Master of Science in Neurobiology
Program Overview
Master of Science in Neurobiology Program Overview
The Master's Program in Neurobiology features independent, hands-on research training combined with focused classroom instruction to prepare students for careers in medicine, industry, academic research, and/or teaching. Students can earn this degree in one year of intensive study.
The program provides an unparalleled opportunity to learn and collaborate with some of the foremost scholars in the field of Neurobiology. Graduates of the program have gone on to MD or PhD programs at top institutions around the country or choose to directly enter careers in academic or industrial research.
Entrance Requirements
- Applicants must hold a four-year undergraduate degree.
- Applicants may be considered for admission before finishing their undergraduate degree, but they must complete this degree before enrolling.
- An undergraduate degree in a 'hard science' field such as Neuroscience, Genetics, Biology, Chemistry, etc., is not necessarily required, but all applicants will need to have completed the coursework below.
- Strong performance (B+ or greater) in the following coursework is expected:
- One year of Chemistry
- One year of Biology
- One semester of Organic Chemistry
- One semester of Physics
- One semester of Calculus or advanced math
Research
The admissions committee looks for substantial laboratory research experience of at least nine months. Applicants who do not have significant prior research experience have found it difficult to complete the program in one year.
We ask for students to include a description of their research experiences in their Statement of Purpose.
Test Scores
Standardized test scores, such as the GRE and MCAT, are not required but recommended.
For International students, the TOEFL or IELTS examination is required.
Minimum scores for admission to the MS Program in Neurobiology:
- TOEFL: 100 on the internet version, 600 on the paper version, or 250 on the computer version
- IELTS: 7.0 or higher
The exams must not be taken more than two years before the intended quarter of entry.
All International students whose native language is not English must take the Versant English test once they arrive on campus.
The program will waive the TOEFL/IELTS requirements for students that receive bachelor degrees from certified institutions where the primary language is English.
Program Statistics
Highlights:
- Over the past five years, 14% of applicants were admitted.
- Over the past five years, 93% of applicants completed their degree.
- Over the past ten years, the median time to degree was 1.25 years.
- We have a good record of placement in Ph.D. programs, medical schools, and industry.
Average GRE and GPA scores
- GRE Verbal: 74th percentile
- GRE Quantitative: 86th percentile
- GPA: 3.62
Please note that the above represents the average scores of admitted applicants. The program does not have GPA/GRE/MCAT minimums, but applicant scores are determined holistically against their application’s strength and against the current applicant pool.
Tuition, Housing, & Financial Aid
Tuition
Information regarding Graduate tuition and fees can be found at the university's graduate tuition webpage.
Student Housing
- On-Campus Graduate Student Housing: Engelhart Hall Apartments are open to all graduate students, their partners, and families.
- Additional Off-Campus Options: Resources for finding an apartment in Chicago include HotPads, Trulia Rentals Chicago, Chicago Padmapper, Domu Chicago, Craigslist Chicago, The Apartment People, and Zillow Apartments.
Financial Aid
The master's program does not provide financial aid in the form of academic scholarships, assistantships, TA opportunities, or stipends. Financial aid is offered through student loans and/or external funding.
Choosing a Lab Advisor
An advisor agreement form must be filled out and returned to the Neurobiology office by mid-October.
We recommend newly enrolled students work with the Program Assistant to determine which advisors would be best suited for them based on their research interests and to facilitate potential mentee/mentor connections.
Program Staff
- Marco Gallio: Associate Professor, Director
- Hojoon Lee: Assistant Professor, Associate Director
Research Areas
The following advisors and their research interests are listed below:
- Ahmed, Atique: Glioblastoma; mechanisms of therapeutic resistance in brain tumor; identification of drug targets
- Beutler, Lisa: Gut and brain communication for body weight maintenance; optogenetics and calcium imaging in mice
- Bozza, Thomas: Molecular genetics and physiology of olfaction
- Caraveo-Piso, Gabriela: Molecular and cellular mechanisms of memory; dementia; Lewy Body pathologies
- Dombeck, Daniel: Neuronal circuits underlying mammalian navigation
- Fink, Andrew: Cortical representation and processing of olfactory stimuli; large-scale recordings from the mouse brain; mouse behavior
- Fitzgerald, James: Theoretical neuroscience; Neural basis of behavior; Learning and memory; Neural networks
- Gallio, Marco: Temperature sensing processes in the brain
- Guemez Gamboa, Alicia Dione: Circuit development; Adhesion molecules
- Kath, William: Computational neuroscience; action potential propagation and dentritic integration in neurons
- Klein, William: Alzheimer’s disease; memory-linked synapse structure and signal transduction
- Kozorovitskiy, Yevgenia: Synaptic and circuit development in the basal ganglia
- Lee, Hojoon: The neurobiology of taste
- MacIver, Malcom: Neuroscience and robotics
- Miri, Andrew: Motor system function; Behavior quantification
- Paller, Ken: Human memory, awareness, & memory disorders
- Para, Alessia: Molecular evolution of hot and cold receptors of species adapted to different thermal environments
- Raman, Indira M.: Ion channel biophysics; Neuronal excitability; Synaptic Transmission; Cerebellar physiology
- Sanchez, Jason: Glutamate clearance, synaptic transmission and potassium channel function
- Schmidt, Tiffany: Visual neuroscience; neurophysiology; neuroanatomy; mouse genetics, behavior
- Schwartz, Gregory: Circuit mechanisms underlying sensory computation
- Smith, Richard: Developmental neurobiology; early life ion channel diseases; clinical pharmacology
- Turek, Fred: Sleep and circadian rhythms, and seasonal reproductive cycles
- Vitaterna, Martha Hotz: Mouse Behavioral Genetics, particularly Circadian Rhythms, Sleep, Arousal, Affect
- Woolley, Catherine: Steroid hormones in neural plasticity
- Yamada, Tomoko: Chromatin mechanisms including epigenetics and genome architecture during development of the cerebellum
- Yang, Yue: Developmental and Activity-Dependent Remodeling of Chromatin Architecture; Epigenetic Regulation of Neural Circuits; Cerebellar Circuits in Motor Learning
More information on choosing an advisor can be found in the Student Handbook.