masters vs phd in neuroscience

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Masters and/or PhD: Graduate School

Many students majoring in neuroscience are interested in pursuing an advanced degree in related fields including neuroscience, neuropsychology, public health, social work, and clinical psychology with the goal of becoming a professional research scientist, practitioner, and/or college or university professor.

An education in neuroscience can provide students with an excellent background for these programs but major classes alone are not enough to make yourself a good candidate. Each university has unique prerequisites for their applicants but there are some universal requirements.

There are many things that you can do besides academics that will make you an excellent candidate for masters and doctoral programs in neuroscience-related disciplines:

• Research experience is  strongly  preferred for PhD programs. As you are applying to train to become a professional scientist, programs would like for you to demonstrate:
• Basic lab skills
• An ability to work with a variety of people
•  An ability to take direction
• Attention to detail
• Critical thinking skills
• Extracurricular activities
• Strong essays that indicate a passion for and capability in scientific thought and practice.
• Contact possible advisors and express informed interest in their work.
• Volunteer experience is encouraged but should be considered essential for students interested in pursuing a degree in social work, clinical or neuropsychology.

Society for Neuroscience

American Psychological Society

Society of Clinical Psychology

American Public Health Association

NIH Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award

National Academy of Neuropsychology

Research Careers

Helping Students Get Into Grad School

How good does my GPA need to be to get into a decent graduate program?

Extensive research experience may make up for slightly lower grades but you should try to obtain, at minimum, a 3.0 GPA for masters programs and 3.4 for PhD programs. Many schools have minimum GPA requirements for fellowships so make sure you meet these minimums before you apply. For your reference, OSU's Neuroscience Graduate Studies Program's average undergraduate GPA is 3.47; the Psychology program's (includes Behavioral Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience, and Clinical Psychology) average is 3.71. Information on average GPA for neuroscience graduate programs is available here.

How good do my GRE scores need to be to get into a decent graduate program?

Extensive research experience may make up for slightly lower scores but you should try to obtain, at minimum, the 70th percentile in both the verbal and quantitative sections and a 4 in the analytical writing section. For your reference, OSU's Neuroscience Graduate Studies Program's average scores are 75th percentile in verbal, 71st percentile in quantitative and a 4.4 in analytical writing; the Psychology program's (includes Behavioral Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience, and Clinical Psychology) average scores are 86th percentile in verbal, 74th percentile in quantitative and a 4.5 in analytical writing.

When should I take the GRE?

The GRE should be taken at least 2 months before your applications are due. For example, if your application is due on December 1st, you should take the GRE no later than October 1st.

Do I need to take a GRE subject test?

Probably not but each school has their own application requirements so check their websites for more specific information. The Psychology Subject Test is often encouraged for students applying to clinical psychology or neuropsychology programs, particularly if they did not major in psychology.

I want to go to med school but my grades aren't good enough. Would going to graduate school and getting a PhD increase my chances of getting accepted?

Maybe. However, PhD programs are often more competitive than medical schools and may have more stringent requirements. They are also a big time commitment (5+ years). Master's programs, on the other hand, usually ask for a minimum 3.0 GPA and take about 2 years to complete. In the end, you may be better served by re-taking the pre-med courses, doing more volunteer work, and/or attending a  post-baccalaureate program .

Are there any other courses that I should take?

While each program has its own specific requirements, a poll of current graduate students has suggested the following:

Cellular/Molecular/Systems/Behavioral Neuroscience

2 semesters inorganic chemistry (Chem 1210 & 1220)

At least 1 semester organic chemistry (Chem 2510)

1 semester biochemistry (Biochem 4511-- counts toward Neuroscience Major)

Cognitive/Computational Neuroscience

At least 1 semester physics (Physics 1200 or 1250)

At least 1 semester computer science (e.g. CSE 1211, 1221, 1222)

1 Excel course (CSE 1111)

Clinical Psychology/Neuropsychology

1 semester developmental psychology (Psych 3340)*

1 semester personality theory (Psych 3530)*

1 semester research methods (Psych 2300)*

1 semester abnormal psychology (Psych 3331)*

1 semester clinical psychology (Psych 4532)*

*Consider applying these courses toward a  minor in Psychology

How do I choose a program?

This is one of the most difficult parts of applying to graduate school. Many start with location (i.e. what cities/states/regions appeal to you?) and narrow schools down from there. It is most important to focus on the types of research that is being done; find schools with several professors who are doing work of interest to you. Also consider contacting current graduate students to ask about stipends, cost of living, degree requirements, classes, insurance, graduation timeline, etc. While you research, stay organized by keeping a spreadsheet of important details about each program.

To how many schools should I apply?

Even if you are a perfect candidate, budgetary or size constraints may cause admissions boards to pass on your application. For PhD programs, make sure the professors with whom you would like to work are taking new students so you do not waste your time. To maximize your chances, you should apply to at least 5 schools.

How do I get involved in research?

See our  Research page  for more information.

What kinds of extracurricular activities are best?

Anything that you are passionate about! Schools recruit a diverse group of people with a variety of interests. 

Which specialization is best? 

Any specialization will do but choosing the specialization that is most closely related to the research you hope to do will ensure that you have a decent background prior to matriculating. 

Would it look bad if I took time off?

Absolutely not! Many schools look favorably on older applicants because they are generally more mature and have more extensive life and work experience. If you choose to take time off, however, make sure that you are still doing things to enhance your application (research, etc.).

I don't think I want to pursue graduate education anymore. What else can I do?

Majoring in neuroscience provides you with broad scientific literacy that will prepare you for a variety of careers. Visit our  Careers page  for a list of other options.

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• J Undergrad Neurosci Educ
• v.16(3); Summer 2018

Demystifying Graduate School: Navigating a PhD in Neuroscience and Beyond

Linda k. mcloon.

1 Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455

2 Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455

A. David Redish

3 Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455

The decision to apply to a PhD-granting graduate program is both exciting and daunting. Understanding what graduate programs look for in an applicant will increase the chance of successful admission into a PhD program. It is also helpful for an applicant to understand what graduate training will look like once they matriculate into a PhD program to ensure they select programs that will help them reach their career objectives. This article focuses specifically on PhD programs in neuroscience, and while we use our program, the Graduate Program in Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota, as an example, most of what we describe is applicable to biomedical graduate programs generally. In order to ensure that our description of graduate programs is typical of neuroscience graduate programs generally, we surveyed the online websites of 52 neuroscience graduate programs around the U. S. and include our observations here. We will examine what graduate schools look for in an applicant, what to expect once admitted into a PhD graduate program, and the potential outcomes for those who successfully complete their PhD in neuroscience.

What Makes a Strong Application to a PhD Program in Neuroscience

A number of years ago, our Graduate Program in Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota performed a statistical analysis of what correlated with successful completion of our PhD program. Consistent with more recent analyses ( Weiner, 2014 ), we found that the strongest correlation was if the applicant had done research outside of the classroom setting. Given those results, at this point, our admissions committee will only consider applicants if they have some research experience. However, in our experience speaking to undergraduates, we find that undergraduates tend to underestimate how much research they’ve done. This issue of what counts as “research” appears to worry many applicants, who often feel that they have not done sufficient research to meet this requirement.

The most useful research experiences are not necessarily those which result in publications, or even those which find statistically significant answers. Rather, the most useful research experiences are those in which an applicant contributes to the research being performed, which involve grappling with questions which do not have known answers in the back of the book. These experiences are generally performed outside of a regular classroom setting, but a wide array of experiences can fulfill this research prerequisite. For example, an applicant might have done one or more summer internships in a laboratory. Others may have done a directed research project that was taken for academic credit but whose sole purpose was to perform independent research. Others may have done internships at companies. We often see applicants who have worked in laboratories or done independent original research projects in the context of their specific coursework during the school year. These courses are becoming more common, and these independent research-focused undergraduate classes can be great examples of independent research if the work provided the applicant with experience in doing research directly.

