< This information is for all prospective applicants with university degrees from academic institutions outside the United States. Please read it carefully.
 
Biostatistics receives 90-100 applications for admission each academic year. Only 15-20% of applicants in any given year are admitted and new students are admitted in the Fall semester only. Minimum requirements for admission for the MA degree include a bachelor's degree, a GPA of 3.0, three letters of recommendation; applicants for the PhD should hold a masters degree in a relevant field. Additionally, successful applicants have completed a year or two of calculus with a grade of at least B and a course in linear algebra. Applicants must also take the GRE and the TOEFL (or IELTS) test in their home country.

• GRE recipient code: 4227
• TOEFL recipient codes: 4833 & 5688
     PLEASE SUBMIT BOTH RECIPIENT CODES FOR TOEFL SCORES.
  

 
Prospective Applicant Sessions______________

This year's Biostat Prospective Applicant Sessions will be offered on...

• Tuesday, September 20^th
• Friday, October 7^th
• Thursday, November 3^rd

All Sessions will be held from 3:30-5:00pm in 111A Haviland Hall.
 
Our Prospective Applicant Sessions coincide with those offered by the School of Public Health so that visitors (especially those coming from out of state) can attend the School's information session for general questions regarding the applications process, and attend our session for specific information about the Graduate Degree Programs in Biostatistics on the same day.
 
We hope to have a strong faculty presence and provide a brief overview of research activities at the sessions we're offering.
 

Space is Limited. If you plan to attend a Biostatistics Prospective Applicant Session, please RSVP to Biostat@berkeley.edu with...
 
    "Biostat Prospective App Session RSVP" as the subject-line and
    include your full name & the day you plan to attend
    in the body of the e-mail message.
 
 
Please Read Before RSVP: For information that is NOT SPECIFIC to the BIOSTATISTICS PROGRAM (such as general info on the admission/application process), please attend the Pre-Application Information sessions offered by the School of Public Health.
 
 
It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for prospective biostatistics applicants to attend BOTH the Biostat Prospective Applicant Session and the School's Information Session.
 
 
 

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Students from countries other than the US must show that they have the funds necessary for at least the first year of their degree program at Berkeley in order to obtain a nonimmigrant visa to enter the US. Tuition and fees are subject to change without notice and these and other expenses may increase by 10-30% per year. Large sums of money will be required to pay initial living expenses such as rental deposit, tuition and fees during registration, and your first months' living expenses.
 
Successful applicants have attained a very high level of scholastic achievement before entering Berkeley with strong goals and letters recommending them for admission. Teaching Assistantships and Research Assistantships in Biostatistics are limited in number.
 
 

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Biostatistics requires that all applicants take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Arrangements to take the GRE should be made directly with the Educational Testing Service (ETS) at least six weeks before the desired test date if you are registering to take the GRE at a center outside the United States. Information on the GRE is available on the web at http://www.gre.org.
 

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All applicants from any country in which the official language is not English are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The Graduate Division does not accept score reports of tests more than two years old. Applicants to the Fall semester should arrange to take the TOEFL 12 months in advance. For further details concerning registration for the examination and examination dates, consult the TOEFL website at http://www.ets.org/toefl/ .
 
A score of 570 on the TOEFL (230 in the computer-based test) is necessary for admission to graduate school at Berkeley. If you are not able to take the TOEFL, you may substitute the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exam. The overall BAND score must be at least 7 on a 9-point scale.  To register for  the IELTS,  consult their website at http://www.ielts.org.
 
Knowledge of written and spoken English is required before enrollment, and students with inadequate knowledge of English will be denied admission.
 

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In addition to the TOEFL or IELTS, all international students whose native tongue is not English and who wish to be considered for an appointment as a teaching assistant can demonstrate their proficiency by taking and passing the Test of Spoken English (TSE) before enrolling in Berkeley or the SPEAK test offered on the Berkeley campus. University policy calls for completion of the oral English proficiency screening requirement before the GSI appointment can be made.
 
Find out how you can satisfy the English Language Proficiency requirement by taking an eligibility quiz at: http://gsi.berkeley.edu/lpp/teaching.html
 
For more information, please visit the Graduate Student Instructor Teaching Resource Center online at: http://gsi.berkeley.edu/index.html
 

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The Group in Biostatistics admits new students in the Fall semester only. Applications are available beginning in September/October of each year for students seeking admission in the Fall semester of the following academic year.
 
For specific application procedures, please refer to
the UC Berkeley SPH Admissions website.
 
 
 
 

 

SOPHAS Application Fee
($115 for first school, ~$40 for each additional school)
for exact fees see the SOPHAS Application Fee Schedule .
Please check the status of your application on the SOPHAS portal frequently throughout the admissions cycle.
 
IMPORTANT: If your application appears as "Undelivered" at any time, immediately contact SOPHAS at sophasinfo@sophas.org to rectify the situation.
 
The deadline for electronic submission of materials (letters of recommendation & resume/CV) with the SOPHAS Application is December 1, 2010.
 
Official Transcripts, along with any other mailed materials, must be postmarked by November 24, 2010.
 
Mailed materials required for SOPHAS application should be sent to:
 
     SOPHAS
     P.O. Box 9111
     Watertown, MA 02471-9111

 

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STEP THREE
Transcripts to UC Berkeley School of Public Health
http://sph.berkeley.edu/students/admissions/
 
If admitted into the program, the School of Public Health will send a letter of notification. The Graduate Division undertakes the final official review and will send a letter to admitted applicants as well.
 
After receiving your Letter of Admission...

• for International Applicants: Send One official transcript from each institution attended beyond high school (in addition to official transcripts submitted directly to SOPHAS). The transcripts must be sent DIRECTLY FROM THE INSTITUTIONS in sealed envelopes with the signatures/stamps of the institutions.

The postmark deadline for international students sending the transcripts to the UCB School of Public Health is November 24, 2010 (the same postmark deadline for sending transcripts to SOPHAS).
 
Transcripts Addressed to:
 
     Admissions 2011 (International Applicant)
     School of Public Health
     University of California, Berkeley
     50 University Hall # 7360
     Berkeley CA 94720-7360

 

VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION CONCERNING SUBMISSION OF ACADEMIC RECORDS TO UCB SPH
 
International applicants are required to submit official documentation of all academic records. Certified photocopies of documents will NOT be accepted.
 
Official records are original documents issued by the institution which

• bear the original stamp or raised, embossed seal of the issuing institution and...
   
  
• the signature stamp of the appropriate official.

These records must be in the original language and accompanied by English translations prepared by the issuing institution. Again, PHOTOCOPIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. See Graduate Division website for further information.
 
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Applicants for any academic year are urged to take the GRE exam offered in October of the previous year. Again, all applicants, domestic and international, must take the general GRE exam. No subject test is required.
 
Each application is reviewed by a committee of faculty in Biostatistics and recommendations for admission are sent to the Graduate Division who makes the final decision. Letters of acceptance and notices of fellowship or scholarship award are mailed starting mid-March through mid-April.
 
Please check the FAQ section for answers to such questions as recipient codes for GRE scores, TOEFL requirements, average GPA of successful candidates, and the like.
 
If you have general questions about the application process, you may contact the Office of Student Admissions.