Genetic Counseling Program Prospective Student Information

The program is a 21-month, full-time program. We do not accept part-time students.

Yes. The Baylor Genetic Counseling Program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling.

No. All students must have successfully completed the pre-requisite coursework to enter the program, but many genetic counselors have undergraduate degrees in psychology, social work, education or other fields of study.

Nine students each year.

The deadline to receive all applications at Baylor is Dec. 11, 2023 11:59 p.m. (CST). Interviews for qualified candidates will be conducted February, March, and/or April. In 2018, genetic counseling training programs initiated a matching process to select applicants. View the National Matching Services and the Association of Genetic Counseling Training Programs for information related to the match process, including deadlines for programs and prospective students.

If you are currently enrolled in a course or plan to take a course that is a prerequisite for admission to this program, you will need to make that clear on your application. You do not have to have completed the course prior to the application deadline, but you must ensure that we know you are enrolled or are planning to enroll in the prerequisite course. A good place to indicate this is in your personal statement or your resume that is included in your application. You must successfully complete the course prior to enrollment in the Fall in order to be officially admitted. You are welcome to contact our program with specific questions.

 

Exposure to genetic counseling (i.e. shadowing a counselor in clinic) and/or meeting with a genetic counselor to discuss the career is recommended prior to applying to the program. You can visit the NSGC's “Find a Counselor” to find a counselor in your area. Baylor College of Medicine has a Career Interest Workshop each summer. To explore opportunities for a possible job shadow or faculty interview at Baylor or an affiliated clinic, contact Amanda Gerard at aegerard@texaschildrens.org.

The NSGC’s website has recorded genetic counseling sessions that can be viewed online. The three videos demonstrate examples of prenatal, pediatric and cancer genetic counseling encounters. In addition, they have a webpage for individuals who are interested in becoming a genetic counselor.

Students will benefit from the School of Health Professions and Baylor College of Medicine’s environment, which places emphasis on values of respect, integrity, innovation, teamwork, and excellence. The interdisciplinary team of clinical, laboratory and research faculty available at Baylor will provide experiences that empower graduates to become empathic professionals with effective critical thinking skills. The Department of Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine is the largest clinical genetics program in the United States, and has been the number one in NIH grant-funded genetics research center for eleven years in a row. Our clinical faculty is comprised of more than 50 genetic counselors providing services across the continuum of clinical and research care. The Baylor Genetics Laboratory provided over 70,000 genetic tests last year. Whether any given graduate ultimately decides to choose a career in clinical care, research, industry or another area of practice, all Baylor graduates will have a breadth of experiences that provide the foundation for an exciting and fulfilling career.

The genetic counseling profession is rapidly expanding and diversifying. Heightened public awareness, coupled with scientific advances in adult disorders and reproductive technologies, have increased the demand for genetic counselors in clinical, teaching, administrative, commercial, private practice, and consulting environments. This trend is expected to continue well into the 21st century and beyond. Visit the following links to read about genetic counseling’s prognosis as a career.

• NSGC 2023 Professional Status Survey Reports
• U.S. News and World Report: Genetic Counseling
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Genetic Counseling Occupational Outlook

View the current Tuition and Fees for this graduate program.

The Southeastern Academic Common Market allows out-of-state residents that do not have a genetic counseling training program in their home state to pay in-state tuition. Baylor does not participate. There is no tuition differential for in-state or out-of-state residents which make it unnecessary to be a participant.

Not at this time. We are working with Baylor College of Medicine in hopes of accepting applications from international students in the future. We will update our program website once we receive approval.

We now have a partial scholarship track for applicants. One incoming student will be selected for a $5,000 partial scholarship for each year of their training ($10,000 total over the two years of the program). All applicants selected for an interview who choose to rank our program in the partial scholarship track will be eligible for consideration. 

If you are an applicant to a Texas genetic counseling program and identify as Black or African American, you are eligible to receive reimbursement for the National Matching Service (NMS) fee and application fees to Texas genetic counseling programs through the Texas Society of Genetic Counselors. Visit the TSGC website for details and application information. 

Most of the didactic portion of the curriculum is offered in the classroom setting during the first year of training. Second-year students have fewer classroom courses, but have substantial requirements in clinical rotations while they develop their master’s research projects. Courses are supported by online services (i.e. Blackboard).

Many of the clinical rotations are within the Texas Medical Center (the largest medical center in the world), but having access to a car is required for travel to clinical sites that may be outside the medical center. Students who accept opportunities to train at our affiliates beyond the greater Houston area, such as at Children’s Hospital in San Antonio, would need to arrange for local housing and transportation.

The application process for genetic counseling is competitive. Most programs for genetic counseling have a small class size (the average size is about eight students per class). As the spring of 2024, there are 60 training programs in North America that offer a Master Degree in Genetic Counseling. We recommend that you contact our program with specific questions about your application. The Association of Genetic Counseling Program Directors has information on their website that may help you plan for graduate school in genetic counseling.