Some colleges do not have strong research opportunities available. Students in those situations should reach out to summer or other internship programs at other universities to gain that research experience. There are many such research programs. For example, the University of Minnesota runs a Life Sciences Summer Undergraduate Research Program (LSSURP) that provides such opportunities across many fields in the life sciences (including neuroscience). Many universities have Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) programs available that are funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). These programs usually pay a summer stipend and living costs as well as providing research experiences.

However, it is not necessary for the research to be done in a formal setting. What matters is that the applicant has some experience with direct research. Similarly, the duration of the research done is not as critical a concern as having had the experience of performing research at all. The key question is: Does the student have real-world experience in doing research, and in spite of methodological difficulties and negative results in experiments, does the applicant still have a love for the scientific process? It does not matter if there were no conclusive results, if the project was left unfinished, or if the project was not published as an abstract or peer-reviewed publication.

While coursework in a graduate program is important, the “real” work of a graduate student is to learn to do science. The research experience demonstrates to the admissions committee that the applicant has a realistic sense of what it is like to work on an open-ended problem, which takes innovative thinking about experiments and controls as well as understanding the need for patience with the scientific process. It is important that both the applicant and the admissions committee know that if admitted, the applicant will not be surprised by the focus of graduate school on independently performed research.

Personal Statement

The personal statement is one of the most important aspects of an application to a graduate program. There are three main areas that need to be included in a personal statement, and if these are inadequate, it will have a negative impact on the ultimate success of that application. First, and most importantly, a personal statement must make it clear why that applicant wants to pursue a PhD in neuroscience specifically. A broad flowery description about the applicant’s interest in biology since they were 5 years old is not helpful. This statement is easier if the applicant has some laboratory research experience and can speak to why that research experience was motivating. A clear articulation of “why neuroscience” is imperative.

As noted above, the most important information in an application is the research done by the applicant. Thus, the applicant needs to provide a description of the independent research they have performed to date somewhere in the application. The research description should focus on the big picture: What was the big question? What choices were made in the experiments? What controls were done? Why were the specific controls used? The applicant should do this for each distinct research project. This shows the admissions committee how the applicant thinks about science; understanding the process is more important than if there were positive results.

The final part of the personal statement should state why they are applying to the particular program. A good way to show that the applicant has spent time looking at the specific graduate program and has thought about which programs were a good fit for their interests is by identifying programmatic strengths, such as the expertise of the faculty, or by identifying other specific or unique aspects that differentiate the program, such as, for example, our Itasca program [see below].

Finally, applicants should proofread their personal statements. Typographic errors, poor grammar, and other sloppy writing suggest an applicant who does not take the time or effort to ensure quality. It may seem silly to mention, but it is important to make sure that when mentioning programmatic strengths, the applicant should be sure that these are the programmatic strengths of the institution to which the application is sent.

Majors, Grades, and GREs

Neuroscience encompasses many different disciplines – from genetics and subcellular approaches to neural circuits and behavior. Most neuroscience graduate programs admit applicants with a broad variety of majors. Many of the applicants that we see majored in neuroscience, biology, or psychology as an undergraduate, but applicants with other undergraduate majors such as math, computer science, or physics have succeeded in our program. Many programs also admit applicants with degrees in the humanities, and we have found that many students with these broad backgrounds have succeeded in our program, some of whom only developed an interest in neuroscience after they graduated from college. However, successful applicants from the humanities need to have taken classes in the sciences before they apply to graduate school for a PhD in neuroscience.

The most important statement that we can make about grades is really in terms of the specific classes taken. While the major area of study is not critical, an internal survey of our program found that trainees were most successful in our PhD program if they had taken at least some biology, some physics, basic chemistry preferably through organic chemistry, and college level mathematics through calculus.

In our survey of over 50 graduate programs in neuroscience, most programs do not seem to have a strict GPA cut-off under which they will not admit someone; nevertheless, GPA is an important criteria being used by many admissions committees. While overall GPA is important, students who did poorly in their freshman and sophomore classes, but did well in their junior and senior years, can excel in their PhD training. Another example might be someone who had a very bad single semester or year due to extenuating circumstances, such as an illness of a death in the family. If one of these scenarios applies, it is imperative for this to be directly discussed in the personal statements that accompany a graduate program application. While most admissions committees do not explicitly rank schools, expected difficulty of the undergraduate program is usually taken into account when looking at grades, classes and GPA.

The use of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) in making admissions decisions to a neuroscience PhD graduate program is a complex issue and has become controversial in recent years. Although many recent studies have claimed to suggest that GRE scores do not correlate with successful completion of a PhD degree in the biomedical sciences ( Hall et al., 2017 ; Moneta-Koehler et al., 2017 ), other studies examining PhDs in more quantitative disciplines, including neuroscience, found that the portions of the GRE score are in fact correlated with successful degree completion ( Willcockson et al., 2009 ; Olivares-Urueta and Williamson, 2013 ). In a large meta-analysis of GRE scores and success in graduate school, Kuncel and Hezlett (2007) found that both the GRE and undergraduate grades were effective predictors of important academic outcomes even beyond grades earned in graduate school. It should be noted that all of these studies have been performed on programs that took GREs into account when making admissions decisions and thus are based on biased data sets. Following this, some neuroscience graduate programs have elected to remove the GRE from their admission decisions, while others have decided to weigh it less in their decision-making. Most graduate programs recognize that the GRE score is just a tool, and one of many that admissions committees use to make their admissions decisions. Our graduate program, for example, is currently in the latter group—we still require it but are weighing it less than other factors such as the personal statement, classes taken, GPA, and letters of recommendation.

Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation are some of the most important components of an application to graduate school. Who the student chooses to write for them and what those letters say are important factors considered by admissions committee members. The most important letters are those from research mentors with whom the applicant did independent research. A lack of letters from research mentors leaves open the question of the extent and value of that research experience. The best letters of recommendation are detailed and provide a clear indication that the mentor knew the student and can assess the student’s potential for success. The mentor’s comparison of the applicant’s abilities relative to others with whom they have worked is particularly useful.

Letters from other sources, such as athletics coaches or course directors, can speak to initiative, time management, ability to work under stress, and so forth; however, most admissions committees do not find these particularly useful, unless the course director can speak to exceptional academic achievement, such as an undergraduate shining in a graduate class. Least useful are letters from non-academic sources, such as faith leaders, employers, family friends, and the like. These letters cannot speak to the questions of success in a graduate program and have been known to detract from an application, because it implies that the student does not have sufficient academic mentors to provide the full complement of letters.

Should letters come from postdoctoral fellows or graduate students? In many large laboratories, the primary professor may not actually interact with an undergraduate research assistant very much. Instead, undergraduate research is often done under the supervision of a postdoctoral fellow or graduate student. While letters from senior postdoctoral fellows are acceptable to some programs, they are not for others. We advise the applicant to check with each program to determine if this is an issue for their admissions committee. Our program has accepted students with one letter from a postdoctoral mentor, but we found that these students were not eligible to be nominated for some university-level awards. Thus, there is a balance in having the letter come from someone who worked with the student directly but also having the letter come from a faculty member. We recommend that undergraduates in these situations get a single letter that is co-signed by both the postdoctoral fellow and the professor or senior mentor.

The Admissions Process

Most graduate programs in neuroscience use a two-stage admissions process. The first stage identifies a subset of students to invite for an interview/recruiting visit and then a subset of those students is provided offers. All graduate schools in the U. S. have signed the Resolution Regarding Graduate Scholars, Fellows, Trainees, and Assistants from the Council of Graduate Programs which says that students have until April 15th to make their matriculation decisions. In order to try to manage this, schools will admit more students than they actually expect to matriculate, and may place other students on a waitlist, trying to balance issues of getting too many students, producing a problem for budgets, or too few students producing problems of cohesion, and problems meeting the research needs of the program and university.

Interview and Recruiting Visits

Some graduate programs bring students out either singly or in small batches to visit their program, interview with faculty, and see what possibilities could come from matriculating into the program. Other programs bring students out all at once as a cohort in a combined interview/recruiting visit. Many programs combine this interview/recruiting visit with other program events; for example, we tie ours to our annual retreat. The method of organizing these interviews and recruiting visits is not particularly important, as the goal of these visits is the same – to provide an in-person look at the graduate program.

