Admissions
The application process for National Institutes of Health-funded Trainee and Biotechnology Cluster appointments is essentially the same. Applicants who wish to be considered for both types of appointments may submit one application for both programs.
The application portal is currently closed.
View our Winter 2024 Program Info Session Slides
Eligibility
As summarized in the Modes of Participation section, students may participate in BTP as either an NIH-funded Trainee or a Biotechnology Cluster Member. Each mode has unique eligibility requirements, as detailed below.
NIH-funded Trainee Eligibility Requirements
- Applicant must be enrolled full time within one of the participating PhD programs at Northwestern University: Biomedical Engineering, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chemistry, Driskill Graduate Program, Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences (IBiS), or Materials Science and Engineering.
- Applicant must be a citizen, non-citizen national, or a permanent resident of the United States.
- Applicant must have completed two research rotations before selecting a PhD adviser. Students in grad programs other than IBiS or DGP must submit a rotation form together with their application.
- To be competitive, applicants should have an outstanding undergraduate and (if applicable) graduate academic record including the cumulative grade-point average.
- All trainees must be advised by a BTP Preceptor (typically as the primary research ). If your adviser is not currently a BTP Preceptor, they may petition to become one after you are given an offer of appointment to the program.
- Students apply in late spring/early summer of the first year of their PhD program. Trainees appointed in the second year of their PhD program will be considered for reappointment for a second year (i.e., the third year of PhD training) if they meet the requirements detailed in their appointment letter. To be considered for reappointment, please complete this reappointment petition and submit the completed form by email to William Chaussee by the application deadline.
- NIH-funded Trainee support includes tuition, stipend, and funds for professional development (e.g., travel to conferences) for each year of appointment.
Biotechnology Cluster Eligibility Requirements
- Applicant must be enrolled full time within any PhD program at Northwestern University.
- There is no requirement for U.S. citizenship or permanent residency.
- Research rotations are encouraged but not required.
- To be competitive, applicants should have an outstanding undergraduate and (if applicable) graduate academic record including the cumulative grade point average.
- All trainees must be advised by a BTP Preceptor (typically as the primary research adviser). If your adviser is not currently a BTP Preceptor, they may petition to become one after you are given an offer of appointment to the program.
- Students may apply during any year of their PhD training by the general application deadline in late spring/early summer.
- Cluster appointments are for one year and include two quarters of tuition and stipend support; support for the remaining two quarters is to be provided by the applicant’s research adviser.
Students who are interested in the BTP and have not yet applied to a graduate program at Northwestern are encouraged to contact BTP Director Joshua Leonard to discuss which graduate programs would be appropriate choices for their admission to the University. First year graduate students may also reach out to their graduate program director or BTP preceptors in their department for more information.
Application Deadline and Requirements
BTP applications (for both types of appointment) are due by July 1st at 11:59 p.m. and must include:- a three-page (maximum) statement discussing the motivation for participating in BTP, goals of the PhD research, and a plan for how the applicant will meet the program requirements including courses and the industrial internship (NIH-funded trainees only, for the latter). Please note that citations do not count toward the 3-page limit
- A copy of the applicant’s research rotation report (not required for IBiS and DGP students or Cluster applicants).
- A copy of the student's undergraduate and graduate transcripts (Unofficial copies of transcripts are sufficient).
- GRE scores will not be considered and should not be submitted in any form.
- A letter of support from the applicant’s adviser (this will be uploaded by the adviser directly into the application portal using an emailed link which is generated upon application submission).
- A short CV, including honors, presentations, research experience, publications, etc.