Reviewed on Dec 5, 2025(Enrolled 2025)
What Students Say
Likes
- Great Research Facility
- Provides Free groceries for students every week
- One of the top ranked University
Dislikes
- They don't provide any scholarships (VIT students however have an affiliation with Whiting School)
- It is not very flexible with scheduling
- Not a great campus
Course Curriculum
10
- The curriculum is not that difficult, to be honest, it's more about the labs we join as part-time and internships we do.
- It's very easy to score here.
- They could've made the learning a bit more competitive and involved more lab courses
- Our classes are mostly in the evening, so we have only classes on 3days a week and that too only 1class a day.
- We have a very reduced course load.
Admission Experience
-
I applied to 4 universities, Got admits from 3, and was rejected from one.
- Johns Hopkins University, MS in Biotechnology- admitted and enrolled
- MS in Biomedical Engineering, Brown University - received admission
- MS in Medical Research, Boston University- Received admission
- MS in Biotechnology, University of Pennsylvania- Rejected (maybe didn't have much hands-on experience in wet lab specifically)
- Why? Johns Hopkins University was always the dream college for me since my 1st year of undergrad; all my seniors who mentored me were mostly from this college. It's world-renowned for its lead in biomedical research.
- I had applied to other universities as a backup, but JHU was always the only goal.
- Admission process - The application involved filling out an in-depth form; there were no LORS for this program specifically. I had to get my transcripts converted using Spantran/Wes evaluation. Heard back from them within 2 months ig. After the admission letter, I had 2weeks to pay the enrollment deposit, which felt a little rushed. I had to pay 2000$. After that, there was course selection, I-20, and the visa process
- My GPA was 3. Mine was 3.45, IELTS score min was 6...mine was 8
- I applied to the fall 2025 intake. I wanted to pursue an MS right after my Bachelors, hence I went for the immediate intake.
- I started my admission process in Jan (it was very late, I couldn't apply to a few universities like Stanford, Berkeley, and UCSF)
- I heard back from JHU Biotech first in March, and then I heard from Brown a few weeks later. I heard back from Boston, also at the end, UPENN rejection came in very late, around April end.
Faculty
8
- The faculty-to-student ratio is good. The classes are not crowded, so it is easy to talk to the professors and get help when I need it.
- The teaching style of the faculty is very clear and practical. They explain concepts in simple ways and also use real industry examples. This helps me understand how the topics connect to real biotech work.
- Some faculty members share openings, give advice, and sometimes connect us with people in their professional network. This support is very helpful.
- I admire a few faculty members because they are patient, friendly, and truly care about the students. They take time to explain, answer doubts, and guide us.
Campus Life
10
- All campuses are in Baltimore -
- Homewood campus - houses the Kreiger School of Arts and Sciences & the Whiting School of Engineering
- Peabody Institute- Music and School of Education
- School of Medicine - has the Bloomberg School of Public Health and JHMI
- There are almost every facility- a rec centre, basketball courts, soccer field, etc
- There is an event almost every semester (Ex, Hoptober fest). There are a lot of sports and cultural organisations
Part Time Jobs
- Almost every student will get a RA position as JHU is one of the biggest research institutes, and a TA is also there, but not much
- Pay range is usually around 15-25$ per hour
- Other on-campus jobs include librarian, recent centre worker, receptionist, event organiser, etc
- 20hours per week, we are allowed to work
- It's not very easy, but if you keep at it...within a span of a few weeks, you can get one
- Students typically earn between 15-20$ per hour. It is comparatively difficult, honestly, it depends on their profile and what kind of jobs they're applying to and what their qualifications are. There are many portals to look for jobs, like SMILE and Forager One, where they post any job openings. So we need to constantly be on the lookout for this. Of course, there's always the option to mail the professors to work in the labs as their TA
Placement
10
- A good number of students get full-time jobs within 6 months after finishing the course. Many students get roles because the biotech industry is strong, some apply for PHD and work as an RA till they get one.
- The salary range also depends on the role, but most students get decent entry-level pay in labs, research, biotech companies, or healthcare companies.
- We usually find jobs through internships, networking, career fairs, LinkedIn, and the JHU Career Center. Many seniors say that internships during the program help them get full-time offers.
- My batchmates have joined different biotech and pharma companies in roles like research assistant, lab tech, QA/QC, data analyst, and regulatory roles. Some well-known companies that hire JHU biotech students include places like Thermo Fisher, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer
Accommodation
Off Campus
8
- I used apartments.com to find my apartment.
- It is off-campus.
- My rent is 678 as it's split based on sq feet, it's 3200 for 4bed2bath. Well-equipped kitchen with fridge, dishwasher and oven.
- The challenges I faced were finding roommates and making sure it's safe, as Baltimore is known as the crime city
- Speak with seniors for good advice and local house hunting
- It's around 0.8miles far
Exams
- IELTS is required. GRE is not required.
- The documents necessary for the application are CV, SOP (500words), Transcript (evaluated by Spantran/wes)
- No LORS for MS in Biotechnology
- However, every other program requires LORS. Some even need a Personal Statement
- No, none of the programs I applied to required any interview.
- However, my friend at Northwestern had to go through this process.
Fees
- Total tuition - 58000$
- Per credit, it is 5630, and we need to take courses.
- And for every online course it's 200$ extra
- The insurance is around 1500 per semester
- Living expenses vary from person to person and depend on the rent.
- Mine comes around 800$
- 680 is the rent
- 50 for utilities
- 30 for groceries (as most of them are given by the uni)
- Another 40 for misc (laundry, etc)
Scholarship
- No, I did not get a scholarship, as I am in Kriegers.
- My friends who were from VIT and joined the Whiting School got 50%
- For undergrads, there is financial aid; however, for MS and mainly for international students, it is very less. I would say for biotech, there is nothing.
- But for robotics and other engineering courses, scholarships are provided, especially if the student is from VIT, as they've some affiliation
