Ph.D. Admissions

Statement of Purpose

The academic statement of purpose should be a concise, well-written statement about your academic and research background, your career goals, and how this graduate program will help you meet your career and educational objectives.

Tips

Applicants often don’t go deep or concrete enough into describing their engineering experience, whether an internship, project, or research. Showcase your technical writing, and your enthusiasm for your work. After describing one or more experiences in detail, including your contributions to the projects or tasks, discuss why graduate school is the next step for you. Make an argument for your unique qualifications and professional preparation, and what you hope to contribute to the field.

Formatting

Include at the top of each document:

• The type of document (Academic Statement of Purpose, Personal Statement, or Curriculum Vitae orResume)
• Your name
• The name of the graduate program (Biophysics)
• Your 8 digit U-M ID (if known)

Make sure margins are at least one inch so nothing is cropped/cut off when you upload the documents to the application.

The academic statement of purpose should be approximately one to two pages, single spaced.

Personal Statement

How have your background and life experiences, including social, cultural, geographical, financial, familial, educational, or other opportunities or challenges, motivated your decision to pursue a graduate degree at the University of Michigan? Think of this as a story about your personal and professional development, and a proposal for your graduate school career.

For example, if you grew up in a community where educational, cultural, or other opportunities were either especially plentiful or especially lacking, or are undocumented or DACAmented, you might discuss the impact this had on your development and interests. This should be a discussion of the journey that has led to your decision to seek a graduate degree. If you will be a graduate student with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA), it is important to mention DACA in your personal statement since this is a consideration for some financial aid.

The personal statement has a 500 word limit and should be different from your Academic Statement of Purpose.

Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Resume

A curriculum vitae (CV) or resume describes your education, work experience, research publications, teaching experience, professional activities, volunteer activity, community engagement, as well as honors and awards.

Letters of Recommendation

Electronic submission is the highly preferred method to submit letters of recommendation.

Tips for Registering Recommenders:

You will need each recommender’s name, mailing address, email address, phone number, institution or employer, and title.

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, if you are admitted and decide to enroll, you have access to your education record, including letters of recommendation at U-M.

• If you select “Yes” to waive your right, you will not have access to the letter of recommendation.
• If you select “No” to waive your right, then you will have access to the letter of recommendation.
• Students should note that some recommenders may choose not to prepare a recommendation if these rights have not been waived. You will not be able to change the waiver status once your recommender has logged into their online recommendation account.
• You may register your recommenders in ApplyWeb before completing your application. In ApplyWeb select “Submit Recommendation Request” to confirm. An invitation email is then sent to your recommender.
• Registering your recommenders must be completed before you submit your application.

After Registering Your Recommenders:

• Recommendations can be uploaded to your application before or after you have submitted your application.
• Check the status of your letters of recommendation, change a recommender, or resend the notification email to your recommender using the ApplyWeb Activity Page.
• You can only change your recommender if status displays as “Not Started.” You are able to update the name of the recommender and the email address. The other contact information cannot be edited.
• If the status is “Completed” or “In Progress” you cannot change your recommender. Contact us for an alternative way of submitting a recommendation.

When You Apply: Upload a Scanned Copy of the Official Transcript to ApplyWeb

All applicants must upload a scanned copy, front and back, of their official transcript/academic record issued by the Registrar or Records Office to the applicant, to ApplyWeb for each bachelor’s, master’s, professional, or doctoral degree earned or in progress. The scanned copy of the official transcript is used for initial review by the graduate program faculty.

Note: A downloaded transcript from your school portal or system is an unofficial transcript and not acceptable for review.

If you are attending or have graduated from a Non-U.S. institution, review the Required Academic Credentials from Non-U.S. Institutions for requirements by country.

If you have community or junior college, non-degree, or study abroad coursework, indicate this information on page ten of the application under the “Additional Information” section. Do not submit any transcripts from a community or junior college, non-degree, or study abroad coursework to Rackham unless you attended a Non-U.S. institution.

