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Admissions Criteria

Applicants will be evaluated based on the following:

• Baccalaureate Degree in a relevant scientific discipline
• GPA (3.0 or better is for PhD programs, 3.0 preferred for MS programs)
• Three letters of recommendation for PhD programs
• A personal statement
• GRE score >300 on the combined verbal and quantitative scores is preferred

Applicants whose combined verbal and quantitative scores >300 (preferred for tests taken after 8/1/11) of >1000 (for tests taken before 8/1/11) will be considered for full admission to the School of Graduate Studies. Applicants whose combined verbal and quantitative scores are <300 (new GRE or <1000 (old GRE) will be considered for conditional admission based on the recommendation of the program director. To be removed from conditional status the student must, within three academic semesters of admission, attain a GPA of >3.0 or retake the GRE and score >300 (new GRE). Students with conditional admission who fail to meet the criteria listed above will be dismissed from the program. Notwithstanding the above, individual programs may set higher minimum standards than those required by the School of Graduate Studies.

Applicants whose native language is not English and/or who have completed their tertiary education primarily outside of the USA must submit official scores of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or Pearson Test of English-Academic (PTE-A) as evidence of English language proficiency.

• TOEFL-Internet-based test (IBT) - 79 or higher
• TOEFL-Paper-based test (PBT) - 550 or higher
• IELTS - 6.5 overall band score or higher
• PTE-A - 53 or higher

However, this requirement may be waived for students who are currently enrolled at a college or university in the United States and/or who demonstrate a proficiency in written and spoken English following a personal interview. International Applicants must have transcripts evaluated in a course-by-course report from World Education Services (WES). Prerequisites are required by certain programs, and these may be determined by contacting the specific program to which the applicant desires admission.

Admission of an applicant to a graduate program must be approved by the program director and by the Dean of the Graduate School. No individual may enroll in graduate level courses without proper approval and notification from the School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences.

Conditional acceptance - Acceptance to the School of Graduate Studies is conditional; the Admission Committee may rescind an offer of acceptance at any time before matriculation if an applicant fails to maintain expectations upon which the acceptance was based. Examples include, but are not limited to, a significant decline in academic performance, failure to complete prerequisites or other course work and degrees in progress, patterns of unprofessional behavior and incidents discovered in a criminal background check.

Criminal background checks (CBCs) - Any pre-admission agreement executed by the health care program with a student shall be void if there is a disqualifying incident or pattern of unprofessional behavior in the CBC prior to enrollment.

Fingerprint-based CBC - Effective July 1, 2004, Section 37-29-232 of the Mississippi Code requires that students enrolled in a health care professional academic program undergo fingerprinting and CBC. All accepted applicants must call the School of Graduate Studies to schedule an appointment with UMMC Human Resources prior to enrollment so that a set of digital fingerprints and photograph can be required. Fingerprints will be submitted to the Mississippi Public Safety Commission and Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation for a criminal background check. If any potentially disqualifying event is reported, Human Resources will mail to the Graduate School applicant a letter (such as Determination of Non-suitability for Employment in a Healthcare Facility) indicating that a potentially disqualifying event(s) has been reported and a copy of the criminal history report record. Copies will be sent to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies. Currently, there is no charge to the applicant for this service.