These programs offer deep engagement in translational predoctoral research working on projects with academic medicine teams that include scientists at the Research Institute and physician scientists practicing at Houston Methodist Hospital.

About the PhD Program

Houston Methodist offers two Weill Cornell PhD programs at our central Houston campus in Neurosciences and in Physiology, Biophysics, and Systems Biology. These programs offer deep engagement in translational predoctoral research working on projects with academic medicine teams that include scientists at the Research Institute and physician scientists practicing at Houston Methodist Hospital. WCGS faculty at the New York campus will provide the didactic curriculum via remote learning with mentoring by WCGS faculty at the Houston campus. The thesis research will be performed at the Houston Methodist Academic Institute, under the direction of WCGS faculty located at both the Houston and NYC campuses. Graduate students and WCGS faculty based in Houston will visit New York City for program retreats and graduate school events. In turn, graduate students and faculty based in New York City can benefit from Houston-based faculty expertise and state-of-the-art facilities and technology at the Houston Methodist Academic Institute. This collaboration will enhance the experience of students and faculty at both locations.

Our Mission and Vision

The mission of the WCGS program at the Houston campus is to mentor a new generation of leaders in biomedical research. Our trainees will generate fundamental insights that transform medical care. They will learn how to effectively work in scientific teams while also developing their own ideas. They will learn and apply cutting edge technologies in state-of-the-art core facilities and analyze their data with contemporary algorithms in bioinformatics and computational biology. They will become articulate communicators of scientific ideas and concepts who write compelling papers and award-winning grants. In the translational environment of the Houston campus, adjoined to the Houston Methodist Hospital, they will become conversant with the generation and commercialization of intellectual property and the regulatory roadmap to approval of novel devices, diagnostics, and therapeutics. The trajectory of their research career will be steep and send them toward fulfilling careers of independent investigation that will improve human welfare.

WCGS faculty at the New York campus will provide the didactic curriculum via remote learning with mentoring by WCGS faculty at the Houston campus. The thesis research will be performed at the Houston Methodist Academic Institute, under the direction of WCGS faculty located at both the Houston and NYC campuses. Graduate students and WCGS faculty based in Houston will visit New York City for program retreats and graduate school events. In turn, graduate students and faculty based in New York City can benefit from Houston-based faculty expertise and state-of-the-art facilities and technology at the Houston Methodist Academic Institute. This collaboration will enhance the experience of students and faculty at both locations.

Application Timeline

September 1

• Online applications open 

October 8 / November 4

• Virtual open house and application workshops 

December 1 

• Application deadline 

December / January 

• Interview invitations sent via email 

January / February 

• Interviews (by invitation)

Mid-Late February 

• Admission decisions sent 

April 15 

• Acceptance reply deadline 

Application Materials

Application Fee 

• A nonrefundable application fee of $80 is required. Payment must be made through the online application platform after your application is submitted.

Transcripts 

• Transcripts/transcript evaluations are required for all post-secondary degrees completed or in progress.
• Degrees completed within the United States: Unofficial transcripts from U.S. institutions may be uploaded directly onto the application portal and can be used for application review. Official transcripts are not required at the time you apply. If you wish to send official transcripts, they must be received directly from the institution via electronic transmission.
• Degrees completed outside of the United States: Transcripts from institutions outside of the U.S., including Canada, must be transcribed and evaluated by World Education Services (WES), The Evaluation Company (TEC), IEE or other NACES member evaluation services. Official transcript evaluations are required for review of your application and must be submitted to WCGS directly from the evaluation service via electronic transmission. 
• If using WES, please select the WES Basic Course-by-Course evaluation and choose "Cornell University - Manhattan NY" as the recipient with "Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences" as the School/Division.
• Evaluations are accepted only from current members of the National Association of Credit Evaluation Services (NACES). Official course-by-course evaluations are required for application review.

Letters of Recommendation 

• We require three letters of recommendation from professors or other professionals who are able to judge your preparation and fitness for graduate work in the proposed program of study. Letters must be submitted electronically by your recommenders using the unique link provided to them through our application system. Recommenders must be listed with their professional or academic email address. Letters will not be accepted via email, postal mail, or third-party services.