From the program side, the interview/recruiting visit allows the admissions committee to assess the fit of the potential students and to ask specific questions related to how they think about science. It is important for visiting interviewees/recruits to realize that graduate programs often have graduate students contribute to the governance of the program and provide input to the admissions committees. In our program, two current PhD students are full voting members of the admissions committee. Comments made during events where only graduate students are present do matter, and we have had a number of experiences where comments and behavior at dinners or other trainee-only events have led to rejection of the applicant.

From the visitor side, this is an opportunity to see what the program is like, as well as the living environment where the program is located. Important questions that applicants should consider include whether the students are getting the training and support that they need, whether the faculty members are engaged with the program, and whether there are faculty members to work with in the student’s area of interest. Generally, applicants should recognize that their goals, interests, and research directions may change. Ensuring that a program can accommodate those changes is an important thing when choosing a PhD program.

Choosing the Right Program

Graduate school, like most of life, is about finding the right fit. Every student is going to have to use their own judgement to determine which graduate school is right for them, but we have some suggestions about issues to consider.

First and foremost, are there a sufficient number of faculty members in their area of interest? Importantly, students should recognize that interests often change, either with experience or time or discoveries, so the student should also look at what other faculty members are around, and what opportunities there are to examine other research areas. For example, how collaborative are the faculty? What processes are in place if one needs to switch advisors? Does the program do rotations in different laboratories, or does the student have to choose an advisor immediately?

In our survey of over 50 neuroscience graduate programs in the U. S., all but one admit students into the program as a whole, rather than into specific laboratories. Students in the majority of programs spend the first year rotating through three or four different laboratories in order to get a thorough exploration of advisors and potential research areas. Furthermore, because students are admitted to the program as a whole and not into a specific laboratory, there are processes in place to handle the (rare) situation when a student needs to switch their primary research mentor.

An important consideration on picking an advisor is not only the research area of the advisor, but also the training and personal style of that PhD mentor. In our graduate program, we have 8-week rotations to give a student and an advisor sufficient time to determine if they can work together well. The duration of laboratory rotations varies between programs, but generally most programs have between 2 and 4 during the course of the first year. Choosing a PhD thesis mentor is not generally an issue of advisor quality, but rather one of style. Should the student and advisor meet daily? Weekly? Monthly? Is the goal a thesis that is a hoop to jump through on the path to another career or is it a magnum opus on which one will build a reputation? How are manuscripts written? How does the laboratory decide which projects to do? These questions do not have right and wrong answers, but a mismatch between styles can potentially make it difficult to complete the degree.

There are several other considerations. The applicant should examine the curriculum. How comprehensive or specific is it? Does it cover what the student wants to have as their baseline/background? Applicants should also look at publication requirements and expectations. Are students publishing first author papers? Trainee funding should also be evaluated. How are trainees supported? Is funding guaranteed or not? Part of the consideration relative to trainee funding is whether the program has training grants to help financially support students—these can include National Institutes of Health (NIH) T32 grants, and National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Traineeship (NRT) and Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) training grants. Training grant support from NIH and NSF is a good measure of how the PhD training program is viewed by external reviewers. It is also useful to see if the trainees are successfully competing for fellowship awards. This speaks to the quality of the graduate students as well as the quality of mentorship from their thesis advisors and the program.

Other issues to consider are the environment and social climate of the program and the career paths the program’s graduates take. In terms of social climate and environment, we suggest asking whether the trainees know and support each other, and whether the faculty members know the trainees. Science is increasingly a collaborative venture. Evidence could be the presence of co-mentored trainees, as well as research publications that are co-authored by members of the graduate program. Other evidence of the environment of a PhD graduate program is to determine how integrated the PhD trainees are in program decision making and leadership. Do they serve on committees, and if so, what are their roles? Self-reflective programs generally include multiple voices in making program decisions. This also speaks in part to mentorship of trainees, as participating in program governance provides the PhD trainee an opportunity to develop leadership skills.

In terms of outcomes, it is important to recognize that career goals change, but we recommend programs that provide opportunities for a variety of career paths. Importantly, programs should have processes that enable students to succeed in academia and elsewhere. As we will discuss in the following section, post-graduate paths for PhD trainees have always included a mix of academic and non-academic careers. This was also the recommendation of a workshop held by the National Academy of Science ( IOM, 2015 ), and in fact reflects the actual career choices of individuals who received their PhD in neuroscience ( Akil et al., 2016 ). Importantly, the career-space that our current graduates will face will look very different from previous generations. In particular, it will look very different from the previous generation when there were very few academic jobs available. The current career space is broader than it used to be, including some jobs, such as internet-related positions, that did not exist a generation ago. Furthermore, neuroscience academic jobs are opening up as baby boomers retire and universities invest in neuroscience. Whatever the student’s goal is, we recommend looking for programs that provide career facilitation support for a variety of outcomes, because, as noted above, career goals may change with experience.

While many students and many programs will look at time-to-degree as a criterion for program quality, we feel that this can be misleading. No one has ever asked us how long we took to get through graduate school. One way to think about graduate school is to realize that graduate students in neuroscience programs get paid to go to graduate school – being a graduate student in neuroscience is a job, and one that should provide a living wage in the area that one will be living in during one’s time in graduate school. The main problem with students taking too long to complete a degree is that it may indicate deeper problems in a graduate program, for example, when students are not graduating because their technical skills are needed in a laboratory. These situations are rare, but extremely long durations (e.g., 8 years) can be a sign to look for when making a decision. However, the difference between spending 4.5, 5.5, or even 6 years in graduate school is simply not important relative to the duration of a scientific career. In fact, there is a case to be made that taking an extra year to get additional publications can be a wise choice for students going into academic careers, since fellowships, awards, and other granting mechanisms, such as individual NIH postdoctoral training grants (F32) and individual NIH Pathway to Independence (K99/R00) awards, and the faculty level “early stage investigator” identifier at NIH, are based on date of graduation. Furthermore, few reviewers normalize number of papers by time spent in graduate school.

Additional Resources

The Society for Neuroscience provides useful resources to undergraduate students interested in a PhD in Neuroscience. One resource is the online training program directory that offers graduate program information on more than 75 top neuroscience graduate programs in North America, and provides a short summary of the characteristics of each program (e.g., number of faculty, student demographics, and research areas) along with a link to the program of interest. A second resource is available to prospective students who are able to attend the SfN annual meeting. Known as the Graduate Student Fair , it offers an opportunity for prospective students to meet face-to-face with representatives of many graduate programs.

The Gap Year Question

In recent years, we have seen that increasing numbers of applicants are taking a gap year between completion of their undergraduate degree and entering graduate school. We have not seen any correlation with success in graduate school from a gap year, and the Graduate Program in Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota does not require such a gap year. However, other neuroscience graduate programs have begun to require it. The gap year itself can vary, but often the recent college graduate enters a formal postbaccalaureate or “postbac” program, such as the one at the NIH, works in a laboratory, and participates in specific programs designed to increase readiness for graduate school. Many applicants have taken one or more years off from formal education to do research in an academic, government or industry setting. Whether a postbac year is useful or not is very much an individual choice.

There are two cases where a postbaccalaureate experience can be helpful for admissions into a neuroscience PhD program. One is when the undergraduate GPA is lower than a 3.0 or the student does not have the requisite science-related coursework. The other is when a student does not have sufficient research experience. Structured programs, such as the one at NIH, can be helpful in these situations. These postbac programs can provide an experience that is valuable for those students with limited research experiences. They can also provide opportunities for students who decide to transition to new fields late in their college career or after completion of their undergraduate degree. However, as noted above, in our experience, students underestimate their research experience and take gap years unnecessarily. To summarize, additional research training after a bachelor’s degree is not necessary for successful admission into a graduate program in neuroscience for the vast majority of applicants, nor does it appear to correlate with successful completion of the PhD.

What Trainees Can Expect During Their PhD Training in Neuroscience

A neuroscience PhD is a research-focused degree. This means that the student will spend the majority of their time as a PhD trainee working on research that can be published in peer-reviewed journals. However, that journey can look quite different from program to program. Most programs work through some structure that is a combination of coursework and early research exploration in the first years, punctuated by a written preliminary exam, followed by a thesis proposal, thesis research, and a thesis defense. In almost all of the programs we surveyed, the student is paired with an advisor that is the primary research mentor.

