Application to Virology is through the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS).
To qualify for admission, applicants must demonstrate strong enthusiasm and ability for the vigorous pursuit of scientific knowledge. Minimal requirements include a bachelor’s degree and undergraduate preparation in the sciences. A complete application consists of:
- Online application form
- Application fee payment ($105)*
- Unofficial transcripts uploaded to the application
- Three letters of recommendation
- Statement of Purpose
- Personal Statement
- Demonstration of English proficiency (TOEFL or IELTS), where required
Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
The Virology programs will not consider GRE scores if submitted.
Demonstrate English Proficiency, Where Required
Adequate command of spoken and written English is essential to success in graduate study at Harvard. Applicants who are non-native English speakers and who received their undergraduate degree from an academic institution where English is not the primary language of instruction must prove their English proficiency by earning either a minimum score of 100 on the Internet based test (iBT) of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or a minimum score of 7.0 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic test. Applicants who took tests more than two years ago (i.e., before September 1, 2025, for fall 2027 admission) must retake them. No test other than the iBT TOEFL or the IELTS Academic will be accepted as proof of English proficiency. A master’s degree is not accepted as proof of English proficiency.
Please arrange to have an official TOEFL score report sent to the Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences using code 3451. If you have a copy of your Score Confirmation Report, you can upload it to your online application for consideration by the admissions committee. However, you will still need to ensure that Educational Testing Service sends an official score report.
For those students planning to submit IELTS scores, please note that Harvard will only accept official IELTS Academic scores submitted electronically by the IELTS test center via the E-Delivery service. At the time of test-taking, please specify Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences as a score recipient. We do not accept IELTS paper Test Report Forms nor do we verify Test Report Forms (TRFs).
Financial Aid
Applicants to the Division of Medical Sciences - Virology, should NOT complete the Statement of Financial Resources for Graduate Study. DMS students receive full tuition and stipend support while they are enrolled.
Letters of Recommendation
We do not accept any paper letters of recommendation. Be sure to register your recommenders’ information in your application, as all recommendation letters must be submitted online. Paper letters of recommendation will NOT be included as part of your application.
*Application Fee Waiver: we are committed to ensuring that the application fee does not create a financial obstacle. Applicants can determine eligibility for a fee waiver by completing a series of questions in the application. Once these questions have been answered, the application system will provide an immediate response regarding fee waiver eligibility. Please note - the program is not able to directly authorize fee waivers.
