How to Apply

As one of the United States’ most global universities, the University at Buffalo is home to more than 5,000 students from 110 countries. Buffalo is an affordable, friendly city with world-class learning and research opportunities.

This link shows data on how many people have applied to, enrolled in, and graduated from UB's Rehabilitation Science PhD program since 2012.  

Apply online to the PhD program. The application is fast, easy and secure. A $50 non-refundable fee is required.

Dec. 15 is the application deadline. All materials must be submitted to the online application system by that date. 

The online application is open mid April through mid December. Decisions are emailed to applicants by March 1.

PhD students start their program at the end of August each fall semester. Students cannot begin the PhD program in the spring semester.  

• Previous research experience. A research graduate degree in a rehabilitation-related discipline from an accredited college or university is preferred but not required; other graduate degrees and bachelor's degrees will be considered with research experience.
• GPA of 3.0 or greater.
• Identify a potential faculty advisor by reviewing faculty research interests. Faculty are currently accepting PhD students to mentor. An experienced research mentor is an important part of your PhD experience. A critical step in the application process is identifying a PhD mentor whose research portfolio fits your research and professional goals. 

Before you submit your online application, ensure that you have all of these supplemental materials ready. All application materials must be submitted online.

• Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Resume
• Personal statement. Include a personal statement about why you want to enroll in the program and the specific area within the broad discipline of rehabilitation science that interests you most.
• Research statement. Include a research statement that describes your research experience and your plan for research within the program. In this Research Statement, you must also include your preference for faculty research mentor, with a statement of your mutual research interests and rationale for this decision. This is a mentor-match application process – any student admitted to the program must have a faculty mentor who has reviewed their qualifications and is interested in the applicant being a part of their lab research for the duration of their PhD program.
• Three (3) professional recommendation letters from individuals who have worked closely with you and have considerable knowledge of your academic and/or research performance.
• Academic transcripts from all previously attended colleges and universities must be uploaded into the application system. If you are admitted to the program and choose to enroll, you will then be asked to submit official copies of all transcripts prior to matriculation to:
  
  • University at Buffalo, Rehabilitation Science Department, 501 Kimball Tower, Buffalo, NY 14215.
• NO GREs REQUIRED. 
• International applicants have additional required materials as outlined in the separate section below. 

In addition to the materials listed above, international applicants must submit:

• WES transcript:  Applicants receiving a degree from a college or university located outside of the United States must submit a formal course-by-course full evaluation of all non-US transcripts from a third-party verification organization such as World Education Services (WES), which converts international transcripts to grades comparable with the U.S. system of grading.
• Passport biographical page: Submit a copy of your biographical page (with picture) from your passport.
• English Language Test Scores: UB accepts the following exams, if they are dated within two years of the time of admission to UB:
• TOEFL IBT, minimum required score 79 total
• TOEFL MyBest Score, minimum required score 79 total
• TOEFL paper-based test (PBT), minimum required score 550 total
• When requesting your TOEFL scores, use these reporting codes: School 2925; Department 44.
• IELTS, minimum required score 6.5
• Pearson Test of English - Academic (PTE), minimum required score 55. 
• Cambridge English Proficiency Exam (CPE, Cambridge C2), minimum required score 185
• Cambridge English Advance Exam (CEA, Cambridge C1), minimum required score 185.
• If accepted into the UB Rehabilitation Science PhD program: J1 and F1 students must:    a) complete the "Standard Graduate"  International Applicant Financial Form and b)  provide documentation of available money in U.S. funds dated within one year of the date of enrollment. This is required to obtain a student visa. 

Contact us at sphhp-rsphdprogram@buffalo.edu.