Throughout this section, we will use our program as an example and we will note where it differs from others. However, the general timeline is similar between programs.

In August before our “official” school year actually starts, we provide a month-long hands-on, state-of-the-art research experience for all our incoming PhD students at a research station owned by the University of Minnesota at Lake Itasca at the headwaters of the Mississippi River. This program is unique in our experience relative to other programs, and it (1) provides a neuroscience background experience for students coming from diverse intellectual backgrounds, (2) binds the class together into a cohort which helps to provide a strong support system during the transition to and experience of graduate school, (3) begins the trainees on a journey from student to colleague. They then return to the Twin Cities to begin their formal year 1 experience.

In the majority of neuroscience graduate programs, students spend their first year doing two to four laboratory rotations with faculty who participate in the neuroscience graduate program and complete a set of core classes. The four core classes we require are Cell and Molecular Neuroscience , Systems Neuroscience , Developmental Neurobiology , and Behavioral Neurobiology . Other programs require other classes that might constitute a “minor” in a secondary subject, such as pharmaceutics or computational methods. At the end of the first year, many programs have students take a written preliminary examination that is focused on the integration of the material taught in the core first-year classes. Generally, programs use this sort of examination as a check to ensure that students have integrated the knowledge from their first-year classes. Students in most neuroscience graduate programs also take a class that provides training in research ethics, writing experiences, and other important non-academic components that will be necessary for a research career. Starting in the first year, it is typical that the program directors have annual or semi-annual meetings with every trainee in the graduate program. In later years, a thesis committee will also meet semi-annually with students to provide oversight and mentorship. Some programs we surveyed have separate committees that monitor student progress in the PhD program independent from the mentor and thesis committees. We advise looking for a program that will provide the trainee with regular evaluations and clearly defined milestones to help the student complete their degree in a timely manner.

In year 2, students in the majority of graduate neuroscience programs have settled into a laboratory and are working towards writing their thesis proposal. The thesis proposal is usually the basis for the “oral preliminary exam.” In our program, we have students write their thesis proposal in the form of an NIH NRSA (F30 or F31) grant proposal which helps train students to write grant proposals.

Many programs have students take other elective classes throughout their second and sometimes even into the third year. In the second year in our program, students take one more required class, Quantitative Neuroscience that covers statistics, programming, and experimental design, but that then completes their class requirements. These types of quantitative classes are being introduced in many neuroscience graduate programs in response to the rigor and reproducibility issues that are being raised in the scientific literature and expected to be discussed as part of grant submissions to the NIH.

Most neuroscience graduate programs also have a teaching requirement. In our program, this occurs in the second year. Programs require different amounts of teaching, so this is a good question for the applicant to ask when they are interviewing. Many graduate students are interested in careers that include teaching as well as research, and additional teaching experience is important. We provide extra opportunities for teaching, where the trainee might run discussion sections or give course lectures. Often, these “extra” teaching experiences are paid beyond what the student receives from their stipend. For those interested in a more teaching-centric career, these experiences are very important. We recommend the applicant ask about how teaching expectations of the graduate students is handled in the programs to which they are applying.

Year 3 and Beyond

In the subsequent years, PhD trainees continue to do research, write and publish papers, present their work at conferences and in colloquia, and proceed on the journey to graduation. Graduate neuroscience programs generally have trainees meet with their thesis committee once or twice a year to ensure that they stay on track to graduation. The final stage, of course, is the thesis writing and thesis defense.

Presentations and Outreach

A key factor for a successful science career is the ability to communicate one’s discoveries, both to fellow scientists and to the public at large. In our program, students are required to present their research annually to the other faculty and students in the Graduate Program in Neuroscience. These presentations are opportunities to learn how to present work to a friendly audience who will push one scientifically, but still provide positive support. In our experience, students are often very nervous giving their first colloquium, but confident by the time they are ready to defend their PhD thesis. The final PhD defense is a public presentation in which the student presents and defends their research. The specific aspects of the PhD defense are accomplished in different ways amongst PhD graduate programs; however, in the end, all PhD programs require that the student be able to publicly present their research in a comprehensive and cohesive manner as well as field questions about their research.

In addition, neuroscience graduate programs provide many opportunities for outreach beyond the scientific community, although most do not require outreach explicitly. Typical types of outreach in many programs include volunteering to present science at K-12 schools, Brain Awareness Week programs sponsored by the Society for Neuroscience, or science museums as examples. We have found that these opportunities provide students learning experiences in how to present scientific data and ideas to a broader audience. Not surprisingly, the ability to present ideas to a broad audience translates very well to communicating scientific results to other scientists as well.

It’s a Job

We have found it useful for students to think of graduate school as a combination of college and career. Students should not have pay out of pocket for their PhD program. Most neuroscience graduate programs not only pay students a stipend but also provide tuition and health care benefits. For some trainees, conceptualizing graduate school as a job rather than as continued school can be important for dealing with family pressures to “get a job” rather than “continue in school.”

Where to Go from Here

Fundamentally, the goal of a PhD program is to teach the student how to think critically and how to determine if a new discovery is real or illusion. An undergraduate program is usually about how to learn from books and from teachers, how to determine if the text in front of you is trustworthy or not, and how to integrate knowledge from multiple sources. A graduate program is about how to determine if the discovery you just made is correct when there is no answer in the back of a book for you to look up. In practice, this means learning how to ask questions that are answerable, how to design appropriate controls, how to interpret results and integrate them into a scholarly literature, and, importantly, how to communicate those discoveries to other scientists and the public as a whole.

These skills are useful in a variety of careers. Much of the discussion of graduate school outcomes has suggested that graduate programs are designed to produce faculty for colleges and universities and bemoan the fact that (1) there are too many PhD trainees and not enough faculty jobs, and (2) that many students are forced into “alternative careers.” Both of these statements are wrong when one looks at the actual data.

First and foremost, we wish to point out that there should be no such thing as an “alternative career” — graduates should go towards a career and not away from one. We tell our students that we want them to do something important, whether that is becoming faculty at a research institution, teaching undergraduates at a liberal arts college, contributing to industrial research, analysis, or translation, becoming a writer and making research findings accessible to other scientist or lay audiences, or making policy in a governmental or non-profit setting.

Second, the complaints seen in many of these publications do not take into account very important demographic trends. Current students will see a very different world of faculty jobs than their professors did. Simply put, understanding the faculty situation requires considering the baby boomers (q.v. ACD biomedical workforce data ). In 1980, a 35-year-old young professor was born in 1945, while a 65-year-old was born in 1915. This means that the generation of senior professors in 1980 consisted of those who had survived two World Wars and the Great Depression, while the junior professors were baby boomers. With the blossoming of investment in science after WWII, there were lots of jobs, and the baby boomers filled them quickly. Mechanisms were developed for new professors to get initial NIH grants to help them set up their laboratories (q.v. NIH History of new and early stage investigator policies ). In contrast, in 2000, a 35-year-old was born in 1965, and a baby-boomer born in 1945 was 55, in the prime of their scientific career. There were fewer jobs and few funding mechanisms that focused on providing assistance for new, young investigators. In 2018, that baby-boomer born in 1945 is nearly 75 years old and likely retiring or retired. Thus, based on our own university as well as checking sources online such as Science Careers , there are faculty positions in neuroscience open all over the country. In addition, there are now specific programs at NIH to help new faculty get grants and transition into becoming successfully funded faculty quickly.

In practice, this has meant that there are many faculty positions for those who want them, at many different types of academic institutions. An undergraduate student who wants to take the next step into a PhD program should be encouraged to do so. PhDs have always gone on after their PhD to contribute to science in many ways. A recent survey published in Nature found that a scientific PhD had high value in the United Kingdom and Canadian job markets ( Woolston, 2018 ). In fact, when we look at the distribution of careers our graduating students have taken since graduation, we find that the vast majority (96%) are engaged in important, science-related jobs.

