- What are the admissions requirements?
- How do I apply?
- Can you tell me something about the students in your program?
- What are the facilities like?
- What financial support will I have?
- Will my health insurance be paid for by the graduate program?
- What is Cornell like?
- What is Ithaca like?
- What is the cost of living in Ithaca?
Learn more about the Graduate Programs.
What are the admissions requirements?
The admission requirements vary by program, but all applicants must have at least a Bachelor's degree or equivalent in an area related to the graduate field to which they are applying. In general, applicants are judged on both academic credentials (GPAs, GRE scores), the statement of purpose, and letters of recommendation.
Applicants will be required to supply the following items:
- Current transcripts for all colleges attended
- GRE General tests
- GRE Subject test is not required but strongly recommended and can be taken in the areas of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, Chemistry, Biology, or Physics, although this varies by program.
- 3 letters of recommendation
- International students must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The Graduate School has set the following minimum requirements for admission: reading (20), writing (20), listening (15), and speaking (22).
More information on specific requirements for each program can be found can be found at the following links:
How do I apply to the BMCB, G&D, Biophysics or other graduate programs?
It's easy. Simply visit the Cornell University Graduate School web page and fill out the interactive application form.
http://www.gradschool.cornell.edu/index.php?p=102
Application forms for any of the programs can also be requested by e-mail directly from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics:
Graduate Field Assistant - BMCB -- Diane Colf -- 607/255-2100
Graduate Field Assistant - G&D and Biophysics -- Vicki Shaff -- 607/255-2313
- Field of Biochemistry, Molecular & Cell Biology (BMCB) -- bmcb@cornell.edu
- Field of Genetics & Development (G&D) -- gendev@cornell.edu
- Field of Biophysics -- biophysics@cornell.edu
Can you tell me something about the students in your program?
What are the research facilities like?
The faculty participating in the BMCB, G&D, and Biophysics graduate programs are located in a number of modern state-of-the-art research building and facilities on the Cornell University campus. One such building is the Biotechnology Building, a centrally located building with individual laboratories and core research facilities that houses The Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics.
Biotechnology Building resources and facilities
Those interested in facilities related to the Biophysics Program
What financial support will I have?
Students receive stipends and tuition support from a variety of sources, including Cornell University fellowships, teaching assistantships, traineeships funded by our National Institutes of Health Predoctoral Training Grants in Cellular and Molecular Biology, Genetics and Development, and Biophysics, and research assistantships funded by individual laboratories.
All students making satisfactory progress in academic, research and teaching pursuits receive full financial support including 12 month stipend and a tuition fellowships or waiver. Our current (2010-2011) twelve month stipend level is $29,067 and the tuition waiver has a current value of $20,800.
The graduate program also pays the complete cost of individual student health insurance. Supplemental family health insurance is also available for the students to purchase.
Will my health insurance be paid for by the graduate program?
The graduate program pays the complete cost of individual student health insurance. Supplemental family health insurance is also available for the students to purchase.
What is Cornell University like?
Cornell University is an Ivy League institution with rich academic offerings in the sciences, arts, humanities, and social sciences. Cornell's campus may well be the most beautiful campus in the country. Ezra Cornell certainly thought the spot was special when he gave his hilltop farm to the university he founded in 1865. Sitting atop a hill overlooking the city of Ithaca, the surrounding communities, and the southern tip of Cayuga lake, the campus has a landscape rich in natural beauty, including the two gorges with numerous waterfalls running through the campus. Specific information about Cornell's departments, programs, faculty, students, and academic life can be found at the following site:
You can take a "virtual tour" of the Cornell University campus at the following site:
http://www.cornell.edu/visiting/ithaca/virtual_tours.cfm
What is Ithaca like?
Ithaca is a surprisingly lively and sometimes rambunctious little city with more bookstores, shops and restaurants than you'd expect, given its size. It's a college town with a cosmopolitan atmosphere, an intellectually and culturally stimulating home to people from many countries of the world and a place of political and humanitarian activism.
Ithaca is located about 50 miles south of the snowbelt that affects nearby Syracuse and not-so-nearby Buffalo, but snow is still plentiful enough for cross-country and downhill skiing-or sitting by the woodstove with a mug of cocoa. With spring-and the renewal of the open-air Ithaca Farmer's Market-many take to jogging and biking along country roads and hiking (and picnicking) in the three state parks and nearby national forest. Summer brings swimming, paddling, sailing and windsurfing. In fall, when the academic calendar rears its head, some seek respite along the shores of Cayuga and Seneca Lakes, where local vintners welcome visitors to enjoy the scent of gently ripening grapes and the taste of fine wines. And if all this is not enough to hold your attention, New York City is only an hour away by plane or five hours by car, a trip of some 220 miles. Other major metropolitan areas are similarly accessible: Boston is 240 miles away, Toronto, 200 miles and Washington, D.C., 300 miles.
The following link will connect you to a number of sites that will give you a feel for the city and surrounding areas. Visiting Ithaca
How does Ithaca compare to other cities in cost of living and other aspects of community life?
Ithaca is a charming, community-oriented little city located in the Finger Lakes Region of rural upstate New York. As such, the residents of Ithaca and the surrounding areas enjoy a relatively low cost of living and a low incidence of major crime. But, don't take our word for it. The following links will allow you to compare cities across the U.S.A. with Ithaca in a variety of categories, including cost of living and incidence of crime.
Homestore.com Cost of Living Calculator
http://www.homefair.com/homefair/cmr/salcalc.html
Homestore.com Crime rate Comparisons
http://www.homefair.com/calc/crime.html
Sperling's Best Places Homepage
http://www.bestplaces.net/index.html
Sperling's City Comparison
http://www.bestplaces.net/html/citycompare.asp