Application to all graduate programs in the School of Medicine (with the exception of the M.D.-Ph.D. Program) is made through the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Consortium (www.med.virginia.edu/bims) of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Faculty members in the BMG Department are aligned with several of the programs in the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Consortium, including: Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, & Genetics; Structural, Computational Biology, and Biophysics; Microbiology, Immunology, and Infectious Diseases; and Cell & Developmental Biology. Approximately 45-50 predoctoral students are accepted into the School of Medicine's graduate programs each year. More than 240 students are currently enrolled in the PhD. and M.D./Ph.D. programs, yielding a faculty-student ratio of slightly more than one-to-one.

The application deadline for fall admission is April 15 but application submission prior to the end of January is strongly encouraged. Applications are forwarded from the Graduate School to the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Group Director. A committee of faculty members initially screens the applications and the top-ranked applicants are generally invited to interview on The Grounds in Charlottesville. The program pays the cost of travel, lodging, and meals. The interview visit gives prospective students the opportunity to meet and talk with faculty members, current students, and postdoctoral fellows, as well as familiarizing them with the University, the city of Charlottesville and environs. If a student is admitted into the Biomedical Sciences program for the fall semester, pre-enrollment summer research rotations are available, and are supported with a stipend.