Apply
Apply online here; you will be required to submit a $95 application fee. Select applicants may be eligible for an application fee waiver. Please visit our Fee Waiver webpage for more information.
To apply to the Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling, please use department code G10MS. To apply to the dual-degree program in Genetic Counseling and Medical Humanities and Bioethics, please use department code G12MS.
The request for a resume and a diversity statement are both optional for the Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling, but the following additional items are required:
- Three Letters of Recommendation: These must be submitted online through the application. They should come from people who know you well and can speak to your personal and academic qualifications for graduate school. At least one should come from an academic such as a professor or lab supervisor. Letters from employers and volunteer experience supervisors are also acceptable. It is not advisable to submit letters from personal or family friends.
- Personal Essay: This is submitted on the online application and has a two-page limit. Please disregard the general instructions on the application regarding what to address in the personal essay. Your essay should describe your reasons for pursuing a degree in genetic counseling at Northwestern and examples of experiences that have motivated you personally. Rather than simply list the things you have accomplished (we have that information on your supplemental form), tell us what those experiences meant to you and how they shaped your desire to become a genetic counselor.
- Transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate schools you have attended: Upload these online. They can be either official or unofficial transcripts. It is not necessary to mail official transcripts unless an offer of admission is made and accepted, at which point they must be sent to both the Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling and The Graduate School of Northwestern University. Note: If you are an international applicant from a non-U.S. university that does not offer classes in English and/or does not use the 4.0 grading system, we ask that you upload an evaluation through World Education Services or a similar service.
- Supplemental Form: Use this form to list prerequisite courses that are completed/in progress as well as any volunteering or shadowing experience. Please upload the form to your online application under “Supplemental Document 1."
- The application form has an optional Diversity Statement. If you choose to complete this statement, please submit a one-page response to the following prompt: Please describe how you might bring a unique perspective to the field of genetic counseling due to life experience, meaningful engagement with identities/cultures different than your own, or advocacy work related to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice.
All students are required to sign up for the National Matching Services before applying.
Match
More information can be found at the Genetic Counseling Admissions Match website.
Dual-Degree Programs
Additional documents are required for applications to our Dual-Degree Program; visit the program page for more information. You may also visit the prospective students page on The Graduate School's website for more general information.