Frequently Asked Questions

Ideally, students will begin the program with a strong and up-to-date foundation in human genetics and counseling. This is often obtained through coursework representing these disciplines, as well as the social and life sciences that contribute to the genetic counseling field (e.g. biology, biochemistry, psychology, statistics, etc). However, applicants may also gain some of this important exposure through other academic or professional experiences.

Competitive applicants will also be able to demonstrate a clear and insightful understanding of the genetic counseling profession and, ideally, will have had an opportunity to shadow or work with genetic counselors in the field. However, we recognize that it can be very difficult to arrange such experiences, in which case applicants are encouraged to meet or speak with local genetic counselors, attend online or in-person genetic counseling seminars, courses, summer camps, journal clubs, or workshops, and watch the NSGC’s Master Genetic Counselor Series. Other ways to enhance one’s preparation for the genetic counseling field include:

• Counseling experience (often including training and supervision) in a peer counseling setting, a crisis or suicide hotline, a domestic violence shelter or hotline, a text hotline, or a pregnancy counseling center
• Teaching and/or tutoring experience
• Research experience
• Experience in medical settings and/or with individuals with genetic conditions and/or disabilities

We typically receive around 150-200 applications and invite ~60 applicants to participate in short phone interviews with one of our directors, after which 40-50 are invited to interview with our full committee by Zoom. We accepted 15 students to matriculate in Fall 2024. Bios of our accepted students are available on the website. We estimate that >90% of those candidates who were interviewed by our program received at least one offer from a genetic counseling program, and we encourage all applicants to apply to at least 4-6 programs to maximize their chances of receiving an offer from a program they would be interested in attending. 

There are no specific requirements, but we recommend being able to demonstrate up to date genetics knowledge. Whether you are transitioning from a second or third career, we welcome your perspectives and skills. We encourage you to highlight how your unique experiences have contributed to your path to genetic counseling and how the program aligns with your career goals.

Many of our students have part-time jobs at some point during their training. The focus, duration, and time commitment vary, and we encourage students who are interested in part-time work to discuss their goals and priorities with their academic advisor in advance.

These are just some of the resources, centers, and community groups available to our graduate students:

• Stanford Campus Communities
• Stanford Centers for Equity Community and Leadership
• Stanford Medicine Affinity Groups for Graduate Students
• Stanford Office of Accessible Education: if you have questions about navigating graduate school with a disability, feel free to reach out to our OAE as they are happy to field inquiries from prospective students. If you have additional questions, you are also welcome to reach out to us directly through our webform.
  • Disability Community Space (DisCo): a space for students with disabilities to comfortably express themselves and establish a community
    
• Stanford First Generation and/or Low-Income Student Success Center: provides critical resources, networks, and services for FLI students
• Bechtel International Center: Stanford's hub for international students and families
• Undocumented at Stanford: provides support to undocumented and DACAmented students
• Office for Religious & Spiritual Life: their mission is "to guide, nurture and enhance spiritual and religious life within the Stanford University community"
• Office for Military-Affiliated Communities (OMAC): assists student US or foreign veterans, their dependents, and ROTC cadets in successfully transitioning into and out of the Stanford community
  
• Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS): diverse range of cross-disciplinary staff who are personally and ethically committed to providing care that is rooted in cultural humility and social-justice values
• The Bridge Peer Counseling Center: Stanford's student-run center offering anonymous 24/7 peer counseling
  
• Hume Center for Writing and Speaking: offers consultations for writing or oral presentations, dissertation boot camp, graduate writing workshops
  
• Stanford Center for Teaching and Learning: offers professional and peer academic coaching, workshops, and study halls
• Stanford CareerEd: offers career coaching, interview workshops, and more!
• Lane Library: offers research office hours, variety of research-related workshops and courses, and subject specialists to help navigate collections
• Mentoring Programs & Groups: various mentoring groups centered on identity or common interests
  

No, we do not currently have any additional brochure materials - we post all our program information on the website, both to ensure it’s up-to-date, and also to be more “green” and limit our paper consumption. 