Standardized Tests 

• GRE scores are optional for all Weill Cornell PhD programs. GRE scores are valid for five years after the test date and official scores are required if you choose to submit them. To submit your GRE score report through ETS, please enter institution code 2119 for Weill Cornell.

Personal Statement 

• In narrative form, your personal statement should discuss key elements of your research background, your research interests, how these align with the program you are applying to, and why Weill Cornell is the right school for you. We encourage you to indicate specific faculty members you would be most interested in working with, and briefly explain why.
• The Weill Cornell Graduate School prides itself in the breadth of our learning environment. To give our review committee a more comprehensive understanding of you, we encourage you to also include how your education may have been affected by your cultural, economic, or social experiences. Please keep your statement to 1500 words.

Resume 

• Please upload an updated, professional resume to your application.

English Proficiency Tests (International Applicants) 

• For admissions purposes, Weill Cornell Graduate School does not require TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo scores from applicants who meet one of the following standing exemptions. If you meet the criteria for one of the following standing exemptions listed below, you will indicate this in your Application for Graduate Admission. There is no need to contact the admissions office in advance unless you have clarifying questions:
  • Speak English as a first language and are a citizen or permanent resident of a country where English is an official language (including but not limited to Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan).
  • At the time of enrollment at Weill Cornell, will have earned a bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S. college or university located in the U.S. (Please note that you must have been physically present in the U.S. for the majority of your enrollment.)
  • At the time of enrollment at Weill Cornell, will have earned the international equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree from a college or university located in a country where English is an official language, and where English is the language of instruction (including but not limited to Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan). The medium of instruction must be indicated on the transcript or easily verified on the institution’s website. (Please note that you must have been physically present in the exempt country for the majority of your enrollment.)
  • At the time of enrollment at Weill Cornell, will have studied and/or worked full-time for at least 2 consecutive years within the last 10 years in a country where English is an official and widely spoken language. This experience must be noted on a transcript and/or described on a resume or CV. We will accept a combination of study and work—e.g., an applicant who completed a 1-year master’s degree in the U.S. followed by 1 year of OPT. If you are or were a student, the full-time study must have been for at least 2 consecutive academic years (potentially slightly less than 24 months) AND English must have been the language of instruction for your studies. (Please note that you must have been physically present in the exempt country for the majority of your enrollment.)

For more information visit: https://wcgsconnect.weill.cornell.edu/apply/

The Houston campus offers a doctoral program in neuroscience. Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary graduate training program integrated into an expanding, innovative research and education environment that spans basic, translational and clinical research. Faculty challenge students to develop expertise beyond neuroscience, including organ and brain interactions, systems level physiology, engineering, in vivo imaging and computational biology. Faculty conduct internationally recognized research in models of aging, neurodegeneration and injury within cell, animal, and human model systems. A collective premise for training is guiding graduate students toward independence in the art of discovery and application of nervous system plasticity and regeneration approaches. Graduates will achieve competence in intellectual scholarship, collaborative problem solving, experimental design, rigor and reproducibility, communication and persuasive writing and speaking.

The Houston campus offers a Physiology, Biophysics, and Systems Biology (PBSB) doctoral program of study. PBSB is designed to engage students with quantitative biological approaches at the forefront of physiology, the functions of cells, tissues, and organs; biophysics, the application of principles of physics to biological processes; and systems, the complex interactions between components of a biological system. The focus is on cutting edge approaches to genomics, bioinformatics and computational biology, molecular and cellular biophysics (including fluorescence microscopy and single molecule imaging, crystallography, electrophysiology and membrane systems, stem cells, and computational simulations of macromolecular systems), computational and systems neuroscience, organogenesis and development, learning, memory, and behavior. The research activities of the faculty, in genetics, structural biology, and cell and molecular biology are integrated with principles and representations from mathematics, computer science and statistics, physics, and engineering.