Applicants to the Genetic Counseling Program should submit their application online through the Rackham School of Graduate Study.  The application deadline is January 15, 2009. The online application will be available beginning in late August at:

Please contact the Assistant Program Director at monicama@umich.edu. If any questions arise regarding the online application

Rackham Graduate School Application

Please complete the entire application as instructed on the Rackham website. In the preliminary information, for question number 4, select Human Genetics MS-Genetic Counseling from the drop down menu. The program code for your Rackham application is 00237. Listed below are additional instructions specific to the Genetic Counseling Program. 

Page 1: Complete as requested

Page 2: Confirm Intended Graduate Program appears as "Human Genetics MS-Genetic Counseling." Complete as requested. Note: Transcripts will be uploaded on pages 8, 9, and 10.

Page 3: Complete as requested. When entering recommendations, please note that we require three letters of recommendation. Be sure to register your recommenders by clicking at the appropriate place at the very bottom of the page. A supervisor from your advocacy experience must write one letter. The other letters may be from anyone who can comment on your academic, employment or volunteer experience. If for some reason it is not possible to get a letter related to your advocacy experience, please submit an explanation that clarifies why your advocacy supervisor did not write a letter. Such an explanation can be submitted on page 11 of the online application.

Page 4: Complete as requested

Page 5: Statement of Purpose

Please write responses to the following three questions. Your responses to questions one and two can be answered individually or in one comprehensive essay. In either format, your answer to the first two questions should not exceed 1000 words in total.   Your answers should be uploaded into the online application as directed. 

1. Describe a situation from the recent past in which you played a helping role for someone and how this experience has been instructive to you.

2. What aspects of training and/or working as a genetic counselor do you think present potential challenges for individuals entering this field?

3. Describe your advocacy experience including the training you received and the activities, services, or programs in which you were involved

Page 6: Personal Statement

Please respond to the following question, specifically addressing graduate training in genetic counseling.  Your personal statement should be limited to 500 words. Your response should be uploaded into the online application as directed.

How have your personal background and life experiences, including social, cultural, familial, educational, or other opportunities or challenges, motivated your decision to pursue a graduate degree at the University of Michigan? This is not an Academic Statement of Purpose, but a discussion of the personal journey that has led to your decision to seek a graduate degree.

Page 7: Submit a copy of your curriculum vitae or resume as directed.

Pages 8, 9, and 10:  To expedite the processing of your online application, upload an electronic image of your transcript(s). The admission committee can make a decision based upon your submission of an electronic transcript. If you have trouble uploading your transcript as a PDF document, please contact Assistant Program Director, Monica Marvin at (734) 647-7399 or Embark Support at 1-415-615-1805.

In addition, all applicants must mail official academic records/transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate institutions to the Rackham Graduate School.

Rackham Graduate School
Attn: Transcripts / U-M ID# (if Known) OR Date of Birth (mm/dd/yyyy)
915 E. Washington Street
Ann Arbor MI 48109-1070
USA

Page 11: If you’ve had an interesting, challenging, or significant personal experience that is not brought out in your application, please upload this information here. The admissions committee will spend a great deal of time and care reviewing each application; it is worth your time to let them know who you are, what you’ve done, and what you hope to do. In addition you may use this space to include any additional information about your application that you believe the Admissions Committee should know.

Additional Materials

GRE scores:  GRE scores should be forwarded to the University of Michigan Genetic Counseling Program, using institution code 1839 and the department code 0210 on your GRE distribution request.   We require the General GRE (verbal, analytical, and quantitative).  GRE scores must be no more than five years old.