Structural biology is inherently an interdisciplinary science, and the Structural Biology Department seeks graduate students with undergraduate majors in diverse disciplines. Departmental entrance requirements are therefore flexible, and incoming students whose undergraduate preparation is deficient in any of the prerequisites listed below enroll in appropriate background “primer” courses (described in the Core courses section) to assure interdisciplinary “functional literacy” equivalent to undergraduate preparation in the prerequisite subjects.

Applicants must be proficient in English and hold a bachelor's degree in biology, biochemistry, chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science, or engineering; and they should have demonstrated potential to perform well in graduate course work and research. The core courses in structural biology pre-require either the background primer courses or undergraduate courses in: