Eligibility

Learn what minimum admission requirements must be met by applicants to the UW Genetic Counseling Graduate Program and by new students entering the program.

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Pre-Admission Requirements

All Genetic Counseling Graduate Program (GCGP) applicants must meet the following minimum admission requirements:

  • A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. college or university or its equivalent from an accredited foreign institution. The degree can be in any field of study. For more details, please visit the UW Graduate School’s minimum requirements.

  • A cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) in the last 90 quarter hours or 60 semester hours of college or university coursework. Applicants with a GPA below 3.0 may be considered for admission if their overall application has exceptional strengths (applicants with a lower GPA are strongly encouraged to provide additional information in the "Prerequisite and/or GPA Context" section of their application).

  • Prerequisite Coursework. All prerequisites may be in progress at the time of application but must be completed by December 31st.

  • Demonstrated English language proficiency for applicants whose native language is not English.

Post-admission requirements

All admitted applicants who accept an offer to the UW GCGP must do the following:

  • Pay a deposit toward tuition/fees. This will confirm your spot in the GCGP and allow you to set up access to UW systems.

  • Submit official transcripts to the UW Graduate School.

  • Satisfactory participation in the Health Sciences Immunization Program (HSIP) and two TB (Tuberculosis) screenings.

  • Admitted international students requesting an F-1 or J-1 student visa must meet the UW’s Financial Ability Requirement.

  • To protect children under 16 years of age, developmentally disabled persons, and vulnerable adults, the Washington State Child and Adult Abuse Information Act requires that all people who may work with these populations, as employees, volunteers, or students, have an annual background check completed. The background check process gathers criminal history information such as certain crimes against children and other persons, related to abuse of these populations, and crimes relating to financial exploitation. The background check does not include offenses such as traffic violations. For examples of offenses that would result in ineligibility, see the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services Disqualifying list of Crimes and Negative Actions. If you do have any disqualifying convictions, you would be unable to complete the required program clinical rotations and thus unable to complete the MS degree in Genetic Counseling. This annual background check will be obtained through CastleBranch, which will include WA State Conviction Criminal History Record Information (CHRI) using the WA Access to Criminal History (WATCH) database, the National Criminal Database, and the Office of the Inspector General's List. Admission into the GCGP is contingent upon the results of the CastleBranch screening check. If admitted to the program, you will receive information and instructions on completing the screening.

Questions?

If you have questions about the pre- or post- application process, please contact us. We're here to help!