Graduate Admission Requirements

General Admission Requirements for Graduate School

To be admitted to the Graduate School, a United States equivalent bachelor's degree is required, with a minimum overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Students must present evidence that such a degree will be awarded by the time they start graduate school.

To be considered for admission, all students must complete and submit the following:

• 1- Complete and submit online the official application.

  Application portal

• 2- A letter of introduction

  A letter of introduction describing the student’s educational and career goals.

• 3- Three letters of recommendation.

  You will be prompted online for the names and email addresses of your recommenders and they will automatically be sent requests to submit their letters of recommendation using a secure server.

• 4- Two official copies of all previous college transcripts.

  Two official copies of all previous college transcripts, sent by your university or college, as well as, uploaded to the online system. Transcript requirements

• 5- Application fee of $100.

  A non-refundable application fee of $100 (paid online).

• 6- Proficiency in English for foreign students

  See Foreign Students section in the Graduate Bulletin.

  These scores must be sent to Stony Brook University for final matriculation and are considered during the review process.

• 7- Student health history.

  After acceptance, each student is required to file with the Student Health Service a completed and satisfactory health history and physical examination form. Transfer students may submit copies of their health forms from their former schools provided they contain the information required by the Student Health Service and are less than two years old.

Admission Requirements for the Program in Biomedical Engineering

Should I apply to the Master’s or Doctoral Program?

• You should apply for the Doctoral Program if it is your intention to get a Ph.D. degree.
  • All new doctoral students (i.e., those with only an undergraduate degree) will get a M.S. degree as part of their course of study towards their Ph.D. degree.
  • Hence, you should not apply to the Master’s Program if your ultimate degree is a Ph.D. Doctoral students receive a tuition scholarship (good for the duration of their studies, as long as they are in “good academic standing” and maintain employment) and a competitive stipend for work as a teaching assistant (TA) or research assistant (RA). 
• If you already have a relevant M.S. degree, and want to apply to the Doctoral Program with Advanced Standing.
  • You should only apply for Advanced Standing if you have already obtained a commitment of financial support (i.e., a paid Research Assistant position) from a specific BME faculty laboratory.
  • Your application will not be considered until such time as you receive such a commitment. It is up to you to directly contact and interview with BME faculty to determine whether your background and skills would be a good match with a given laboratory.
  • You should obtain this commitment in advance of the January 1st application deadline and make sure that the BME faculty member has submitted a statement of support to the Admission Committee. Relevant M.S. degrees would be considered as those in the same disciplines as are considered pre-requisites for regular admission.
• If you already possess a relevant M.S. degree but you have not obtained a commitment of financial support.
  • Then you must apply as a regular 1st-year doctoral student. You should make an explicit statement to this effect in your application.
  • Applications for admission with advanced standing without a financial commitment from a BME faculty will not be processed.
• You should apply for the Master’s Program if your terminal degree will be the M.S. degree.
  • The M.S. degree can be obtained with or without a thesis. The latter is designed for those students who see themselves involved in research and development (R&D) as part of their career.
  • Master’s students are not guaranteed financial support during their studies, though they are eligible to obtain paid research assistant (RA) positions from BME laboratories. Master’s students are also eligible for paid industrial internships in BME companies.
  • M.S. students at the conclusion of their master’s studies may apply to matriculate into the doctoral program. Such applications are given favorable consideration as long as the student is in “good academic standing” and they obtain a commitment of a RA position in a BME faculty laboratory that is good for the duration of their doctoral studies. Generally, it takes about 3 years after a M.S. degree to obtain a Ph.D. degree in BME.