Demonstrating Maths Proficiency: Graduate Study 2016/17 BCS Department

Zecopi · 08-15-2012, 07:43 AM

Hey everyone! I'm about to enter University in Ireland to study Biomedical Science/Undenominated Science and I want to my graduate studies in BCS in MIT. I haven't done many ECs, or anything really amazing so far (although my average grade in school is an A), which I plan to do in Uni. However the no. 1 roadblock I can see on my way into MIT is demonstrating maths proficiency, as on my preferred course, Biomedical Science, there is no maths component - however there is one for Physics. On general science (which I will get if I don't make it into Biomed) there is a maths component but I'm not sure if that is up to MIT's standards. When I make my application to BCS in 2016/17 after I finish my undergrad, how do I demonstrate maths proficiency? I've already looked up MITs OCW.

Thank you!

CalAlum · 08-15-2012, 06:19 PM

Applicants to grad school in the U.S. demonstrate their math proficiency with quantitative GRE scores. To see some discussion of this, Google "grad cafe and biomedical science".

molliebatmit · 08-15-2012, 09:29 PM

Extracurricular activities, whether in high school or in college, are totally irrelevant for graduate admissions. The only non-classroom activity that matters for PhD admissions is undergraduate research, and you should try to become involved in research as early and as deeply as possible in your undergraduate career.

In terms of college math, I would advise taking at least single- and multivariable calculus and a college-level statistics course. These are the math classes required of a brain and cognitive sciences undergraduate at MIT. If you are interested in computational neuroscience, you will probably need to take additional math courses, but for molecular/cellular neuroscience, those three will be sufficient.

Zecopi · 08-16-2012, 09:24 PM

Many thanks to both of you! What level/type of maths would be required for Computational Neuroscience?

CalAlum · 08-17-2012, 09:10 PM

Well, I am not the inimitable Mollie, but I will do my best:

You can find info about computational neuroscience courses here:BioEECS Courses List

These courses live within EECS (the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department), and so the requirements will be the same as for all EECS students. These requirements are available here:

Curriculum | MIT EECS