Admissions

The Chemical Biology Graduate Program was created in 2004 with the goal of training students to integrate the principles and experimental techniques drawn from both chemistry and biology.

The Chemical Biology Program is a PhD-granting interdisciplinary program that offers educational and research experience on both the Harvard Medical School and Cambridge campuses, as well as several affiliated institutions such as the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Broad Institute

The Chemical Biology Program is one of the programs in the Harvard Integrated Life Sciences, which facilitates collaboration and cross-disciplinary research. Please refer to the GSAS Admissions Page for further information on applying. Some of the most important details are noted here for your convenience.

Requirements

We require on-line submission of the application. Applicants are required to submit a scanned copy of their transcript(s) online.  GRE scores, both subject and general, are not required.

Applicants must hold the equivalent of a US bachelor's degree (BA or BS) from an institution of recognized standing (either a three or four year undergraduate degree).

Applying to more than one HILS Program

While prospective students are encouraged to carefully choose the HILS program that best fits their academic goals, interested applicants may apply to up to three programs and pay only one application fee. If you elect to apply to three programs, only two may be programs in the Department of Medical Sciences (these programs are Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Immunology, Neuroscience, Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology, and Virology). The fee waiver for additional applications is ONLY available for those applying to multiple programs in the HILS federation. See the Admissions FAQ page for information about fee waivers related to financial hardship.

You may begin and work on multiple applications through the application home page. Each application must be unique, containing a tailored statement of purpose and separate recommendations.

After you submit your first application and pay the application fee, the fee will be waived for subsequent submissions.

You may submit a maximum of three applications to GSAS during the course of your academic career, which includes applications to multiple programs in the HILS federation regardless of whether you submitted them under a single application fee.

Submitting supplemental materials

GRE and TOEFL scores should be sent to Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences code 3451.  GRE scores, both the subject and general exam, are optional.
 
All supplemental materials must be uploaded prior to submitting the online application.

Faculty contact/interests

Please be sure to list faculty that interest you as part of the online application. Students are not required to contact any faculty in advance, but are welcome to.

Interview and campus visit

Applications are reviewed by the admissions committee during December and early January.  Selected applicants are then notified if they have been chosen for an interview. Interviews will be held on February 3rd and 10th. Admitted students will be invited to campus for our Admitted Students Day on March 24th.