However, the essential benefit of a PhD is that it teaches one how to think critically about the world around them. Life is long and careers are long, and the needs of both society and technology changes. It is critical to remember that many of the jobs people are doing today literally did not exist when we (the authors of this paper) were in graduate school. For example, it is now possible to make a living running an educational website on scientific topics that gets millions of hits per month, reaching thousands of school districts around the country, but when we (the authors) were in college, the internet didn’t exist. A well-designed PhD program will prepare its trainees for whatever career they chose.

We cannot imagine the world 30 years from now, but we can state that PhD-trained scientists will not only be able to handle these changes but will in fact invent many of them. Huge technological innovations now allow investigators to see many individual neurons inside the brain, control the properties of neurons experimentally, to see effects of individual channels and proteins within a neuron or glial cell, and to observe the effects of these manipulations on behavior. Neuroscience is making amazing discoveries in the fundamental science of how the brain functions and the clinical and practical consequences of those discoveries. Simply put, it is an amazing time to be a neuroscientist.

The authors thank Drs. Robert Meisel, Timothy Ebner, Paul Mermelstein, Stephanie Fretham, Kevin Crisp, and Neil Schmitzer-Torbert for comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript.

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Neuroscience

Undergraduate Program

Neuroscience, the study of the nervous system, is a field that investigates the biological mechanisms that underlie behavior and how brains process information. The study of neuroscience provides both a broad scientific training and a deep understanding of the biology of the nervous system. Given the diversity of interests in this field, the only prerequisite for students entering this concentration is an intense curiosity about the brain.

The Program in Neuroscience is an inter-departmental Ph.D. program dedicated to training Ph.D.s in neuroscience. The program provides students with the instruction, research experience, and mentoring they need to become leaders in research and education. The program offers students options for thesis research with neuroscientists in departments throughout the University, including in labs based on the Cambridge campus and at Harvard-affiliated hospitals. The enormous number and diversity of affiliated labs means that students have a wide range of options in choosing research experiences.

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As the longest-standing Neuroscience PhD program in the country, we have a history of training leaders in the field. Join our multidisciplinary program and begin to forge your future of excellence.

The country’s first of its kind, U-M Medical School’s Neuroscience training program began in 1971 and continues to lead the industry today.

Our difference is rooted in our interdisciplinary and interdepartmental approach, with more than 150 core affiliated faculty members distributed throughout our institution.  We are a collegial and interactive group that performs research across the breadth of the neuroscience field. 

Our faculty includes members of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, past presidents of the Society for Neuroscience, fellows of the AAAS and Highly Cited Researchers in their fields.

Learn more about the leading Neuroscience PhD program and its history.

Diverse students and world-class faculty make us an international leader in Neuroscience research and education.

Learn more about the faculty in and behind our incredible program.

Connect with fellow students and the broader community for a purpose.

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Join us for two unique ten-week summer research opportunities.

Watch and learn what it’s like to immerse yourself in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at the University of Michigan Medical School.

Your partnership will support our world-class, neuroscience graduate student training. Explore opportunities to support our important work and further our goals.

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The Neuroscience Graduate Program’s ultimate goal is to prepare the future leaders in the field of neuroscience by providing the training and expertise necessary to succeed in any scientific career the students may choose. Welcome and Go Blue!”

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Neuroscience

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Neuroscience is an area of study within the Division of Medical Sciences, an administrative unit based at Harvard Medical School that coordinates biomedical PhD activities at the Longwood Medical Area. Students who study in neuroscience receive a PhD in neurobiology. Prospective students apply through the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Harvard Griffin GSAS). In the online application, select  “Division of Medical Sciences” as your program choice and select "Neuroscience" in the area of study menu.

Neuroscience is one of the programs in the Harvard Integrated Life Sciences that facilitates collaboration and cross-disciplinary research. Visit HILS for additional  application instructions .

This interdisciplinary program includes over 150 faculty members from several hospitals and campuses in the Boston area with a variety of backgrounds in all areas of neuroscience. You will receive a solid core foundation and will then be able to focus on the area that interests you most with specialized training.

You will have access to an impressive array of resources, including state-of-the-art labs, high-resolution microscopy facilities, animal cores, and an instrumentation core that can design custom behavioral chambers and other experimental apparatuses. You will have the opportunity to engage with the broader neuroscience community in several ways, including through the Harvard Brain Science Initiative (HBI), a cross-schools initiative among neuroscientists in the University and its affiliated hospitals.

Students are working on various projects such as studying how neural circuits generate behavior through the use of in vivo imaging to study neurons in awake, behaving animals; the development of the nervous system; the ways in which genes and molecules regulate neural function; and the electrical properties of neurons.

Graduates of the program have secured faculty positions at institutions such as Stanford University, Holy Cross University, Rutgers University, and Harvard University. Others have established careers with leading organizations such as Biogen, Google, and McKinsey & Company. 

Personal Statement

Standardized tests.

GRE General: Not Accepted GRE Subject: Not Accepted iBT TOEFL minimum score: 100 IELTS minimum score: 7

See list of Neuroscience faculty

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Graduate Programs

Neuroscience is one of the most exciting and fastest growing research fields. Examining the development and function of nervous systems does not only hold the key to better understand the interaction of animals and human beings with their environments, but will also allow us to develop therapeutic strategies for the treatment of neurological, behavioral and psychiatric disorders.

At the University of Chicago, there are five closely interacting, interdepartmental graduate programs that study nervous systems, brain function, and behavior: the PhD Programs in Neurobiology, Computational Neuroscience, Integrative Neuroscience, Cognition, and Computational Cognitive Neuroscience (Psychology track). Combined, these programs form the Neuroscience Cluster which comprises over 90 faculty members from both basic research and clinical departments. 

Investigating brain function from molecular to systems levels.

Quantitative approaches to studying nervous system function.

Studying brain and behavior through computational analysis and data.

Fosters integrative thinking across disciplines and focuses on research questions with theoretical and practical significance.

Understanding the biological basis of complex behaviors.

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Neuroscience, PhD

School of medicine.

The Department of Neuroscience offers an interdisciplinary program designed to train doctoral students for independent research and teaching in neuroscience. It is the goal of the program to ensure that candidates for the Ph.D. and M.D./Ph.D. degrees obtain a background covering molecular, cellular, systems, and cognitive approaches to neuroscience, as well as receive training that brings them to the forefront of research in their particular area of interest. A series of core courses in neuroscience, along with advanced electives, seminar series, laboratory rotations, and original independent dissertation research, form the Neuroscience Graduate Training Program.

Students enter the program from different backgrounds and the laboratories in which they elect to work cover different disciplines; therefore, the program is tailored to fit the needs of individual students. The academic year at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is divided into four quarters plus a summer semester. Courses are designed so that students have ample time to become involved in laboratory rotations. These laboratory rotations expose the student to a variety of current research techniques in neuroscience and provide an opportunity for the student to select a laboratory in which to conduct dissertation research. Scheduling of the three rotations is adjusted to make the most convenient schedule for each student. The rotations are usually completed by the end of the first full year in the program. Most students begin their thesis research at the beginning of their second year.

For more information, please visit The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience webpage: http://neuroscience.jhu.edu.

Financial Aid

The program provides tuition remission plus a stipend at or above the National Institutes of Health Predoctoral level for all students. All entering and first-year students are encouraged to apply for individual fellowships such as those sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Vivien Thomas PhD Scholars at JHU The  Vivien Thomas Scholars Initiative (VTSI)  is a new endowed fellowship program at Johns Hopkins for PhD students in STEM fields. It provides full tuition, stipend, and benefits while also providing targeted mentoring, networking, community, and professional development opportunities. Students who have attended a historically black college and university ( HBCU ) or other minority serving institution (MSI) for undergraduate study are eligible to apply. More information about the VTSI program is available at this link:  https://provost.jhu.edu/about/vivien-thomas-scholars-initiative/ . To be considered for the VTSI, all application and supplementary materials must be received by  December 1st .

Admission Requirements

We use a holistic approach to evaluating applicants and look forward to reading your application. We are most enthusiastic about applicants who have taken full advantage of the opportunities available at their undergraduate institution and through other summer or postbac experiences. Our class size is typically ~18 students per year.

