While Extension School courses are open enrollment, degree programs are not. You must meet admission criteria, including grade and GPA requirements, and apply to earn the degree.
To apply to the program:
- Complete the 3 preadmission courses at Harvard.
- Meet all other admission criteria.
- Submit your application materials.
1. Complete the 3 preadmission courses at Harvard.
Earn a B or higher in 3 required graduate-credit Harvard courses as described below. These courses count as 12 credits toward the degree once you are admitted.
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The proseminar. If you earn a grade below B in a proseminar, you are only allowed to enroll in it once more for admission. If you delay application to the program more than 2 years after completing the proseminar, you must retake the course. When retaking the proseminar, choose a section taught by a different instructor.
- Two courses from field I (life sciences). If applying to the bioinformatics concentration, the courses must be BIOS E-40, BIOS E-45, or BIOS E-215 (see Choosing Courses), or BIOS S-68 and BIOS S-180 at Harvard Summer School.
See the degree course search, which is the only accurate way to choose courses that count toward the degree.
Tip: you can take up to 4 courses a semester, but we recommend you take only 1 until you have a better sense of the workload and time commitment involved. Also, the test of critical reading and writing skills is required for the proseminar. Take this test, by the priority deadlines: July 17, 2011 for the fall term and November 13, 2011 for spring.
If you don’t meet the minimum GPA after completing 3 preadmission courses, speak with an admission advisor before registering for more courses. It may not be in your best interest to continue to register for courses in an attempt to raise your GPA.
You can also request via e-mail that an advisor calculate your pre-admission GPA and offer advice about future registration. Log in to online services, choose “Degree Program Admissions,” then “Pre-Admission GPA request.”
2. Meet all other admission criteria.
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Possess a regionally accredited bachelor’s degree or its foreign equivalent in an area of physical, life, or computer science. If you have a science degree, but no previous coursework in biology it is strongly recommended that you complete BIOS E-1a and BIOS E-1b before attempting graduate-level biology classes that would count toward the degree.
Ordinarily 3-year foreign degrees are not equivalent. We highly recommend that you have your foreign undergraduate degree evaluated by the Center for Educational Documentation (CED), prior to registering for Extension School courses to ensure that you are eligible for the degree. CED’s general evaluation will confirm if your degree is equivalent to a US bachelor’s degree. -
Have postbaccalaureate research experience.
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Have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 in all degree courses already completed at Harvard Extension School or Summer School.
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Be able to demonstrate English language proficiency.
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Be in good academic and financial standing with Harvard University, with no disciplinary or administrative procedures pending.
If applying to the life sciences, bioinformatics, or bioengineering and nanotechnologies concentration, you should be able to demonstrate at least 1 year of scientific research experience.
If applying to the management principles concentration, you should have 2 years of scientific research experience. (Candidates in this concentration often have hopes of breaking into the business side of the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. This requires a solid understanding of research first, which can only be acquired by working as a researcher.)
The type of experience that qualifies includes laboratory, clinical, and computational research. A letter of recommendation from the research supervisor must accompany your application. Questions about this requirement should be sent to the program director, Cheryl Vaughan, via e-mail at cheryl_vaughan@harvard.edu.
If you already hold a graduate degree, you may earn the biotechnology graduate degree, provided the existing degree is in a different field.
3. Submit your application materials.
We admit students to the program 3 times a year. Submit your application during the term you anticipate completing your preadmission courses and all other admission requirements.
Your 5-year deadline to complete the entire degree starts at the completion of the third degree course (i.e., any course that can count toward the degree). It is crucial you register for the preadmission courses as your first 3 courses and apply to the program as soon as possible.
See How to Apply for more information.
International students
The Extension School does not issue I-20s. But you may be able to earn the degree through online courses and Harvard Summer School on-campus courses. See Online Course Options and Residency Requirements.
Financial aid
Before you apply and are admitted, you can work with Student Financial Services to secure private funding to cover the cost of the first 3 courses required for admission. Learn about financial aid for nonadmitted students.
Once you apply and are admitted, you may be eligible for a number of loan and grant programs. Learn about financial aid for admitted candidates.
