UPenn Biomedical Graduate Studies (BGS) vs School of Arts and Science Biology Graduate Group

[Genom3]

Hi everyone !

 

I'm a Master's student applying this cycle. I'm really confused about the program system at UPenn. I'm primarily interested in working with faculty at the Penn Epigenetics Institute at the Perelman School of Medicine. I'm not quite sure which program to apply to, can you rotate in any lab in UPenn regardless of which program you get through? Does that mean that the BGS and BGG are different only at an administrative level and not at a faculty affiliation level .ie. no faculty is uniquely associated with one program? I had written to a PI and he just said "Student of any program can rotate or get their PhD in any lab.". This is really confusing because both these programs appear to have very different applicant numbers, acceptance rates and international student intake. Whats really different between these programs then? I hope a current UPenn student or someone who had applied to UPenn clarify this. Thanks

[Minhao]

Also confused about this (applied to bio grad in the end?). Which one did you apply to?

I remember there's a faculty list on the website of Department of Biology(who are not in department of biology but in the Bio program) and you can choose any of them in your rotation.

Edited December 3, 2019 by Minhao

[Genom3]

I applied to Biomed (BGS) as I liked their course structure and associated faculty better. Although looking back, it might not have been the best decision because BGS severely limits its International Student intake, while there seems to be no specific limit for the Bio grad program. Would be nice if some current Penn students can comment on this. All the best !

6 hours ago, Minhao said:

Also confused about this (applied to bio grad in the end?). Which one did you apply to?

I remember there's a faculty list on the website of Department of Biology(who are not in department of biology but in the Bio program) and you can choose any of them in your rotation.

 

[monkey_zoe]

Hi, 

I am a master student here at penn, and i am apply for my PhD this year too!

Basically, you can apply for BGS and BGG at the same time, it is doable! And labs here at penn is very collaborative. I have friends from both programs, they do rotation under different departments, which means you can reach out to PIs and do rotation in whichever lab you want, as long as you have a great talk with the PI during the rotation interview.

Hope it helps :)