The GRE is optional
The programme page states it plainly.
Doctoral · Dartmouth Molecular and cellular biology
Dartmouth Molecular and Cellular Biology PhD: optional GRE, up to three faculty
The Dartmouth Guarini School page for Molecular and Cellular Biology says the GRE is optional. Applicants write a 1000-word essay, provide three recommendation letters, indicate their areas of interest from a published list and select up to three faculty members they are in contact with or particularly want to work with. The page carries no entry-year label.
Official information · no entry-year label on the page
What Dartmouth asks for in Dartmouth Molecular and Cellular Biology PhD
Taken from the Dartmouth Guarini School Molecular and Cellular Biology programme and application-requirements page and read on 2 November 2026. The page carries no entry-year label, so every value below is treated as previous-cycle evidence for a 2028-29 start; Dartmouth's requirements, dates and funding for 2028-29 are awaiting publication, and none is stated here.
Up to three faculty
Applicants select faculty they are in contact with or want to work with.
Areas of interest
Chosen from a published list in the programme supplement.
Official sources
Read on 2 November 2026 on the Dartmouth Guarini School Molecular and Cellular Biology programme and application-requirements page, which carries no entry-year label. The application portal, deadlines, funding and the English-test scores were not used and are not stated. No deadline, fee, funding amount or place number is stated.
The decision
Does your record fit what the programme page asks?
This guide concerns only the Dartmouth research degree. The reading below is Avandy's judgment (heuristic), built from what the programme page says.
It fits if
you have a clear biological area of interest, have already identified up to three faculty and can write a focused essay.
Think again if
you plan to rely on GRE scores. The page treats them as optional.
Check the page
The Graduate School's programme page is the source; deadlines, funding and score thresholds change by cycle and are not stated here.
How the application is read
What the programme page lists
The page lists a 1000-word personal statement, three recommendation letters, a resume, unofficial transcripts and a programme supplement asking for areas of interest and up to three faculty. It says the GRE is optional and that TOEFL, IELTS and Duolingo are accepted for English proficiency. This guide states no deadline, fee or funding term.
How the programme runs
Focus and working pattern
The programme page describes a PhD-only programme whose supplement lists areas such as biochemistry, cell biology, immunology and neuroscience. These pages carry no entry-year label.
Avandy's judgment
Where an application can go wrong
These points are Avandy's heuristic reading of the page. They are not Dartmouth rules and carry no probability.
Treating the optional GRE as pointless
The page says optional, not discouraged; Avandy's reading is that it matters only if it helps.
Listing faculty without contact
The supplement asks for faculty you are in contact with or particularly interested in working with.
Choosing areas at random
The supplement asks you to indicate areas of interest from a published list.
Next steps
A sensible order of work
The order is Avandy's suggestion, built from the page's own steps.
Check your record
Compare your coursework and experience with the stated expectations.
Prepare the written work
Draft the statements and writing sample the page asks for, in the formats it lists.
Plan the tests
Check which tests are required, optional or not accepted.
Read the current page
Read the programme page for the cycle you apply in.
Planning for 2028-29 entry
Planning for 2028-29 entry: what carries over and what awaits publication
Dartmouth's programme page carries no entry-year label. A start in 2028-29 means applying under rules Dartmouth has not yet published. Each item below is either read on the page and treated as previous-cycle wording, which may change, or awaiting publication for 2028-29 entry.
The structure of the programme and the application
The expectations, the written work and the test policy are described on Dartmouth's programme page, which carries no entry-year label. Dartmouth has not published the following cycle.
Deadlines, places, funding and fees
This guide states none of them. Dartmouth publishes them per cycle; read the page again for the cycle you apply in.
What to do now
Check your record against the programme page, prepare the written work it lists and plan any required test.
Support
Independent support with the research statement and fit
Avandy provides independent academic and admissions support. It is not affiliated with Dartmouth College or any of its departments, and it has no relationship with any member of staff. Support sits within the Avandy Trinity Advisory Model: a Strategic Admissions Consultant and a PhD-level Academic Mentor help the applicant test a research idea against the department's published research areas and plan their own statement. Support here is limited to testing a research idea against the department's published research themes and planning the applicant's own statements; it does not extend to contacting staff on the applicant's behalf. Avandy does not write or submit any part of an application, cannot arrange a supervisor and promises no outcome or funding.
Questions
Questions applicants ask
What does the Dartmouth Molecular and Cellular Biology PhD ask for?
The personal statement is a brief essay of at most 1000 words.
Is a test required?
The programme page says the GRE is optional. It accepts TOEFL, IELTS and Duolingo for English proficiency from non-U.S. citizens, with exceptions for applicants holding degrees from certain institutions.
Does this guide state a deadline?
No. The page carries no entry-year label and this guide states no deadline, fee or funding. Check the programme page for the cycle you apply in.
Does the programme include funding?
This guide did not use Dartmouth's funding sections and states no funding.
Students and families
Talk to us about the Dartmouth Molecular and Cellular Biology PhD
Tell us about your degrees, your research experience, the research question you want to pursue and the supervisors or groups you have in mind. A senior adviser will review the academic profile before recommending how to develop the research statement.