Once You Are Offered Admission: Submit the Official Transcript

After an offer of admission is made, an official transcript sent directly from the registrar’s office must be submitted to Rackham.

• Submit an official transcript/academic record, front and back, issued by the Registrar or Records Office for each bachelor’s, master’s, professional, or doctoral degree earned. Attachments from students are not official.
• Submit only official transcripts/academic records. These bear the issuing institution’s seal and the official signature of the Registrar or Recorder of Records.
• U-M Ann Arbor Applicants (Current or Previous Students): Do not submit your U-M Ann Arbor transcript. Rackham will obtain your U-M Ann Arbor transcript internally. Submit only degree transcripts from other institutions you attended including U-M Dearborn or U-M Flint.

The transcript can be submitted electronically, by mail, or in-person. E-transcripts are strongly preferred. Do not submit the same transcript both electronically and by paper.

Click Here for More Information & Transcript FAQs

Rackham English Proficiency Requirements

Applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate English proficiency. One way to do so is to meet one of the criteria for an exemption listed below.

If an applicant does not meet one of the criteria below, they may be required by the graduate program to submit scores from tests, like TOEFL, ECPE, IELTS, or MET. Language test scores are valid two years from the test date. The official scores must be received from the testing agency no later than the graduate program application deadline.Photocopies and/or faxes of English proficiency scores will not be accepted.

• Institutional code: 1839
• Program code: 36

Click Here for More Information and to Review Rackham Graduate School’s Minimum Score Requirements for Admission Consideration.

Rackham English Proficiency Exemptions

You qualify for an exemption from taking an English proficiency examination if one of the following criteria are met:

• You are a native speaker of English.
• You are an applicant from Puerto Rico.
• You completed all of your undergraduate education and earned an undergraduate degree at an institution where the language of instruction is English only. Undergraduate degree requirements must be completed before the start of classes at U-M.
• You completed all of your graduate education and earned a graduate degree at an institution where the language of instruction is English only. Graduate degree requirements must be completed before the start of classes at U-M.
• You are a current U-M student.

• A one year graduate degree.
• If you completed a Master’s degree that was strictly research and no academic classes. This type of Master’s degree is generally awarded at a non-U.S. institution.

The self-assessed English information from the application will be reviewed by the admission staff upon receiving a recommendation for admission.

GRE general test scores are no longer included in the admissions process as of the 2022–2023 admissions cycle.

JUNE/JULY

• Reveiw Application Requirements.
• Review Biophysics Preview Program.
• Start working on your curriculum vitae (CV) or resume. 
• Determine what tests you need to take. Applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate English proficiency through tests like TOEFL. The official scores must be received from the testing agency no later than the graduate program application deadline. Note: We do not require the GRE!

AUGUST

• Create an ApplyWeb Account. This is where you will submit your application.
• Letters of Recommendation. Three (3) letters of recommendation are required. Ask your past professors, research supervisors, academis advisors, or others qualified to evaluate your potential for graduate-level research.

SEPTEMBER

• Work on your Statement of Purpose and Personal Statement.
• Apply for Fellowships and Funding, such as the NSF GRFP.

OCTOBER

• Send your Transctipts from all post-secondary institutions attended. Official transcripts uploaded with online application. More information and FAQs.
• Check the status of your Letters of Recommendation in the ApplyWeb Activity Page. If your letter writers have not submitted yet, send them a reminder.

DECEMBER

• Submit your Application by the deadline above.

• Submit official test scores
• Create U-M Friend Account to see the status of your application and application materials.
• Respond to the offer once you recieve it.
• Submit your Official Final Transcript. Students who received their degree from an institution outside of the United States should review Required Academic Credentials from Non-U.S. Institutions for transcript/academic record requirements by country or region.
• For international students that accept offer of admission, Rackham prepares immigration documents for visas. Click here for more information.