All students must satisfy UAB general admission requirements and be successfully admitted to the university. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the cancer biology program, the admission criteria are higher than those for other degrees. You must meet the following minimum criteria:
- First-time freshmen applicants must have a high school cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) and an ACT composite score of 28 or higher (or the SAT combined V+Q score at 1300 or higher). High school students who do not meet these requirements may be accepted into the program as pre-Cancer Biology majors. Any student who is admitted as a pre-Cancer Biology major must have an overall GPA ≥3.0 after ~20-30 credits of work at UAB, a GPA ≥3.0 in their Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics (preferably BY 123/123L, BY 124/124L, CH115/116, CH117/118, PH 201/202, and MA 105, MA 106, MA 107, MA 125, or MA 168) coursework, and have taken a freshman year curriculum that is compatible with the Program. Admission as CNBY following pre-CNB can be discussed during advising and with the program directors.
- Current UAB students and transfer students from other institutions who are freshmen or sophomores (non-direct admits) may select Cancer Biology for their major, but must have an overall GPA ≥3.0 and must have demonstrated excellent academic performance in science/mathematics courses (as described above) and have a GPA ≥3.0 in those courses.
Students must maintain an overall GPA of at least 3.0 in order to remain in good academic standing in the program. If a student’s overall GPA falls below 3.0, they will have one semester to bring their overall grade to 3.0 or better.