Applicants are expected to have received a B.S. or B.A. prior to enrolling in the graduate program. Laboratory research experience prior to enrollment is also desirable. If you have research experience, please describe your research in your Statement of Interest and Career Objectives and indicate the number of months engaged in full-time and part-time research on your CV. Students who do well in our program typically have a strong academic foundation in areas of biological or physical sciences. Some of the courses that prepare students well include general biology, neuroscience, mathematics through calculus, general physics, general chemistry, organic chemistry, statistics, engineering, or computer science.

NOTE: The Neuroscience Program DOES NOT require GRE scores. 

Program Requirements

A year-long core course provides an integrated overview of molecular and cellular neuroscience, neuroanatomy and systems, and cognitive neuroscience. This course is aimed at providing Neuroscience graduate students with a foundation for posing meaningful questions in their area of interest.  During the first two years, students are required to take 6 graduate level core courses that provide rigorous training in principles of neuroscience research. In addition, students in the first year attend research symposia and complete lab rotations to introduce them to research. Students in the program are also required to participate in core program activities such as seminars, journal clubs, a quantitative analysis boot camp, career development courses and various program events. In addition, each student selects advanced electives offered by members of the Neuroscience Training Program or other departments at the Medical School.

Seminar Program

The Neuroscience Training Program conducts several seminar series to ensure that students are exposed to recent work by researchers from across the country and the world as well as by Hopkins faculty and fellows. Graduate trainees participate actively in these series throughout their training, including inviting and hosting three speakers each year. A weekly lecture is given by an outstanding researcher in some field of neuroscience. Seminars are selected so that an overall balance of subject matter is covered yearly. Students are given an opportunity to meet with each speaker for questions and discussion. Weekly lunchtime talks are presented on current literature by graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Since an ability to communicate scientific work clearly is essential, graduate students receive close guidance in preparing and evaluating their journal club presentations. Once a month, the faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and students from one laboratory present and discuss the ongoing research in that laboratory. This provides an informal setting to discuss research being conducted in the laboratories of the Neuroscience Training Program and gives advanced graduate students and postdoctoral fellows a forum for presenting their work.

Requirements for the PhD Degree

A minimum residency of two academic years is required. During the course of graduate study, the student must successfully complete the required course requirements. An oral examination, conducted as prescribed by the Doctor of Philosophy Board, must be completed by the end of the second year. The student must then conduct original research and describe this research in a written thesis dissertation, which must be approved by the students Thesis Committee and the Doctor of Philosophy Board.

Training Facilities

The Training Program is centered in the Department of Neuroscience. The Training Program utilizes laboratory facilities located in the Department of Neuroscience plus several other basic and clinical departments closely associated with the Neuroscience Department. All of these laboratories are within a short distance of each other. Modern state of the art facilities for research in molecular biology, neurophysiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, cell biology, and morphology are available. The Mind/Brain Institute, located on the Homewood Campus of the University, is a group of laboratories devoted to the investigation of the neural mechanisms of higher mental function and particularly to the mechanisms of perception. All of the disciplines required to address these questions are represented in the Institute. These include neurophysiology, psychology, theoretical neurobiology, neuroanatomy, and cognitive science. All of the faculty in the Mind/Brain Institute are members of the Neuroscience Graduate Program.

Combined M.D./Ph.D. Program

A subset of the current predoctoral trainees in the Neuroscience Program are candidates for both Ph.D. and M.D. degrees. Applications for admission to the combined program are considered by the M.D./Ph.D. Committee of the School of Medicine. Application forms for the School of Medicine contain a section requesting information relevant to graduate study. Applicants interested in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program should complete this section also, and indicate specifically their interest in the “Neuroscience Training Program”. If application to the combined M.D./Ph.D. program proves unsuccessful and the applicant wishes to be considered for graduate studies, they must notify the Admissions Office of the Neuroscience Training Program by separate letter.

Welcome to Stanford Neurosciences

The Stanford Neurosciences Interdepartmental Program (IDP) offers interdisciplinary training leading to a Ph.D. in Neuroscience. The primary goal of the program is to train students to become leaders in neuroscience research, education and outreach. Graduates of the program will be innovators, investigators, and teachers whose programs and pursuits are founded on research. The signature feature of the Stanford Neurosciences IDP is the combination of outstanding faculty researchers and exceedingly bright, energetic students in a community that shares a firm and longstanding commitment to understanding the nervous system at all its levels of function.

Program News

Admissions Information Session

Join us virtually to learn more about the Stanford Neurosciences PhD program and the admissions process.

Monday, October 2, 2023

11:00 am - 12:00 pm PST

Registration:  https://stanford.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pD6dbNZZTpyFF8mlFAxNYQ

Thank You, 2022-23 Student Reps and Committee Members!

2022-23 was a busy and engaging year in the program. Thank you to the Student Reps and Committee Members who led the way in bringing the community together!

Krishna Shenoy, engineer who reimagined how the brain makes the body move, dies at 54

Shenoy was a pioneer of neuroprosthetics, a field that paired chips implanted in the brain with algorithms able to decipher the chatter between neurons, allowing people with paralysis to control computers and mechanical limbs with their thoughts. Read more

Virtual Information Session - Monday, October 3, 2022

Virtual Information Session - Monday, October 4, 2021

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Tirin Moore wins 2021 Pradel Research Award

Dr. Shah elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Dr. Jeffrey Goldberg elected to National Academy of Medicine

Incorporating Anti-Racism/Anti-Oppression Training for our incoming class

Thomas R. Clandinin elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Kevin Guttenplan recognized by Biosciences Excellence in Teaching Award

Karl Deisseroth wins 2020 Heineken Prize for Medicine 

Daniel Cardozo Pinto wins Gilliam Prize 

President Marc Tessier-Lavigne donates Gruber Neuroscience Prize money to support Neuro grads who are under-represented 

Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Program

Researchers in the Tonegawa lab identified the neurons (highlighted in red) where memory traces are stored in the mouse hippocampus. Image: Steve Ramirez, Xu Liu.

MIT is home to numerous world-class laboratories that are at the forefront of neuroscience research. These lab groups are focused on understanding nervous system function and the biological basis of brain disorders, and they engage in an abundance of interdepartmental collaborations across MIT. There are so many diverse opportunities to engage in neuroscience research at MIT that the options can be somewhat overwhelming.

With this in mind, the Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience (MCN) program was developed for incoming PhD students in the departments of Biology and  Brain and Cognitive Sciences looking to explore research in this multidisciplinary field. The program provides an integrated track so that students have access to neuroscience-based laboratories across the entire MIT campus regardless of their affiliation. In addition, the MCN program provides a local community to support research and training in molecular and cellular neuroscience based on student input, initiatives such as seminars  and socials open for all interested student to attend and share in discussion, and elective courses to supplement the core departmental curriculums.

MCN students also have access to two major neuroscience research institutes, the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and the McGovern Institute for Brain Research . Innovative neuroscience research is being carried out across these areas, linking molecular and cellular fields with neuroengineering, systems neuroscience, neurodevelopment and neurochemistry. Powerful new tools and insights, many developed here at MIT, are creating a moment of extraordinary opportunity to unravel the mysteries of the brain. By employing a cross-disciplinary, multi-level approach to study the nervous system, research at MIT is breaking new ground in the search for how the brain forms and functions, and how neurological and psychiatric diseases affect these basic processes.

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PhDs in Neuroscience and Computational Neuroscience

For contact information, please visit the Graduate Program for Neuroscience website .

Program Description

The Graduate Program for Neuroscience (GPN) is a University-wide PhD degree-granting training program in neuroscience that unites the graduate training faculty and students present on our two campuses, the Charles River Campus (CRC) and the Medical Campus (MED). We are a diverse community of faculty, students, and staff who come from multiple departments, schools and colleges, and campuses of the University. Our individual disciplinary interests combine to form a comprehensive research and educational environment that rejects all forms of racism and thrives on our shared excitement for neuroscience.

