Keck Graduate Institute, more commonly known as KGI, ranks as one of the top 5% of all schools in the nation, having connections to a wide variety of healthcare and science companies. Not only does KGI’s challenging, yet rewarding curriculum provide its graduates with long-lasting knowledge, but it also offers transformative experiences.
We interviewed Kamika Phillips, Senior Admissions Outreach Representative for KGI to gain a brief overview of the many opportunities that the graduate school has to offer.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Please introduce yourself and what your role is at Keck Graduate Institute (KGI)
Kamika Phillips, Senior Admissions Outreach Representative at KGI. I travel throughout the nation to promote academic programs at KGI. In this role, I establish partnership agreements with universities, meet with students and faculty, and coordinate events allowing KGI faculty to meet with undergraduate students and interact through bioentrepreneurship bootcamps, bioprocessing labs, pre-health presentations, and panels.
Can you tell me about KGI and some upcoming internships?
A member of The Claremont Colleges, KGI was founded in 1997 and offers postgraduate degrees and certificates that integrate life and health sciences, business, engineering, pharmacy, medicine, and genetics. With a focus on team projects and hands-on industry experiences, KGI provides pathways for students to become leaders within healthcare and the applied life sciences.
KGI offers several unique summer internships and research opportunities tailored to undergraduate students, recent graduates, and PhD students. Participants get a preview of KGI’s advanced degrees while deciding on their future careers in research, industry, and healthcare. These summer programs are an excellent way for students to improve their qualifications, gain exposure to career options, and learn unique skills to optimize their resumes.
An astounding 90% of KGI graduates are employed in their field within six months of graduation.
What makes KGI stand out as a graduate school from other institutions?
KGI exposes its students to the biotech industry through hands-on projects sponsored by leading life science companies, concluding with a Team Master’s Project.
The Institute implements an active learning classroom model that emphasizes student engagement, critical thinking skills, and teamwork, leaving its graduates with valuable experiences.
Better yet, an astounding 90% of KGI graduates are employed in their field within six months of graduation.
What type of students should consider enrolling in KGI?
Students majoring or minoring in Anthropology, Biology, Biotechnology, Biochemistry, Premedical Science, Pharmacy, Health Sciences, Psychology, Mathematics, and related programs. We also encourage high-achieving students from non-life science majors who have taken molecular biology and chemistry to consider enrolling.
What employers are hiring KGI graduates?
Some employer names your students may recognize are Amgen, Gilead Sciences, CVS Health, and Kaiser Permanente. In addition, we have connections with several residencies at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center and more.
What kind of salaries do most recent KGI graduates earn?
The average salary for KGI MBS alumni is $114,084. Alumni 3+ years post-graduation have an average salary of more than $150,000.
Students can explore KGI grads’ salaries and outcomes at our website.
Graduate schools tend to be expensive. Are there scholarships available to low-income families to mitigate the costs?
In 2022 and 2023, KGI awarded $1.7M in scholarship aid to the incoming class through endowments, gifts, and KGI-funded scholarships.
KGI offers need-based aid to incoming domestic and international students who demonstrate financial aid. Scholarship information is available on our website and varies based on the program.
Scholarship information is available on our website and varies based on the program.
