strive to recruit a diverse group of students to our graduate program, foster an environment of inclusiveness, and support them in multiple ways throughout their education. We firmly believe that a community of diverse graduate students in our program is integral for maintaining our position as a global leader in research and education. The Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs provides a hub of activity for various diversity initiatives for BME graduate students. Center for Diversity in Engineering also organizes events to foster a community of inclusiveness and train the next generation of leaders in engineering. Numerous student organizations, including Black Graduate and Professional Student Organization, Women in Math and Science organize events geared towards BME graduate students.

There is no application fee! It is waived for all applicants -- no code is required.

No. The GRE Subject Test is not required.  The GRE General Test is optional.  GRE scores are an optional credential and as an applicant you may decide if you want to submit your scores as part of your application. If you have already taken the GREs and count them as reflective of your abilities, feel free to submit them. If you choose not to submit test scores, you will not be viewed negatively. Applications are evaluated as a total package. Each application is scoured for excellence and best fit via recommendation letters, research experience and interest, tenacity and curiosity, leadership abilities, and prior academic abilities.

The Institution code for the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences is 5820 or 5836.

Students who do NOT speak English as their native language (language first learned and spoken at home) must take the TOEFL Test.  Exceptions: If you are an international applicant that has a 4 year degree from a US institution then you do not need to send official TOEFL scores. (There is a question in the application that deals with just this.)  If you are an international applicant that has received a master’s degree from a US institution, please submit/enter your unofficial TOEFL scores into the online application (you do not need to send us official TOEFL scores) and 2 letters from English speaking professors which addresses your ability to speak English. You may send these letters to this address:

For US Postal:
Graduate School of Engineering and Applied Science Admissions
P.O. Box 400103
Charlottesville, VA 22904

For UPS/FEDEX:
Graduate School of Engineering and Applied Science Admissions
918 Emmett Street North
Charlottesville, VA 22903

If you wish to be considered for assistantships or fellowships (Ph.D. and M.S.), you should apply by December 15 for Fall matriculation. For the BME Master of Engineering program, application review is on a rolling basis December - July.

Applications must be completed and submitted on-line. Letters of recommendation should be submitted on-line. If your recommender cannot submit a recommendation on-line, recommendations may be submitted by mail to the Graduate Studies Office.

We strongly discourage applicants from mailing in any items that can be uploaded, to avoid delays in your application review and we ask that you not send duplicate copies of previously uploaded materials.

If you still need to mail documents to our office, please send them to:

For US Postal:
Graduate School of Engineering and Applied Science Admissions
P.O. Box 400103
Charlottesville, VA 22904

For UPS/FEDEX:
Graduate School of Engineering and Applied Science Admissions
918 Emmett Street North
Charlottesville, VA 22903

Please refer to the UVA Engineering site for more information about the application process and all necessary forms.

Your application will only show as “complete” when you application has been submitted, any required official scores and transcripts have been received and all three letters of recommendations have been received. Please note that all official transcripts, test scores and any hard-copy transcripts are received in our main admissions office and scanned or entered into our system manually. If you feel that your materials should have been received by now, but are NOT showing up when you login to your account, please note that the Graduate Admissions Office processes a very large number of applications and it may take longer than expected for your documents/information to appear online (in your account). It is very likely that your materials have been received, but have not been loaded into our application system yet. We are able to review your application with unofficial test scores, if any, and transcripts.

The best way to determine if all of your application materials have been received is to log-in to your account online. As materials are received, you will see them in the system. Please understand that all hard-copy materials and test scores are received in our main admissions office and scanned or entered into our system manually. If you feel that your materials should have been received by now, but are NOT showing up when you login to your account, please note that the Graduate Admissions Office processes a very large number of applications it may take longer than expected for your documents/information to appear online (in your account). It is very likely that your materials have been received, but have not been loaded into our application system yet. We are able to review your application with unofficial test scores, if any, and transcripts.

When you enter the email in the online application, an email is sent out. You do not have submit the application in order for the email requesting a recommendation letter from your recommender to go out.

Please see our Research Page.

All Ph.D. students are supported with full tuition, fees, health insurance, and a stipend. Funding sources include graduate research assistantships (GRAs), graduate teaching assistantships (GTAs), departmental and institutional fellowships, and training grants from the NIH and other federal agencies, and private sector and foundation support. The department assists students in applying for a variety of prestigious individual fellowships.

No. Some students participate in a lab rotation program during their first semester of study, while others select a specific laboratory from the outset. We conduct interviews of candidates as part of the admissions process, and these interviews help both faculty and students identify the best matches between applicants and potential labs.

Certainly. We welcome your call or email. You may want to speak with one or more of our faculty about their research and your specific research interests.

Yes. The Graduate Record represent the official repository for academic program requirements. 

2024-2025 Grad Record BME M.E.

2024-2025 Grad Record BME M.S.

2024-2025 Grad Record BME Ph.D.

Yes, there is an M.D./Ph.D. program at the University of Virginia. This program is supported by a highly competitive Medical Scientist Training Program grant (MSTP) from the National Institutes of Health. The program is run by the Graduate Programs Office in the School of Medicine. Admission to the program is very competitive and includes admission to the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the School of Medicine. For more information, please visit https://mstp.med.virginia.edu/

All doctoral students gain teaching experience as a Teaching Assistant for a total of two 1-semester courses, at some time during their studies. During the remainder of their studies, doctoral students are appointed as Research Assistants.

Yes. A physics undergraduate can go straight into the BME program. However, he or she will be expected to remedy any deficiencies in the prerequisite coursework during his or her master's program. BME prerequisite courses include:

• Introductory Chemistry and Biology
• Physics, two semesters (preferably based on calculus)
• Mathematics through differential equations
• Computer programming (Matlab, C++ or Java)

No.

Contact the Graduate Program Coordinator at bmegrad@virginia.edu.