Graduate Program in Genetics, Genomics & Bioinformatics

Prospective GGB graduate students are encouraged to apply as early as possible. To be considered for financial assistance for your graduate training in the GGB Graduate Program, your application must be completed by January 5th. The GGB Admissions Committee recommends student applicants for the competitive fellowships, tuition grants, and fee grants that are supported by the UC Riverside Graduate Division.

GGB graduate students are supported in part by fellowships and grants from the UC Riverside Graduate Division. In addition, financial assistance for GGB students also includes appointments as teaching assistants or graduate student researchers. Most often, the GGB Graduate Program, Graduate Division, and a GGB faculty mentor will partner their funds to offer incoming students multi-year financial packages. The costs of graduate education and specifics about many aspects of financial aid can be found at the UC Riverside Graduate Division website on Financial Support.

Students are encouraged to take independent steps to find alternative sources of funding. Domestic students can find information about alternative funding sources through the Graduate Division. Many of the competitive national fellowships must be submitted during the first few months of graduate school. Please plan ahead. Acquiring a competitive national fellowship is a real sign of achievement.

The Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics (GGB) Graduate Program accepts students with a diverse array of academic training given the breadth of our curriculum and faculty research interests. An undergraduate degree (BA or BS) from an accredited institution with a major appropriate to the proposed graduate program is required. Some International Applicants may also be required to have an M.S. Degree.

The GGB Graduate Program has separate entry requirements for applicants coming from a genetics/molecular or bioinformatics/computational background. Occasionally, students enter the GGB Graduate Program and have not taken all of the entry-level classes. In these instances, the graduate student takes the needed background class(es) in the first quarter in residence. 

Admission to the GGB Graduate Program is recommended by the GGB Admissions Committee. Admission is based on a number of factors, including academic degrees and records, statement of purpose, letters of recommendation, test scores, and relevant experience. The appropriateness of the applicant's goals to the degree program and its relationship to the research interests of the faculty is also considered.

Graduate Record Examination

The Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics GRE code is 0210. The exam is waived for 24-25 Application Cycle. 
 

English Language Proficiency Examinations

All applicants entering graduate study at UCR whose native language is not English must demonstrate English language proficiency through the following options.

You will qualify for an English Language Requirement Waiver if you meet one of the qualifications below. The Graduate Admissions Office will review and note approved waivers on your application status portal. 

1. You earn a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree from a regionally accredited US college or university where English is the sole language of instruction OR 

2. You earn a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree from an accredited international college or university that provides instruction solely in English.

• You earn a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree from an accredited international college or university from the following countries: Australia, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, Sierra Leone, the United Kingdom, and Canada (excluding French language universities). OR 
• You earn a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree from an accredited international college or university that lists English as their sole language of instruction in the IAU World Higher Education Database (WHED). OR 
•  Your institution notes language of instruction is English via: statement on its official transcript, a letter accompanying the transcript, or on the institution's official website.

Graduate programs require three (3) letters of recommendation. The most important aspect of letters of recommendation is that they be completed by the individuals who are in a position to analyze your academic ability and potential for success in a rigorous graduate program. Your recommender must submit the reference letter electronically as instructed in the email they will receive upon entering and saving their contact information in this section. Paper copies of letters of recommendation received in support of your application will not be accepted. 

Recommender Guidelines

1. At least two of the three letters should be requested from professors in your major subject if you are in progress to complete or recently completed your bachelor's degree or its equivalent. Those letters may highlight course work or research completed.
2.  If you have been enrolled in or completed a graduate program, a minimum of one letter must be from your program's research or program advisor in that graduate program. If you do not have an advisor, a letter from a faculty member who taught you in a graduate level course is acceptable.
3. If you wish to submit a letter from an employer, please contact the graduate program advisor to determine if this will be acceptable.
4. You may submit no more than five letters in total.

Tips:

• All letters of recommendation must be submitted in English.
• If you wish to waive your right to inspect the letters of recommendation, mark the appropriate response. Only enrolled UCR students are permitted to inspect letters of recommendation for which they did not waive their right to access. The earliest you may inspect any letters you did not waive your rights, is after the third week of classes in your first quarter as a graduate student at UCR. 
• Letters of recommendation cannot be released to the applicant, even if rights are not waived, nor be forwarded elsewhere.
• Applicants using Interfolio's online portfolio service may have their letters uploaded to our online application by providing the unique email address. To do so, please visit the Interfolio Help Article on where to find that email address. If you have questions, you may contact Interfolio at help@interfolio.com or call (877) 997-8807.

The following documents will be required for your graduate application.
 

Academic Statement of Purpose: Goals and Qualifications

Your responses to the following specific questions will aid the selection committee in evaluating your preparation and aptitude for graduate study at UCR. ALL applicants are required to submit this form. Please note that your statement should not exceed a 3,000 characters (including spaces) limit.