We do not offer information sessions, nor do we have the facilities to offer all interested applicants a personal visit. Our program directors will host webinars for prospective applicants in late summer-fall to provide an overview of the training program and admissions process followed by a Q&A session. We will post a recording of one of these sessions on our website for applicants who are unable to attend.

If you have specific questions about your background and potential application, please use our webform to contact us. In some situations, we will be able to answer your questions by email, and in other situations, we may need to set up a brief phone call to discuss your application questions. If you want to explore the Stanford campus, you may do so on your own, or take one of the guided tours, although they are generally focused on “main campus” and undergraduate studies. We've also linked to a few virtual campus tours HERE.

Current students: Please use our webform to connect with our current students.

Alumni: If you would like to contact one our our alumni, please use NSGC's directory and enter your search terms (e.g. location, specialty, name)

We would strongly recommend you review the website for the National Society of Genetic Counselors (nsgc.org) and several GC program websites to gain information about the profession and application process. If you still have questions after that, we encourage you to contact practicing genetic counselors in your area. While it is becoming more challenging to shadow in clinic, many genetic counselors will meet with you or talk by phone to discuss the profession and their “typical day” and some can arrange for short internships. The NSGC website also has videos of ‘master counselor’ genetic counseling sessions so you can learn more about the profession.

While GPA can be a helpful measure of academic abilities, we acknowledge that many applicants have additional strengths that influence how we review your application. With that in mind, many applicants still want to have a general sense of how they compare to our applicant pool. The average GPA for admitted students is ~3.5; however, we do not have a minimum GPA and we have had many successful graduates who entered with lower GPAs.

If you feel that your transcripts don't represent your true academic abilities, then you may want to consider taking graduate-level coursework to strengthen your application. In these cases, applicants often ask what additional coursework we would recommend. Our advice is to choose courses or programs that pique your interests and align with your professional goals, as these have the highest chance of being enjoyable, confirming your career choice, and complementing your application.

Applicants who completed their undergraduate education many years ago may benefit from refresher courses or new experiences, specifically in genetics, since this material has changed so dramatically in recent years.

GRE scores are not included or reviewed as part of our admissions process.

To be eligible for graduate study at Stanford, you must demonstrate sufficient proficiency to read English with ease, understand rapid idiomatic English as used in lectures and group discussions, and express thoughts quickly and clearly in spoken and written English.

• Effective for applicants starting graduate study in 2026: You are not required to submit English proficiency test scores if you meet one or more of the following criteria:
• You are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
• Your first language is English.
• You earned a U.S. bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, or international equivalent from a university where all instruction was conducted in English.
• You have two or more consecutive years of professional or educational experience in English, in the past 10 years.

You will not be required to submit English proficiency test scores in the application if your responses on the Personal Background page reflect that you meet the above criteria; no additional documentation is required at the time of application. If you are offered admission and accept the offer, you may be required to submit supporting documentation as a condition of admission.

If you do not meet any of the criteria listed above, then at the time of application you are required to submit an official test score from the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT) or the International English Language Testing System Academic Test (IELTS Academic) that meets the university’s minimum score for admission consideration.

Please visit the Office of Graduate Admissions website for additional information.

It can take the university admissions system ~2 weeks to register your TOEFL/IELTS scores after you submit your application online. If you haven’t yet submitted your online application, your scores may be in the university system but not yet paired with your application, and we will be unable to tell until that time. Once you submit your application, you will be able to track the status of your materials by logging into your application account. 

Please review the Office of Graduate Admissions website for instructions on submitting your TOEFL or IELTS scores to Stanford.

Information on academic credential requirements and English proficiency requirements for international applicants can be found here. Please visit Stanford's Bechtel International Center for information about visas.

The NSGC International SIG created these resources for international applicants to genetic counseling programs in 2022:

• NSGC International SIG mentorship program
• NSGC International SIG F-1 visa info sheet
• NSGC International SIG international student applications FAQ
• NSGC International SIG decision aid

Yes, our students qualify for the STEM OPT Extension. Please use CIP Code 26.0806 for Human/Medical Genetics.

