Frequently Asked Questions

All prospective MS students (International and USA) must apply by April 15 for admission to start in the following Fall quarter (no Spring admission is available).

On our website the Research Mentors section lists the BCB MS members & their research interests. These are potential labs in which a student may be able to pursue research. Flexibility exists and students may do research in labs outside this list as long as the project falls broadly under the category of biochemistry and cell biology.

Unfortunately, we currently cannot provide financial aid. There are no tuition waivers or TA lines, though there have been part time lab assistant-ships available through Stony Brooks Undergraduate Biology Program. In general, these are not sufficient to cover tuition costs.

Several of our graduate students have successfully obtained NSF Bridges to Doctorate fellowships ($30,000 for two years). For more information and opportunities, see the Center for Inclusive Education web page.

Do not contact individual faculty before admission. There is no point because students must first apply and be admitted to the program. However, after you are admitted, we encourage you to contact faculty that you may be interested in working with.

The GRE is NOT required for admission; however, a strong performance on this exam can be a positive indicator. For foreign applicants, the TOEFL is required. We do not offer “conditional” acceptance.

The numbers fluctuate per year. In 2012, there were ~120 applicants and ~15 were offered admission. 14 out of the 15 accepted our offer.

The program is designed to be completed in three (3) semesters, but it is possible to do it in two (2), with completion of the thesis over the summer. However, to do so in an accelerated manner would demand that you enter the program with a very strong foundation in Biochemistry & Cell Biology.

The Stony Brook student financial services wesite contains a current breakdown of tuition and costs for resident and out of state graduate students.

Graduate housing may be available. Contact the Graduate school to apply for on campus housing.

You can also visit the BCB masters program catalog listing in the graduate school.

Visit the Graduate School at Stony Brook webpage. They have contact information available for the graduate school.

If you are checking on the status of your application and/or materials received, log in to your Application account from the application management website.

Without seeing your entire application, we cannot tell you for certain whether or not you will be admitted.

All foreign graduate students must score a minimum of 90.

The Admissions Committee examines all aspects of each application, and a low GPA may be mitigated by other strengths of the application. However, this cannot be determined in advance without seeing the student’s entire application.

TOEFL scores may not be below 90. The Admissions Committee examines all aspects of each application, and a low GRE may be mitigated by other strengths of the application. However, this cannot be determined in advance without seeing the student’s entire application.

If an International student has received an UG degree from an English-speaking institution, or has successfully obtained a graduate degree from an English-speaking institution, the department can request a waiver. To ensure the email comes from the corresponding graduate program director, send the email and cc the graduate program director on the email correspondence. Clearly indicate what qualifies the student to be exempt from the proficiency test. The request will be reviewed and responded to via email.

No

Yes

The biggest potential conflict for a 9-5 job is that most of the required courses are scheduled during the day. Therefore, students that are also employed must have the job flexibility to attend these required courses. With regard to the length of the degree program, sample study programs listed on our web page are designed to be completed in three semesters, but can be stretched out up to six semesters.

Yes, but preference will be given to students that have not completed an MS in another Biochemistry or related field.

Our BCB MS students take the same courses that our Ph.D. students are required to take, so all courses would be transferable. However, admission to the PhD programs is not automatic. MS students must apply and be admitted into the Ph.D. program.

9 credits

Cell Biology, Genetics, and Biochemistry (I and II)

Auditing a class requires prior permission from the instructor first; not all instructors allow students to audit their courses.

12 credits can be transferred (as per Grad School rules). Contact the Graduate school as this rule may vary from year to year.

The Career Center website has loads of information. 

Contact ApplyYourself. There is a technical support link that you can use.

The Graduate School will allow an applicant to reapply to the same program within a year. However, the applicant cannot alter any portion of their application - he/she must use the one on file. If he/she chooses to update any information, a new pin and application must be created.