UC Berkeley-UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering

Your Application for admission

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The Berkeley – UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering welcomes applications for the PhD in bioengineering from outstanding, highly motivated students with a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in related fields. See our eligibility details for more information.

DEADLINE: December 1, 8:59 PM PST

Applications are accepted for fall entry only and admitted applicants are expected to join the program on schedule, the fall semester of their admission year – e.g. fall 2025 for students who apply in fall 2024. Please plan your application accordingly.

The application must be submitted through Berkeley’s online graduate application system no later than December 1, 2024. Supporting materials, such as transcripts, recommendation letters, and GRE and TOEFL scores, should arrive no later than December 1.

All applications and supporting materials are submitted electronically through the application portal. Listed below are required components of the application you must submit in order to be considered for admission into the Bioengineering graduate programs. See detailed instructions at the Graduate Division.

We recommend that applicants complete their applications as early as possible and be sure to hit the submit button before the deadline.

Academic Records

You are required to upload unofficial transcripts for all schools that you have attended. Applicants who studied outside the United States in non-English speaking institutions must upload the English translated transcripts. Uploaded files must be in PDF format and no larger than 8 MB. Please make sure that your social security number (SSN) does not appear on your transcript (if it does, black it out before uploading the document).

(Please note that even if you have not yet finished your coursework when you apply, we still require a current transcript from you. If you are admitted, at that time, we will ask you submit a final official transcript showing the degree awarded to complete our records.)

For more information about transcripts, please see the Graduate Division Admissions Information.

Those those who have attended an international university must convert their grades to the U.S. system. Please visit the gpa conversion page.

Application Essays

These essays are very important to the application process and should be taken seriously. These are two separate essays.

The Statement of Purpose asks:
Please describe your aptitude and motivation for graduate study in your area of specialization, including your preparation for this field of study, your academic plans or research interests in your chosen area of study, Professors whose research interests parallel yours, and your future career goals. Please be specific about why UC Berkeley/UCSF would be a good intellectual match for you. Brevity is appreciated – no more than two pages. Please see the graduate writing guide for more information.

The Personal Statement asks:
In an essay, discuss how your personal background informs your decision to pursue a graduate degree. Please include any educational, familial, cultural, economic, or social experiences, challenges, or opportunities relevant to your academic journey; how you might contribute to social or cultural diversity within your chosen field; and/or how you might serve educationally underrepresented segments of society with your degree. Brevity is appreciated – no more than two pages. Please see the graduate writing guide for more information.

Letters of Recommendation

Three letters of recommendation, at least two of which should be written by faculty. All reviewers should be familiar with the applicant’s scholarly abilities.

Having more than 3 letters, although allowed, is not recommended. Due to the volume of applications we receive every year, there is no guarantee that more than 3 letters will be read. Three strong letters is much better than 3 strong letters and one mediocre or bad letter.

It can be a good idea to ask your recommenders if they can write you a good, detailed letter. The best letters gauge your ability and potential for research and graduate study, often citing examples from the recommenders own experiences with you.

Letters of recommendation will be gathered electronically as part of the online application. Also complete the Recommendation Waiver Form in the application package.

Specialty Area of Study

On the application you must selected a first and second specialty area of study. The main purpose of this section is to guide us in determining which faculty members are best suited to review your application. The areas to choose from are:

Evidence of English Language Proficiency

For Fall 2025, tests taken before June 1, 2023 will not be accepted.

All applicants who have completed a basic degree in a country/region in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

The department of bioengineering requires the same scores set by the Graduate Division: at least 90 for the TOEFL Internet-based test (IBT) or 7 for the IELTS. The institution code for UC Berkeley is 4833 for Graduate Programs. 

See complete details at the Graduate Division.

GRE

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is optional for all applicants beginning for the Fall 2020 admission cycle. See more information on our FAQ.

Oldest acceptable exam date: 2018

If choosing to submit, the exam is composed of three sections:  Analytical Writing, Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning. We do NOT require a subject test.

For more information about the test, as well as locations, test dates, and the time it will take for score reports to reach Berkeley, please consult the Educational Testing Service (ETS). They can be reached at (609) 771-7670. Inquiries can also be made to gre-info@ets.org and http://www.gre.org.

The institution code for Berkeley is 4833 and the Department code is 1603.

Application Fee

You must submit an application fee when you apply. The application fee is not refundable. Payments are accepted by credit card only. See details online.

U.S. citizens or permanent residents who can demonstrate financial need are eligible to apply for a waiver of the application fee. See guidelines for waivers. Please note: The bioengineering program does not offer a separate fee waiver program.

Resume or CV

Please upload a recent version of your resume or curriculum vitae.

Application Completion

Upon submission you will receive an email confirming your submission. You may log back in to your application status page to monitor materials received or processed, such as: fee waivers, test scores, letters of recommendation, and admission decision.  When test scores are matched they will show as “verified”.

Potential applicants facing undue hardships in submitting application materials due to major natural disasters should contact bioe-grad@berkeley.edu