The university posts graduate applications online by late September or early October.  This website is a good resource in preparing to apply.

“Human Genetics and Genetic Counseling” in the Department of Genetics

If you're unable to select 'Human Genetics' in the program selection field, the online graduate application hasn't been published yet. Please try again in late September or early October.

As you will see from our admissions page, you are required to attach a word document of a CV or resume, supplemental essay, and a personal statement that detail your specific experiences of interest – these should be attached as part of the online application, and should NOT be sent in hard copy. Beyond this, we prefer that you do not attach any further supplementary material unless it is of core importance, such as explaining an issue that will be important for us to know in evaluating your application (e.g. a personal issue that interrupted schooling, etc). Please do NOT attach full copies of papers or of your work in courses. Please do NOT attach additional personal statements beyond the one required in the online application.

Letters of reference are due by the application deadline.

We will only accept and review 3 letters of reference.

We suggest you have at least one academic reference, and that your references are persons able to speak about the different aspects of academic background, interpersonal relationships and genetic counseling experience that are represented in your application. 

Please limit your personal statement to 1000 words.  

We do not do a “rolling admissions” process, but rather we review all applications in December and January, conduct phone interviews in late January or early February and invite candidates to final interviews in March and April. Please review our Admissions Timeline for additional information.

We encourage you to check your online application status around early to mid-February for notifications, and please keep your email address up to date, as most correspondence will be sent out by email.  

• You received a GRE Fee Reduction Waiver
• You are a participant in good standing of one of these programs, you may apply for the Program Participation Waiver
  

Unfortunately, our application system does not allow materials to be transferred from one admissions cycle to another. Therefore, you will submit an entirely new online application, including letters of reference, transcripts, CV, personal statement, and supplemental essay. You will also be required to pay the application fee (unless you are eligible for a fee waiver).

As long as your TOEFL scores remain valid for the admissions cycle in which you wish to reapply, you do not need to have them re-sent by ETS. Please do self-report these scores in your online application. If your scores are no longer valid, you need to retake the exam.

We are happy to provide feedback or answer specific questions on strengthening your application, but respectfully request that all inquiries are sent through our webform after the date listed on your decision letter.

Generally, we recommend that you include information on growth or changes that occurred since your initial application that have further informed your perspective and/or preparedness. If may also help to determine if different recommenders can provide more insightful and thorough perspective.

The feasibility of an external rotation during the academic year will depend on whether your city/cities of interest are home to another genetic counseling training program and/or how many ABGC board-certified genetic counselors are available and interested in supervising a student during that time. Some students may also be interested in completing a rotation abroad, which is philosophically and institutionally feasible, but can be logistically more challenging. As with all other rotations, we will also consider your academic and clinical needs and progress when determining whether an external rotation would be possible. We are happy to answer more specific questions during interviews and upon admission. 

Projects must be broadly applicable to the genetic counseling field, but can cover many topics including specific diseases, public health, personalized medicine, education, policy, patient advocacy, etc.

• Each student works with a primary advisor and a research committee to ensure they receive appropriate guidance for their research project, and the Research Director provides additional support and oversight.

• Each student receives a set amount of funding for their research projects which is determined annually. 

• Since the inception of our program, we’ve only had one student withdraw (due to personal reasons), and our retention rate for the past eight years has been 100%. 
• For our graduates from 2023-2025, 71% passed the ABGC certification exam on their first attempt, and 51% had secured a job within three months of graduation. Some graduates choose to delay their job search until after taking the ABGC board certification exam or other life events. 

Our graduates are working in a variety of professional settings, including clinical, industry, research, lab, education, advocacy, public health, and public policy positions. Click HERE for more information on the landscape of jobs available to genetic counselors.

Many of our alumni go on to publish in peer-reviewed journals, teach in other GC training programs or other healthcare provider training programs, speak at national conferences, or volunteer in GC related non-profit organizations (NSGC, NCCGC, etc.).