Admissions

The PhD Program admits students with diverse education, work, and life experiences who have demonstrated a capacity to pursue a rigorous course of doctoral study. Admission is limited, competitive, and open to students with clear career goals in health services administration and research.

Admission requirements include:

• graduate-level degree in an academic or professional field with a grade point average of "B" or higher;
• working knowledge of college-level algebra, especially matrix algebra;
• advanced courses in statistics and economics;
• minimum scores of 550 on verbal and 600 on quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or equivalent GMAT scores (testing date within the past five years);
• for foreign students, scores from the test of English as a Foreign Language;
• transcripts and application forms;
• three letters of recommendation; and
• personal interviews with members of the Admissions Committee.

In addition, the Department recommends that candidates have one to two years experience in the health care industry before beginning the program.

To apply, application materials are available from the Graduate School. Follow instructions provided by the Graduate School for U.S. citizens and permanent resident aliens. Non-U.S. residents should refer to the instructions for the international student application at www.vcu.edu/oie/ia.

The VCU Office of International Admissions processes undergraduate and graduate applications for non-U.S. citizens and non-U.S. residents.

The links on this site will allow you to proceed systematically through all the information needed to complete an application to VCU and to print out the application forms, which should be filled out and returned to us with all the requested documents. If you need any help with applying online, you may contact our office by e-mail at: vcuia@vcu.edu

If you would prefer a hard copy of the application, please send us a fax, e-mail or letter with your name and address and program of interest, and we will mail you an application. Contact information is available at the bottom of each page of this Web site.

Additionally, please note that only the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, the International Admissions Office and the School of Graduate Studies are authorized to notify applicants of the official acceptance by the university. Do not interpret statements made in casual correspondence with any university faculty member to mean that you have been fully accepted.

Application deadline is April 15.