Admissions for the MS in Biostatistics

Key dates for Fall 2027 admission

We review applications on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply early.

Apply at sophas.org

Prerequisites

What you’ll submit

1. A SOPHAS application with a personal statement.
2. Official transcripts. Admitted students typically have a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
3. Three letters of recommendation, plus a résumé or CV.
4. The UMass supplemental application. The link is emailed to you after you submit in SOPHAS.

The GRE is not required. International applicants may need an English proficiency test; see the Graduate School website.

More information on admissions into our graduate programs can be found here

Costs & scholarships

• Merit scholarships: last year’s awards were about $5,000 per year, for 2 years.
• Affordable: UMass graduate degrees are cost-effective, especially for Massachusetts residents. See graduate tuition rates.
• Assistantships: some TA/RA positions are available, but they are usually not guaranteed for MS students.

Undergraduates: try biostatistics first

Our Summer Workshop in Biostatistics is a 2-week program in June for 15–20 undergraduates, with a $1,000 stipend. It includes lectures and hands-on labs with UMass faculty and PhD students, statistical computing in R, guest speakers from academia and industry, and advice on career paths. Lunch is provided and on-campus housing is available. It’s open to undergraduates who have completed at least one year of study.

We ran it in June 2024 and 2025 and hope to offer it again in summer 2027. Workshop page · Questions: rbalasub [at] umass [dot] edu (rbalasub[at]umass[dot]edu)

Questions?

• MS program: Raji Balasubramanian, rbalasub [at] umass [dot] edu (rbalasub[at]umass[dot]edu)
• Accelerated MS (4+1): Nick Reich, nick [at] umass [dot] edu (nick[at]umass[dot]edu)
• Admissions process: Lauren McBroom, laurenmcbroo [at] umass [dot] edu (laurenmcbroo[at]umass[dot]edu)

You can also watch the MS in Biostatistics program video.