Interdisciplinary PhD Program

Applying for Admission to the Co-Discipline


Applicants for admission to the Co-discipline in Bioinformatics within the Interdisciplinary PhD program must submit all applications and application materials by the appropriate deadline in order to be considered for admission. Applications that become complete after the deadline will be reviewed on a space-available basis. Incomplete applications will not be considered for admission.

Deadlines for International Applicants:

Fall Semester Admission – May 1
Spring Semester Admission – November 1
Summer Semester Admission – March 1

Deadlines for Domestic Applicants (U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents):

Fall Semester Admission – June 1
Spring Semester Admission – December 1
Summer Semester Admission – April 1

Students applying to the Bioinformatics IPhD Co-Discipline must submit the following:

  • UMKC General Application for Admission (U.S. citizens or permanent residents only)
    • Narrative statement/Statement of intent, addressing specific research interests and motivation to join the program
    • Resume/Vita
    • Three letters of recommendation uploaded electronically
  • UMKC Application for International Student Admission (international applicants only)
  • Official college/university transcripts
  • Official GRE scores
  • Official TOEFL scores (international applicants only)

Application Process

Step 1:UMKC General Application for Admission

U.S. citizens and permanent residents must complete the UMKC General Application for Admission. Please follow the instructions provided on the application. When selecting a primary academic plan, select

*Interdisciplinary PhD Studies

After selecting this primary academic plan, applicants should select one discipline to serve as the Primary Discipline. Applicants should then select Biomedical and Health Informatics as one of their desired Co-disciplines.

In order to complete the general application, your computer must support the following:

FIREFOX 3.5 and 3.6 (Both Windows and MAC)
IE 7, 8 and 9 (Only Windows)

9.0 (Vista and Windows 7 only. XP not supported)
8.0 (All versions of Windows)
7.0 (Windows 2003, XP and Vista only)

SAFARI 3, 4, 5 (Only on MAC)

International applicants should complete the UMKC General Application for Admission and review the International Student Affairs Office website for additional information.

Step 2: Upload Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Documents

Once the UMKC web application is complete, applicants will upload the following documents to the UMKC General Application for Admission. Additional supplemental materials for Interdisciplinary Ph.D. applicants must be uploaded as .PDFs.

  • Narrative statement/Statement of intent, addressing specific research interests and motivation to join the program
  • Resume/Vita
  • Three letters of recommendation (The applicant provides referee contact information in the Application site. The referee receives an email invitation to upload the reference letter into the site.)
  • Writing sample (not required of all disciplines, check applicable discipline requirements at IPhD Studies). Please note: the narrative statement is NOT the same as the writing sample.
Step 3: Transcripts & Test Scores

All applicants are required to submit official college/university transcripts to the university.

U.S. citizens or permanent residents may send official transcripts to:

University of Missouri – Kansas City
Office of Admissions – Processing
5115 Oak Street
Kansas City, MO 64112

International applicants should submit transcripts to:

University of Missouri-Kansas City
International Student Affairs Office
Student Success Center
5000 Holmes Road, G-04
Kansas City, MO 64110

GRE scores should be submitted electronically by identifying UMKC as a score recipient. The UMKC GRE code is 6872.

TOEFL or IELTS scores are required for international applicants whose native language is not English.

  • TOEFL Scores: A minimum score of 550 (paper-based exam), 213 (computer-based exam) or 79 (Internet-based exam) is required.
    • UMKC TOEFL electronic code: 6872
  • IELTS Scores: A minimum score of 6.0 is required for graduate level study at UMKC.
    • IELTS scores should be sent to:

University of Missouri-Kansas City
International Student Affairs Office
Student Success Center
5000 Holmes Road, G-04
Kansas City, MO 64110

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If you have any questions about your application or the application process, please do not hesitate to contact the School of Medicine Office of Admissions at 816-235-1870 or medicine@umkc.edu.

The final deadline is stringent for the submission of all application materials, including the General Application for Admission to UMKC and application fee, One-Page Goal Statement, Resume/Vita, the School of Medicine Online Supplemental Application, reference forms, official transcripts and official test scores. If any of these materials are submitted after the deadline, the application will be considered late and reviewed with other late applications and only on a space available basis. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.