Admissions

To be eligible for the Cedars-Sinai Health AI PhD Program, you should have a bachelor’s degree in quantitative scientific disciplines such as bioinformatics, computational biology, computer science, engineering or mathematics, with a demonstrated interest in health research.

Please ask at least three people who have supervised or mentored you in a research or academic setting, or who have interacted with you in these areas, to submit a letter of recommendation (LOR). We carefully consider LORs during the selection process as they are very important components of your application. Your recommenders must write their LORs on letterhead and send them directly to the graduate program office. Please have your recommenders send your letters directly to the address above or email them to [email protected]. Please do not upload your letters.

For your personal statement, we ask that you submit a brief video presentation (maximum of four minutes). You can use slides if you wish, but they are not required. You can choose an interview format instead, answering one question from each category as a monologue, or you can have another person ask the questions on or off camera. We evaluate what you say and how you say it, not the video production or "bling." If you wish, you can remain off-camera through the presentation, but it must be your voice. Please contact us if you need any accommodations.

These questions will allow you to showcase your research interests, technical abilities, past experiences and personal qualities that are key to success in the PhD in Health Artificial Intelligence program. The video format enables the committee to assess your communication skills and passion as well.

Tell Us About You

• Please introduce yourself, including your name, educational background (including any prior degrees and the granting institutions) and any relevant professional or research experiences. Also, please answer this most important question: What specific area of Health AI research are you most passionate about pursuing your PhD and why?

Research Interest and Vision

• Describe a current challenge in healthcare that you believe AI could help address. How would you approach tackling this problem?

• What do you see as the most promising and concerning aspects of AI's role in healthcare over the next decade?

• If you were able to advise public health officials, clinicians or other research professionals about any aspect of Health AI, who would that be and what do you want to say?

Technical Background

• What programming languages and frameworks are you most proficient in? Provide an example of a complex project you've built.

• Explain a machine learning/natural language processing or AI algorithm you've implemented. What were the key technical challenges and how did you go about implementing it?

• Describe a time when your programming skills significantly influenced your research outcomes or made you realize the difference a seemingly small change or idea could make.

Research Experience

• Tell us about any research project you have participated in: summarize the project itself, how it was conducted and your specific contributions.

• How has your prior experience prepared you for PhD-level work in Health AI?

Resilience and Motivation

• Describe a significant setback or failure you've faced in your academic/research journey. How did you overcome it?

• What drives you to pursue a PhD in this field and how will you stay motivated through the challenges ahead?

Perspective

• How do you plan to bridge your technical AI skills with domain expertise in healthcare/medicine?

• Describe an experience where you successfully collaborated with people of different backgrounds or areas of expertise. What did you learn?

• What unique perspectives would you bring to the field of Health AI?

Interview Upload Instructions

• Your application will prompt you to copy and paste the URL of your interview video in the CV/Resume & Personal Statement section.

• You can upload your video to any hosting service of your choice (YouTube, Google Drive, etc.) and provide the URL in the application portal.

• Make sure your URL is accessible. We will not accept video submissions that need a password or have additional privacy settings.

• Please note that this video will serve as your Personal Statement. If you require alternative accommodations, please contact our administrative team.

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Please submit your official transcripts electronically to [email protected]. If you need to mail your documents, please send official versions to:

Cedars‑Sinai Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
ATTN: GRE Admissions
Pacific Design Center
8687 Melrose Ave., Suite G‑700, #47
West Hollywood, CA 90069

Not at this time.

For qualified programs, situations an application fee waiver can be requested. Email [email protected] a short paragraph stating your reasons why and your request will be considered.

GRE scores are not a requirement for admissions at this time.