Applications WILL be reviewed regardless of payment of the CSU Graduate School Application Fee. Applications under Channel 1 are now closed. We are still accepting applications through February 1st via Channel 2.

CMB Admissions

 

The Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Program offers two channels for admission of new students (Channel 1 and Channel 2). Together, these channels provide flexible options that maximize admission opportunities for qualified students. The two channels have separate due dates, and are reviewed independently. Prospective students should carefully evaluate the main features of each admissions channel before beginning their application. 

Foreign applicants (non-US citizens and non-US permanent residents) must apply earlier in order to compensate for the current long delays associated with visa processing backlogs. 

More detailed information about the specific due dates, admission requirements, application components, application review processes, and FAQs for each channel are provided below. 

Main features: 

♦ PhD applications for channel 1 are due on November 1 for foreign PhD applicants, and December 1 for domestic applicants. These due dates are for admission to start in the program the following fall semester (e.g., apply on Dec 1, 2023 to start a PhD on Aug ~15, 2024). 

♦ Only PhD applicants are considered for admission through channel 1 (i.e., MS applicants are not eligible). 

♦ Channel 1 PhD applications are reviewed on a competitive basis. Each applicant’s qualifications are evaluated individually using a qualitative and holistic rubric, as well as their overall performance during online and/or campus interviews. Next, the applications are compared and assigned to ranked priority groups. Finally, admission is offered on a rolling basis, starting with the applicants placed in the highest priority groups, then extending on to the next ranked groups when possible, until all the available funded slots are filled.

♦  PhD students admitted through channel 1 receive funding from sources managed internally by the CMB program. These sources are either: 2 semesters (1st fall and 1st spring) of Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) funding from Colorado State University; or 1 semester (1st fall) of GTA, followed by up to 2 years of Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA) from the NIH-NIGMS T32 Quantitative CMB training grant (qCMB). 

♦ Both domestic and foreign PhD applicants are considered for GTA funding. 

♦ Only domestic (US citizens or US permanent residents) PhD applicants are considered for NIH-NIGMS T32 qCMB funding. 

♦ All PhD students admitted through channel 1 participate in first year laboratory rotations to match with a CMB faculty mentor, and then join that laboratory permanently for their doctoral research. 

Applications will be reviewed with two (2) letters of recommendation; however, we require a total of three (3) letters of recommendation before we can offer admission to the program. 

Main features: 

♦ PhD and MS applications for Channel 2 are due on November 1 for foreign and February 1 for domestic applicants. These due dates are for admission the following fall semester (e.g., apply by Feb 1, 2024 to start a PhD or MS on Aug 15, 2024).

Both PhD and MS applicants are considered for admission through channel 2. This is the only admissions channel available to MS applicants.

♦ Applications submitted through channel 2 are NOT reviewed competitively. Instead, each applicant is evaluated individually on their own merits without comparative ranking (i.e., reviewers are only asked to evaluate whether each applicant is qualified, or not, to enroll in their desired program). This evaluation is made using a qualitative and holistic rubric, in addition to an assessment of the applicant’s overall performance during online and/or campus interviews.

♦ PhD or MS students admitted through channel 2 must secure funding from a source external to the CMB program (i.e., CMB-managed funding sources are not offered in this case).
Acceptable external funding sources include:

  • GRA or GTA funding managed by a CMB faculty member
  • External fellowships provided by governmental entities or research foundations
  • Financial support from the US military offered to active service members or veterans

Note that personal wealth, family financial support and student loans are not acceptable funding sources. 

♦ Applicants must have an external source of funding already identified and committed to them by the application due date. Alternatively, applicants may provide documentation showing they have applied for an external funding source (e.g., a confirmation of application receipt from a scholarship foundation). Channel 2 applications that do not contain evidence of external funding, either already secured or pending, will be declined without further review.

♦ Applicants who secure a GRA or GTA funding commitment from a CMB faculty member join that laboratory directly, and therefore do not participate in first year rotations.  For this reason, such direct-to-lab arrangements are only approved when both applicant and faculty member make a compelling argument to support they will have a successful mentoring partnership. The faculty member must communicate this expectation of a successful alignment to the CMB Director before the application is submitted. The faculty member will be asked to provide an endorsement letter to be reviewed with the application. If after review the applicant is considered qualified to enroll in the program, the faculty member will be required to sign an additional letter confirming their formal commitment to mentor and to fund the student.

♦ Applicants who receive external funding from governments, foundations, military, or similar sources are eligible and encouraged to participate in laboratory rotations. In these cases, a commitment from a CMB faculty member is not required.

♦ Domestic PhD applicants who initially applied through channel 1 may request to have their application also considered through channel 2, but only if they are able to secure the required external funding source before February 1. This option is not available to foreign applicants. 

Applications will be reviewed with two (2) letters of recommendation; however, we require a total of three (3) letters of recommendation before we can offer admission to the program. 

International PhD Applicants (Channel 1)

Application due date – Nov 1

Invitations for Virtual Interviews by December 22

Virtual first round interviews – January 2-12

Full virtual interviews with faculty – January 15-26

Offers on a rolling basis starting on – ~ January 29

Domestic PhD Applicants (Channel 1)

Application due date – December 1

Invitations for Virtual Interviews by December 22

Virtual interviews – January 2-12

Invitations for on-campus interview by Jan 19

On campus interviews – Feb 29 and March 1

Offers on a rolling basis from ~March 8-April 15

International MS and PhD Applicants (Channel 2) 

Application due date – Nov 1

Virtual interviews  Nov 17-Dec 1

Offers conditional on external funding ~Dec 8

Domestic MS and PhD Applicants (Channel 2)

Application Deadline – February  1

Invitations for on-campus interview by February 9

On campus interviews Feb 29 and March 1

Offers conditional on external funding ~March 8