The Graduate Studies Process, From Application to Enrollment
Complete the Application!
For public health graduate programs, use the SOPHAS Application
For the nursing graduate program, use the NursingCAS Application
Becoming a UNMC graduate student begins with the application. UniCAS is the system you will use to upload certain information and monitor your application status. If you need help or have questions with the system, the UniCAS instructions page serves as your go-to guide.
Are you eligible to apply to Graduate Studies?
- A minimum of a 4-year U.S. Bachelor's Degree or international equivalent
- Minimum 3.0 GPA, based on a 4-point scale
- GRE scores for many programs (must be taken within 5 years)
- Additional information for some graduate degree programs
For complete details on admissions eligibility, read the Graduate Studies Catalog.
Step 1: Application & Materials
Make sure all of your information is submitted prior to your program's application deadline. Please use a valid email address on your application, as this is how Graduate Studies will communicate with you.
- APPLICATION — Complete the Application for Admission. If you want to apply to the Nursing Graduate Program, use the Nursing Application.
If you're applying for the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences, make sure to review their application tips.
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$60 APPLICATION FEE — The fee is non-refundable, so review exemption rules BEFORE payment.
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OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS — Submit official transcripts by mail from all previous institutions. International students have additional transcript and language proficiency requirements.
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3 LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION — Give the email addresses of recommenders or evaluators, who will then submit their letters online.
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PERSONAL NARRATIVE — Describe your career goals and how your program would help achieve those goals. Submitted via UniCAS.
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RESUME OR CV — Upload a resume or CV to UniCAS.
Step 2: Application Review
After submitting your application, you’ll receive an email of acknowledgement from Graduate Studies that will give you details on how to monitor your application documents.
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PRELIMINARY REVIEW BY GRADUATE STUDIES — Once your application is submitted, the Graduate Studies Office will conduct a preliminary review. Monitor your application progress through Graduate Application Status in UniCAS.
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PROGRAM REVIEW — After you've submitted all the program-specific materials, your program's Graduate Admissions Committee will decide if your application is accepted. Non-degree students skip this process.
Committees meet on varying schedules. Contact your Graduate Program for application status information.
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FINAL REVIEW BY GRADUATE STUDIES — After the program notifies Graduate Studies of their decision, we conduct a final review by checking all eligibility, English proficiency, and funding requirements. We will notify you by email if additional materials are needed.
Note: For those expecting to hold an F or J visa, we'll ask you to contact the International Health and Medical Education Office (IHME).
Step 3: Admission & Enrollment
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ACCEPTANCE EMAIL — If you are admitted to Graduate Studies, you'll be emailed a Certificate of Admission, as well as important information. International students will be contacted by the international student advisor from IHME.
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ENROLLMENT — After going through an online orientation, you are able to enroll in classes.
Learn more about orientation, enrollment and moving to Omaha in our incoming students section.
Additional Information You Need to Apply
Students in NU-PATHS, McNair, BRIN/INBRE, MARC, or CSC can waive the fee. You can begin your application, but do not proceed with payment. Contact the Admission Specialist in Graduation Studies to be granted a waiver. If you do proceed with payment before acquiring the waiver, the fee is nonrefundable.
PLEASE NOTE: International students have additional requirements for submitting transcripts.
Send all official transcripts to the appropriate address below. The official transcripts will be sent directly from your prior institutions to UNMC's transcript processing center in Watertown, MA, meaning you will have no direct contact with the received transcripts.
Sending Transcripts by United States Postal Service (USPS)
UNMC
P.O. Box 9140
Watertown, MA 02471
Sending Transcripts by UPS, FedEx, or any service other than USPS
UNMC Transcript Department
311 Arsenal Street, Suite #15
Watertown, MA 02472
Using the P.O. Box address for anything mailed by FedEx/UPS may delay the receipt of your transcript in office. If this happens, you may need to redirect where the transcript is mailed to. UNMC is not responsible for any delays caused by this as these services do not deliver to P.O. Boxes. Please note that overnight mail must be delivered to UNMC during our hours of business, which are Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm EST. We cannot receive materials which arrive outside of these hours at our street address.
Sending Transcripts Electronically
UNMC only accepts transcripts electronically from the Credentials Solutions and Parchment electronic transcript services. If your school does not use these services, you must provide your transcripts via paper mail.
Learn More — Visit the Colleges Attended website to see if your school offers the Credentials Solutions or Parchment services.
In the application “Questions” tab, you will be asked if you want to submit a “multi-program” application or a “single-program” application.
- By selecting the “multi-program” application, you can apply to up to two IGPBS doctoral programs but still retain the option to enter any of the remaining IGPBS doctoral programs at a later date. If you select the “multi-program” application option in Question 1, then you will be prompted to select up to two doctoral programs of interest to you in Question 2A. Accepted students that submitted multi-program applications are considered “undeclared” and can rotate in any IGPBS laboratory and select their training laboratory and doctoral program upon completion of rotations.
- By selecting the “single-program” application, you can apply to only one IGPBS doctoral program and commit to training in that program if accepted. If you select the “single-program” application option in Question 1, then you will be prompted to select the doctoral program of interest to you in Question 2B. Accepted students that submitted single-program applications are considered “declared” and rotate only in laboratories associated with their chosen doctoral program.
The ETS (GRE and TOEFL) institution Code for UNMC is 6896.
GRE scores must be within 5 years in order to be valid. TOEFL or IELTS scores can be no more than 2 years old.
Submit IELTS and DAT scores to:
UNMC Graduate Studies
987810 Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, NE 68198-7810
Graduate students are admitted into three types of categories.
- Full Graduate Standing: Students who have met the minimum requirements for admission and are accepted into a program that leads to a graduate degree.
- Provisional Status: Students who have potential for successful graduate work but also have deficiencies in prerequisite courses or other admission conditions. These students cannot become degree candidates unless recommended for Full Graduate Standing by their program’s Graduate Committee.
- Non-Degree Seeking Status: Students who meet admission requirements and wish to complete courses without a degree objective.
Seniors may receive up to 12 hours of credit for graduate courses taken at any campus of the University of Nebraska, in addition to the courses necessary to complete their undergraduate work. Credits must be earned within the 12 months prior to receiving your degree.
Seniors within the University of Nebraska system who don't need more than 9 hours of undergraduate credit to complete the bachelor’s degree, may be granted provisional admission to the Graduate College subject to receiving their baccalaureate degrees within one calendar year. Such applicants must follow the regular admission procedures.