Program Overview

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Neuroscience, PhD

Degree Awarded

Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience

Chairperson

Alfredo Fontanini, Life Sciences Building 573

PhD Graduate Program Director

Arianna Maffei

PhD Administrator

Odalis Hernández, Life Sciences Building 573

Program Website

[Not provided]

The Graduate Program in Neuroscience, in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Renaissance School of Medicine, offers doctoral training toward a Master’s degree or a Doctoral degree in the rapidly expanding field of neuroscience. Through coursework and independent research, students are trained to approach research problems in neuroscience with a broad perspective. Program faculty have expertise in the areas of molecular and biochemical control of development, properties of receptors and ion channels in relation to cellular physiology, analysis of local circuits and networks, behavioral neuroscience, the cellular basis of integrative functions, theoretical and computational neuroscience, and the structural basis for communication among neurons. Graduate students will receive in-depth research training in molecular, biochemical, physiological, behavioral, or anatomical and theoretical/computational neurosciences. In addition, the Program offers unique opportunities to draw from one or more of these disciplines through multidisciplinary, cosponsored/comentored research projects. A program of highly interactive faculty and students provides an exciting focus for research training.

Admission Requirements

• Application Website: Not provided
• Application Deadlines: Not specified
• Basic Requirements: Bachelor’s degree from a recognized university, grade point average corresponding to B or higher, and recommendations of three former instructors.
• Additional Requirements:
  • One year of calculus, physics, and chemistry
  • Demonstrated proficiency in biological sciences
  • Laboratory research experience
  • Deficiencies in these requirements do not preclude admission, and special consideration will be made to promising applicants.
• Suggested Requirements:
  • BS or BA degree in a life science-related field, with a minimum undergraduate grade point average of 3.00.
  • Three letters of recommendation.
  • Personal statement.
• Prerequisites: Successful MS and PhD candidates have often completed college-level courses in physics, mathematics, organic and inorganic chemistry, and advanced biology. It is recommended that students will have undergraduate neuroscience coursework. However, students are also accepted into the program without all necessary prerequisites. These students may be asked to take the appropriate preparation course(s) prior to undertaking specific graduate-level courses.

Degree Requirements

Course Requirements

• Required Core Courses:
  • GRD 500 - Responsible Conduct of Research and Scholarship (0-3 credits)
  • BNB 551 - Writing Neuroscience
  • NEU 521 - Introduction to Cellular Neuroscience (2-3 credits)
  • NEU 522 - Introduction to Molecular Neuroscience (2-3 credits)
  • NEU 531 - Sensory and Motor Systems (2 credits)
  • NEU 532 - Neural Plasticity Learning and Memory (2 credits)
  • BNB 599 - Research (1-12 credits)
  • BNB 699 - Dissertation Research on Campus (1-9 credits)
  • BIO 600 - Practicum in Teaching (A four-semester series taught by members of the Program; the student is introduced to a broad variety of topics. These will be taken in the Fall and Spring semesters of the first and second years.)
• Required Short Courses:
  • BNB 560 - Introduction to Mammalian Neuroanatomy (1 credit)
  • BNB 565 - Advanced Neuroscience (1 credit)
  • BNB 566 - Neurobiology of Disease (1 credit)
• Laboratory Rotations:
  • BNB 555 - Laboratory Rotations in Neuroscience (0-5 credits) (A two-semester course in the Fall and Spring semesters of the first year. Students conduct research rotations in laboratories of three program members and present oral reports on their research.)
• Electives: At least two additional graduate-level courses in various biological, physical, or mathematical sciences must be selected by the student in consultation with the student’s advisor. Students may take additional elective courses if they desire.

Thesis Proposal

• At the end of the second year of study, each student must successfully propose and defend an outline of their thesis research.
• The proposal consists of a written document and an oral presentation.

Advancement to Candidacy

• The faculty will recommend a student to the Graduate School for advancement to candidacy upon satisfactory completion of all course requirements and passing their thesis proposal.

Student Seminars

• All students who have advanced to candidacy are required to give a departmental seminar on their dissertation work annually.

Ph.D. Dissertation

• A dissertation that constitutes an original and significant contribution to the field of neuroscience is required for the Ph.D.
• The work must be of a quality acceptable for publication in a recognized scientific journal.
• At the end of the first year, students initiate a dissertation research program in a Program faculty’s laboratory.
• After advancement to candidacy, the student and advisor will assemble an advisory committee to guide the dissertation research.
• Upon completion of the dissertation research, the student will present a seminar based on the dissertation. Following this, the student will be given an oral examination on the dissertation research and related areas by the dissertation committee.

Teaching Requirements

• To gain experience in teaching, the Program requires that all students serve as teaching assistants for two semesters during the first two years of study.
• Students who enter the program from the medical school’s MSTP program are required to serve as TA’s for one semester.
• Usually, TA assignments are to courses taught by Program faculty. Assignments are made to minimize impact on research productivity in the second year of study.

Residence Requirement

• The University requires at least two consecutive semesters of full-time study.
• The demands of the course of study necessitate a longer period of residence.

Academic Standing

• All students must maintain a 3.0 grade point average at all times.
• Due to the importance of NEU 531, NEU 532, BNB 562 (or NEU 531 and NEU 532), BNB 563, and BNB 564 as the basis for advanced study in Neuroscience, students who have a grade of less than a B in these courses must remediate or repeat them satisfactorily prior to defending the thesis proposal and advancing to candidacy.
• Any student who fails to receive a grade of B or better in more than one required course will be reviewed for possible termination from the Program.
• Research (BNB 599 and BNB 699) is graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. Any student who receives a grade of U in a research course will be reviewed for possible termination from the Program.