Faculty administration of the program is delivered by the Program Director in association with the GPN Steering Committee, Graduate Education Committee, and the Computational Neuroscience Curriculum Committee. The research of GPN training faculty covers virtually all areas of neuroscience, from molecular and cellular to systems and computational.

In addition to the PhD in Neuroscience, there is a specialized PhD in Computational Neuroscience for students interested in a more rigorous curriculum in the area. Students pursuing the PhD in Computational Neuroscience get a strong primary training in neuroscience that is shared with their fellow students pursuing the PhD in Neuroscience through the “Core” Curriculum.

An essential feature of the GPN training mission for all students (PhD in Neuroscience and PhD in Computational Neuroscience) is a set of core courses that are aimed at developing a community of thinkers, who move through their training together, building relationships that cross interdepartmental and intercampus barriers, and foster cross-disciplinary collaborations. Most students complete their PhD in roughly 5.8 years.

As members of the unified program, the Neuroscience faculty serve as thesis research mentors and/or knowledge facilitators and work together to help students close any gaps between their knowledge base of individual disciplines as well as their understanding of computational and experimental models. Every effort is expended to provide an individually tailored mentorship and educational program for each student that builds upon their unique strengths and interests, while also recognizing areas that need enrichment through faculty guidance and curriculum choice.

There are four aspects of modern neuroscience that our program addresses:

• First , it is becoming increasingly clear that important breakthroughs in the field require ideas, approaches, and techniques originating from many disciplines. The GPN curriculum provides both a broad cross-disciplinary core education including molecular, cellular, and systems; cognitive and behavioral; computational; and clinical neuroscience; and the flexibility to take neuroscience-related coursework in any of the departments and programs of the University to build depth of specialization along different perspectives in a particular area of neuroscience.
• Second, a critical aspect of GPN is the formation of a unified group of graduate students from across BU, including the Colleges of Arts & Sciences, Engineering, Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College, and BU’s medical school. For the first year of training in GPN, these students take the “core” curriculum courses together, have the opportunity to be involved in common projects, and participate as a community in all Boston University neuroscience activities.
• Third , critical to the interdisciplinary focus of the training, is the participation of traditional science departments, which provide a large number of the elective courses and specialized training opportunities to complement the GPN curriculum. Several departments at the Medical Campus (Anatomy & Neurobiology and Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics) also offer a joint degree in neuroscience that is coordinated with GPN to further enhance the interdisciplinary nature of the student community.
• Fourth , a strong emphasis is placed on building relationships among students and faculty across multiple disciplines to complement the traditional mentorship by the thesis advisor and to provide entry into the neuroscience research/student community of multiple BU schools with alternative scientific perspectives.

The Diverse Student Body

Because students who enter GPN come from diverse backgrounds—including psychology, engineering, biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics—upon their mutual acceptance into the program, they will be given the opportunity to fill any gaps in their training that might interfere with their ability to do their best in the upcoming core curriculum of their first and second years. This could mean enrolling in a particular summer course(s); taking a summer hands-on laboratory methods section (Tools of the Trade) organized by GPN faculty to introduce basic techniques in molecular or behavioral research; or even structured readings/discussions over the summer with a faculty member that are designed to stimulate a deeper understanding of a core discipline such as biology, biochemistry, or mathematics that might not have been fully emphasized in undergraduate coursework.

It is our belief that with a coherent educational program that embraces multiple complementary attitudes and approaches to scientific inquiry—breadth vs. depth, multidisciplinary vs. traditional discipline, basic vs. clinical science, and experimental approaches vs. theoretical (computational)—there is the greatest opportunity to create a young generation of researchers with sufficient expertise and flexibility to be able to come together and address some of the “big problems” in neuroscience.

Learning Outcomes

By taking a common set of core courses, students will develop an advanced understanding in the diverse field of neuroscience from molecular to cellular and systems to human cognition. The Computational Neuroscience curriculum supplements core neuroscience training with advanced training in a wide array of computational methods for (i) studying the nervous system; (ii) developing neuroscience-related technologies; (iii) and the critical thinking to use this knowledge to conduct rigorous and reproducible scientific discoveries. Students will also develop an appreciation for the human condition by participating in clinical rotations held at Boston Medical Center where they have the opportunity to follow cases in neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry.

Experimental Proficiency

Students will develop scientific proficiencies that will permit them to undertake graduate-level research in their area of interest. Students are required to participate in laboratory rotations in their first year to aid in the development of important scientific skills in lab bench or computational research as well as identifying a laboratory for their future thesis research. During their second year, students enroll in electives that enhance their research interests. All GPN students must take the mandated courses in Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) that is offered across the University with BU faculty participation.

Analytical Skill Development

Students will develop quantitative skills that permit the analysis of data in their field of research. First-year students begin their analytical skill development with a seven-week intensive introductory course in Computational Neuroscience using Python that emphasizes data analysis and mathematical modeling for students regardless of where they are in their use of quantitative and programming skills. Subsequently, students further develop these skills by enrollment in a course in probability and statistics that is relevant to their research. Mentors work with students to help them to develop the quantitative and analytical skills particular to their research areas.

Communication

Students will be able to communicate their research and that of the work of others orally and in written formats. This proficiency is developed via their curriculum in Frontiers in Neuroscience and their written qualifying exam that is in the form of an NRSA fellowship application. After students pass their qualifying exam, they are required to present seminars to the larger graduate neuroscience community annually. Roughly one year prior to their defense, students present a longer progress report seminar to the full neuroscience community in a formal setting. Students regularly present posters and papers for campus events as well as at national conferences such as SfN.

As the Graduate Program for Neuroscience is a cross-University program, significant emphasis is placed on building relationships that cross inter-departmental and inter-campus barriers and foster cross-disciplinary collaborations. Students are expected to show good citizenship by volunteering in ways that support the local community through outreach activities such as bringing science activities to the local public schools, mentoring activities of fellow students, and cultural enrichment for our own community through events like the Neural Arts Forum. We also encourage participation in our student groups (NGSO and CNSO) that help to sustain the student community via social and educational interactions.

Curriculum Overview

Most students take 28 units of required study that includes laboratory rotations and clinical rounds, as described below, and fulfill the 64-unit post-bachelor’s, or the 32-unit post-master’s, requirement for the PhD by participating in the student seminar series, attending GPN-sponsored activities such as the distinguished lecture series and the neuroscience retreat, and from directed study with their thesis research mentor and GPN faculty facilitators.

In the first year, students take 18 units   of core coursework (courses taken together as an entering class) that cover the diverse field of neuroscience, from molecular to cellular and systems to human cognition (12 units), an introductory course in computational modeling that is tuned to the specific background of individual students (2 units), and Frontiers in Neuroscience (4 units) where they share lunch every week with a member of the broad group of faculty that make up the neuroscience community here at BU; develop important oral presentation skills; and learn to critically evaluate the literature in their field of interest as well as in areas outside of their earlier academic and research training. Here they also develop important writing skills through faculty and peer mentoring and acquire the basic skills to write a compelling Specific Aims section of an individual training grant application.

During the first year, students also receive required units (2–4 units) for participating in laboratory rotations that help them develop important skills in lab bench research as well as identify a laboratory for future thesis research.

Second Year

During their second year, students choose elective curriculum (12 units) that enhances their research interests (some of our elective curriculum is organized into discipline-specific training opportunities that enable our students to receive T32 support, see below), develop an appreciation for the human condition by participating in a unique opportunity to observe clinical cases in neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry (1–2 units), and take an elective in probability and statistics that is relevant to their research. Together throughout their time in GPN they also take the mandated workshop requirement in Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) that is offered across the University with BU faculty participation and have access to multiple GMS and faculty-organized workshops in grant writing and professional development. GMS is especially proud of its accomplishments in being able to deliver an exceptional professional development curriculum, having received the BEST award from NIH in 2018.

Computational Neuroscience

For those students wanting to specialize in computational neuroscience , there is additional required study that leads to the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Computational Neuroscience. Computational neuroscience students take their first-year “core” classes with all GPN students and a minimum of two (rather than three) laboratory rotations, with at least one that gives them the experience of experimental research. Additional rotations can be arranged if a student wants to do more and this is encouraged by GPN leadership.

