Application Procedures & Requirements

Applicants must meet the requirements of the graduate school at Georgetown University to be considered for the Certificate programs offered by the Department. Students should either be in the last semester of their undergraduate degree program or have received a bachelor's degree in an appropriate field prior to matriculation.

Application Materials required:

• Application Form
• Non-refundable Application Fee
  • The application form must be submitted with a nonrefundable application fee.  Requests for waiver of the application fee are not accepted. Applicants will not receive a Graduate School decision on their application if the application fee is not paid.  Please note that cash is not accepted as a form of payment.
    $70 online application fee - pay by credit card, check, or money order
    $80 paper application fee - pay by check or money order
    Checks or money orders should be made payable to "Georgetown University."  Clearly write the following information on the check or money order:  applicant name, date of birth, program applying to, and term of application.
• Notarized Identification Form
  • This form should be a color copy of your state or national ID (driver's license, passport) with your photograph and name clearly visible. The copy should be dated and signed by a notary.
• Statement of Purpose  
  • The 500-word academic statement of purpose should describe your academic and professional goals and their fit with this unique certificate program.
• Resume/CV (including publications, if applicable)
• Official Transcripts
• Official Recommendations, academic or professional (3)
• GRE Score Report (General only); MCAT score report or professional experience are acceptable substitutions.
• TOEFL or IELTS scores, if applicable

 All paper materials (transcripts, etc.) that cannot be submitted online should be sent to:

Office of Biomedical Graduate Education
Georgetown University
Attn: Credentials - Biohaz Online Certificate
3900 Reservoir Road, NW
Med-Dent NE 303, Box 571411
Washington, DC  20057-1411

General Qualifications and Prerequisites

Students are selected based on undergraduate record, performance on any standardized test, a personal statement, recommendations, and, when necessary, interviews with members of the department. The following subjects are strongly recommended for acceptance into the program: biology, organic chemistry, genetics, physics, physical chemistry, and quantitative analysis.

• Minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) is required, though 3.5 or higher is preferred
• TOEFL: A minimum score of 550 (paper-based test) or 213 (computer-based test) or 80 (iBT test) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Georgetown University's TOEFL score reporting code is 5244. TOEFL information: http://www.ets.org/toefl/  
• IELTS: A minimum score of 7.0 from the International English Language Testing System. IELTS Information: http://www.ielts.org/article1.aspx

ENGLISH PROFICIENCY:  TOEFL / IELTS

All applicants who are not native English speakers are required to demonstrate a level of proficiency in the English language sufficient to meet the admission requirement of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Proficiency can be demonstrated by the receipt of a bachelor's or advanced degree from an accredited institution of higher education in the United States or from a university where English is the primary language of instruction. All other non-native speakers must achieve at least a minimum score on either the TOEFL or IELTS test.  Test scores must be received by the application deadline date. Applicants should allow six to eight weeks from the test date for the reporting of scores to the institution. Applications will not be considered without GRE or TOEFL/IELTS scores.

Application Process

• Deadline for Spring 2008 applications is December 1st, 2007
• Deadline for Fall 2008 applications is July 1st, 2008
• If your application is started, but not complete, by the deadline, it may still be reviewed. Please email ma554@georgetown.edu  to hold your file as an "active application" until it is complete.

The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences offers an online application that is completed and submitted with an easy-to-use, secure online form created by Georgetown University and our partner, ApplyYourself.

Please read all instructions carefully before entering the application.  If you are ready to apply, please use this APPLY ONLINE link to proceed directly to the online application.  For information on technical support, confirmation of the application submission, and joint program / multiple program submission, please read below.

If you are planning to reactivate an application within one year of submission to the Office of Graduate Admissions, you may go to the Reactivation Request Form.  Complete the form and submit it to Graduate Admissions.  There is no need to apply online again.

Technical support

Application information is not available to Georgetown University until you officially submit your online application.  If you have any questions or difficulties while completing the online form, please click on the button on the top right corner of each page in the online application (TECHNICAL SUPPORT) and an e-mail message detailing your exact location in the online application will be generated.  You can provide details of your issue for the ApplyYourself technicians, then send the message to them for response.  The response is generally quick and helpful.

If you are working outside of the application, you can send an e-mail to ApplyYourself  at:  i-support@applyyourself.com.  Make sure to provide complete information to them -- your full name, your online user number PIN, the school/program to which you are applying, your complete contact information (address, telephone, and e-mail), and a full description of the problem encountered.

Confirmation of Application Submission 

Once you have completed your online form, and you have clicked on the "Submit" button, you will receive an automatic confirmation of your application submission from Georgetown University.  Prior to submission, you should print a copy of your complete application for your records.  The application is not viewable by Georgetown University until you click the "Submit" button.

Submission of a Joint / Dual or Multiple Program Application

Applicants selecting online program codes for approved joint/dual programs or multiple programs may use one single electronic application form.  Those applicants who wish to apply to more than one department, including applicants to joint/dual degree programs, must pay an application fee and submit separate supporting documents for each department to which application is being made.  You will be able to make your program selections for joint / dual or multiple programs in the program selection section of the online application.  For a list of joint programs offered, please click here.

Additional Information Contact:

Minnie An
Coordinator, Graduate Programs
Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Medical-Dental Building, SW311
3900 Reservoir Rd.
Georgetown University
Washington, DC 20057-1440
Fax: 202-687-1800 Email: ma554@georgetown.edu

• Apply online