Please state your specific interests with respect to the program to which you are applying. The following information should be included in this statement:

1. Your intended area of specialization, career objectives, and research interests and experience.
2. A brief occupational resume if any significant period has elapsed since you were last enrolled in an academic institution.
3. Academic awards, prizes, honors, fellowships or other distinctions you have received.
4. Work experience or activities pertinent to your graduate goals.
5. If pertinent to your proposed field of study, please list your publications and any scholarly or professional organizations in which you hold membership.
 

Applicant Statement of Personal History

ALL applicants are required to submit this statement. Please note that your statement is limited to 3,000 characters (including spaces). YOU MAY NOT USE YOUR PERSONAL RESUME or CURRICULUM VITAE AS A RESPONSE TO THESE QUESTIONS. 

Please note that the Personal History Statement should not duplicate the Statement of Purpose.
In an essay, discuss how your personal background informs your decision to pursue a graduate degree. Please include any educational, familial, cultural, economic, or social experiences, challenges, or opportunities relevant to your academic journey; how you might contribute to social or cultural diversity within your chosen field; and/or how you might serve educationally underrepresented segments of society with your degree.
 

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Who is Eligible?

US Citizens, Permanent Residents, and Undocumented applicants who:

• Demonstrate financial need/financial hardship  OR 
• Be a current or recent participant in certain graduate preparation programs that qualify for a fee waiver

Waiver Deadlines

• Waiver requests need to be submitted a minimum of 5 business days prior to the graduate program’s posted application priority deadline. Complete requests will be processed within 2-3 business days by our office. 
• The Graduate Admissions Office will be closed December 23, 2023 - January 2, 2023. Any requests received on or after December 20, 2022 will not be processed until the week of January 3, 2023
   

Graduate Preparation Program

If you are a current or recent participant in any of the eligible graduate preparation programs, you may qualify for an application fee waiver to one graduate program at UC Riverside. For those who visited our booth at ABRCMS and SACNAS, you will receive an email with further instructions on how to request your application fee waiver.

Fee Waiver Request 

Only U.S. Citizens and U.S. Permanent Residents may request a waiver for the application fee. If you are currently in a graduate program or recently completed one and your graduate preparation program participation was from your undergraduate program, you are not eligible for a fee waiver.

1. Complete the first three sections of your online application.
2. Complete and submit the fee waiver request form. Further instructions on proof of participation required are provided in the that form.

Please refer to your online application for the required deadline submission or program's noted priority deadline posted on their website. Make sure to submit the Application Fee Waiver Request form a minimum of 5-7 business days prior to the appropriate deadline. Our office will not be able to process a fee waiver without the submission of the request form and saved application.
 

Eligible Graduate Preparation Program 

• Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) 
• American Political Science Association Ralph Bunche Summer Institute Program (APSA RBSI Scholars) 
• Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD-NIH)
• CAS Summer Research Program for Underrepresented Minorities and Women
• Cal Poly Pomona Bridges to Doctorate Program
• California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) Bridge Program in Physics, Astronomy, Computer Science, and Computer Engineering (Cal-Bridge) 
• California State University (CSU) Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholars Program 
• California Diversity Forum (The California Forum for Diversity in Graduate Education) 
• California Alliance for Minority Participation (CAMP) 
• College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) STEM Pathway Program 
• Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT)  
• Gates Millennium Scholars Program (GMS)
• The National GEM Consortium (GEM) 
• Guardian Scholars Program
• Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) - NIH Programs 
• Institute for Recruitment of Teachers (IRT) Fellows
• Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) 
• Math Alliance: F-Gap
• Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) 
• Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) 
• Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program (MMUF) 
• McNair Scholars Program 
• Mentoring Summer Research Internship Program (MSRIP) 
• National Association of African-American Honors Programs (NAAAHP) 
• NIH Bridges to Doctorate Program (CSU Fresno or Northridge) 
• NIH Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) 
• Northwestern Causeway Postbaccalaureate Certificate Program
• Questbridge Scholars
• Research Initiative for Science Enhancement (MBRS RISE) 
• Rutgers Summer Institute for Diversity in Philosophy
• Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) @ UC Irvine
• UC Historically Black Colleges and Universities Initiative (UC-HBCU) 
• UC Leadership through Advanced Degrees (UC LEADS) 
• UC Education Abroad Program (UCEAP) Reciprocity

If you don't see your program, please contact grdadmis@ucr.edu to see if the program is eligible. At this time, we do not offer fee waivers for AmeriCorps or Peace Corps.

We recommend that you contact the Graduate Student Services Advisor, Anthony Dominguez, or the Graduate Advisor for Admissions and Recruitment, Dr. Wenxiu Ma, if you have questions about the admissions process or the GGB Graduate Program.

Please mail your application materials to:
University of California, Riverside
Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics Graduate Program
900 University Avenue
2430 Life Sciences
University of California
Riverside, CA 92521