Admission Requirements

  1. Applicants must submit a statement of purpose.  This should describe  prior experience conducting/assisting in research, your reason for wanting a research-oriented degree, potential research topics of interest, and any faculty who teach in the HCC Program who are conducting research that is of interest to you.
  2. While not required, most successful applicants to the PhD program have research experience (often demonstrated through a publication in a peer-reviewed academic venue).
  3. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a writing sample demonstrating completed research quality.
  4. Applicants are strongly encouraged to include a CV demonstrating their past research, education, and employment accomplishments.
  5. Applicants must submit three letters of recommendation
    • We encourage applicants to include at least one letter of recommendation that discusses their research experience.
    • If you are applying as a current UMBC student, we strongly recommend including letters of recommendation from faculty who teach in the HCC Program.
  6. The majority of successful applicants have an undergraduate GPA well above 3.2 (on a 4.0 scale).
  7. The GRE is optional for the program.
  8. All applicants are expected to read, speak, write, and understand the English language fluently. Those whose native language is not English are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), unless they have earned a post-secondary degree from an accredited university in the United States.
    • Admitted applicants must have a combined TOEFL score of 550 (written), 213 (computer based) or 80 (iBT-Internet based), or a score above 6.5 with the IELTS (International English Language Testing System), or a score of 115 and above through DuoLingo.
    • The code for UMBC is 5835