Program Overview

Program Overview

The Neuroscience graduate program seeks to advance research contributing to the understanding of the brain and mental health, promote independent thinking, and prepare graduate leaders to excel in any field of human endeavor. The program is ideal for inquisitive students with high scholastic achievement driven to understand who and what we are, and who wish to better the mental and physical health of all members of our society.

Program Details

• Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
• Program Type: Thesis-based program
• Duration: Four years full-time; six years maximum
• Supervisor: A supervisor is required and must agree to oversee the student's research before admission will be granted

Completing the Program

• Courses: Topics include cellular, molecular and developmental neuroscience, systems neuroscience, and neuropathology, among others.
• Research Ethics: Students are required to attend Research Integrity Day sessions in the first year of their program.
• Sex & Gender Module: Students are required to complete one of the CIHR sex and gender online training modules in the first year of their program.
• Candidacy: Students will complete both oral and written candidacy exams.
• Seminars: Students will participate in the Hotchkiss Brain Institute seminar program and a journal club.
• Research Proposal: Students must defend a written research proposal to their supervisory committee.
• Thesis: Students will be required to submit and defend an original research thesis.
• Interdisciplinary Specialization: Optional specializations in computational neuroscience and medical imaging are available.

Outcomes

Careers that demand a high degree of intellectual performance, positions of leadership, academia (teachers, administrators, researchers), medicine - clinician researchers, pharmaceutical industry, entrepreneurial endeavors, Fortune 500 companies, biomedical sales.

Admission Requirements

• GPA: A minimum of 3.3 GPA on a 4.0 point system, over the past two years of full-time study.
• Minimum Education: An MSc or equivalent.
• Work Samples: None
• Documents: None
• Reference Letters: Two
• Test Scores: None
• English Language Proficiency:
  • Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL ibt) score of 105.
  • International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 7.5 (minimum of 6.0 in each section)
  • Pearson Test of English (PTE) score of 75, or higher (Academic version).
  • Canadian Academic English Language test (CAEL) score of 70 (minimum 70 in each section)
  • Academic Communication Certificate (ACC) score of A- in each course.
  • Cambridge C1 Advanced or Cambridge C2 Proficiency minimum score of 200.
  • Duolingo English Test and obtaining a minimum score of 145* (with no sub-score below 125*).

Deadlines

• For admission on May 1: Canadians and permanent residents, March 1 application deadline; International students, December 1 application deadline.
• For admission on September 1: Canadians and permanent residents, June 1 application deadline; International students, April 1 application deadline.
• For admission on January 1: Canadians and permanent residents, October 1 application deadline; International students, August 1 application deadline.

Related Programs

• Neuroscience (Thesis-based MSc)
• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Thesis-based MSc, Thesis-based PhD)
• Biomedical Engineering (Thesis-based MEng, Thesis-based MSc, PhD)
• Clinical Psychology (Thesis-based MSc, PhD)
• Computer Science (Thesis-based MSc, PhD)
• Math and Statistics (Course-based MSc, Thesis-based MSc, PhD)
• Medical Science (Thesis-based MSc, PhD)
• Physics and Astronomy (Course-based MSc, Thesis-based MSc, PhD)
• Psychology (Thesis-based MSc, PhD)