Additional Curriculum

All students have the option of taking additional academic coursework rather than using directed study units with the thesis mentor to make up the 64-unit requirement for the degree, especially as needed based upon their research interests or to supplement a lack of certain background during undergraduate study.

The goal for the majority of students will be to complete core requirements and to choose the laboratory for their thesis research by the end of the first year. Course requirements for elective study will most likely be completed by the end of the second year. All efforts will be made to tailor the training program to the individual goals of the student, taking into account their previous training experiences either at the undergraduate or master’s level. GPN committees will continually evaluate, expand, and redesign core coursework and choices of advanced electives in order to offer students the best curriculum available across the University.

Core Courses

An essential feature of the program is a set of “core” courses: these are taken by all students in GPN (Neuroscience & Computational Neuroscience) during their first year and are aimed at developing a community of thinkers who move through the training program together, building relationships that cross departmental and campus barriers, and foster cross-disciplinary collaborations.

Students complete 12 units of “core” neuroscience coursework that provides a strong foundation in this diverse field of graduate study. The fall term course Systems Neuroscience I (4 units) is a team-taught lecture/discussion course that meets on alternate days on the Charles River Campus and the Medical Campus. The curriculum engages students to develop basic skills in critical thinking as well as basic principles of brain function, neuroanatomy, and the cellular and molecular neurobiology that will be essential for them as they move into the spring term integrated curriculum (8 units) that critically evaluates the use of novel technologies, model vertebrate/invertebrate systems, computational models, and studies with human subjects, with the goal of providing the most up-to-date thinking that can elaborate on the function and dysfunction of the human brain.

• CAS NE 741 Neural Systems I: Functional Circuit Analysis (4 units)
• CAS NE 742 Neural Systems II: Cognition and Behavior (4 units)
• GMS NE 700 Principles of Neuroscience I: From Molecules to Systems (4 units)

Additional “core” neuroscience requirements include: a seven-week intensive introductory course in data analysis and mathematical models for students regardless of where they are in their use of quantitative and modeling skills. This introductory course combines lectures and hands-on computer time to treat real laboratory data like case studies and motivates students to use the mathematical approach as a means to better understand their own research via statistical data analysis and modeling.

• CAS MA 665 An Introduction to Mathematical Models and Data Analysis in Neuroscience (2 units)

Students pursuing the PhD in Computational Neuroscience (or who have taken an undergraduate course in the area) can substitute a more advanced elective for this requirement. Likewise, students who have taken the required course and would like more exposure to the area can continue on in the class to take the next module that is offered sequentially (4 units instead of 2 units).

Additional Required Curriculum

In addition to the core curriculum, students take the following seminar coursework during their first year and enroll in laboratory rotations:

• CAS NE 500/501 Frontiers in Neuroscience (4 units)

During the first term, students attend a unique weekly journal club and professional development class that is run by the GPN Director over lunch on Fridays (fall and spring of Year 1). In the fall term, students are assigned key papers from a BU faculty member’s laboratory and supporting manuscripts in the field. The particular faculty member, whose research is being reviewed, cohosts the class with the Director. During the two-hour session, student presenters review and critique experimental findings and approaches, building their skills in critical thinking and developing the basic tools for successful oral presentations. They also get to share their scientific ideas and interests with the leaders of neuroscience at Boston University, an activity that enriches our neuroscience community. Research from monthly GPN distinguished lecturers from across the world are integrated into the training experience to provide a balanced exposure for students to all areas of neuroscience and to give them firsthand interactions with exceptional individuals who are defining the field of the future.

In the spring term, students learn to write a compelling Specific Aims and Approach section for an individual training grant application and develop the peer group skills to help each other grow professionally in both oral and writing exercises. These new skills they will bring to their NRSA and/or NSF application for future research funding in Year 2 and for their written qualifying exam. The course stresses the evolution of critical thinking and the use of constructive criticism to improve the training of their fellow graduate students.

Laboratory Rotations

• GMS NE 800/801 Laboratory Rotations (2–4 units)

Providing an enriching set of laboratory research experiences directed by GPN faculty for students during their first year is a central feature of the neuroscience training program at Boston University. The multitude of highly talented mentors who have funded research projects provides students with a large number of potential laboratories from which to choose the thesis research mentor who will complement their current interests and, through laboratory rotations, expand their horizons into different areas of investigation that they may grow toward in the future. The majority of students pursuing the PhD in Neuroscience take a minimum of three rotations, with at least one rotation in an area outside of their initial research interests; students pursuing the PhD in Computational Neuroscience take a minimum of two rotations, with at least one in an experimental laboratory. Students can also request additional rotations should they not find a mentor, or if they would like more exposure to other methodologies used in neuroscience.

Clinical Rounds (2 units)

During their second year, all students participate in a unique opportunity to interact with human patients suffering from neuropsychiatric disorders. These experiences take place at the Boston Medical Center supervised by a clinician scientist who is a member of the GPN training faculty.

Hands-On Laboratory Boot Camp/Neuroscience Retreat

Before starting in the training program, the Graduate Education Committee (GEC) reviews the research experiences of each student to determine whether they have had basic training in molecular, behavioral, and/or cognitive research. Based upon their history of undergraduate or post-baccalaureate experiences, they will be advised to take a series of group method sessions called Tools of the Trade, run by faculty in the summer, that provides students with the essential hands-on experience necessary to make their laboratory rotations in the fall meaningful for their graduate-level training. In Tools of the Trade, students learn some of the basic techniques necessary for conducting laboratory research in the field of neuroscience, independent of their current research interests. Students who have already had experience in both molecular and cognitive research can petition to the GEC to waive the requirement and students who are unable to attend during the summer can take the sessions as part of their Laboratory Research Experience class during the fall term, before beginning laboratory rotations.

For instance, group activities may be organized around detection of an important neuronal RNA via real-time PCR, the identification of a single nucleotide polymorphism in a DNA sample from a patient with a neurodegenerative disease, identification of protein in brain slices using immunohistochemistry and fluorescence microscopy, electrophysiological measurements or calcium imaging of living neurons, interaction of transcription factors with DNA regulatory elements that control expression of neural-specific genes, neuroimaging of the brain to detect the activation of particular brain structures, and running of a behavioral task with animals to address questions of learning and memory. Projects vary with the expertise and interests of the participating GPN faculty.

The entering class in GPN is also invited to the annual GPN Neuroscience Retreat. Every effort is made to schedule the retreat right after the Tools of the Trade so that students are well integrated in our community before arriving in the fall for formal admittance.

Elective Study

The rest of the didactic units toward the PhD come from elective study (12-unit minimum) that is organized for simplicity into three distinct pathways of emphasis (Molecular & Cellular, Systems, and Computational) to help students choose a relevant curriculum for their interests and choose electives within any area of neuroscience. Those students enrolled in the computational neuroscience training specialization should reference the requirements specific to that curriculum as it applies to required and elective choices. Taking advantage of the translational research and history of clinical training at the MED campus, and rehabilitative Health Sciences at the CRC, students are required to take elective coursework (minimum of 2 units) and participate in clinical rounds (see above) that provide an exposure to patients and topics relevant to human disease (such as Autism, Alzheimer’s, Drug Abuse, Epilepsy, Parkinson’s, Schizophrenia, and Disorders of Vision, Hearing & Speech). They also take a required elective in probability and statistics that is appropriate to their area of thesis research upon the recommendation of their thesis mentor.

Program Requirements for Continued Student Registration

All students must maintain full-time enrollment each term. Additional program units come from Directed Study (CAS NE 901/902) during thesis research with the mentor, and attendance is required at neuroscience ethics and responsible conduct of research (RCR) workshops, at the majority of distinguished lectures, faculty seminars, and program events of the GPN (including student recruitment, the annual Neuroscience Retreat, GPN social gatherings such as the Fall Welcome Reception, the Laboratory Matching Ceremony, and the Holiday Party), and most importantly at GPN graduate student seminars. All students are required to give at least one short presentation annually at the Neuroscience Graduate Student Seminar Series and to fulfill the calendar deadlines of their graduate milestones. Please note that at least one published first author manuscript is required for moving toward the thesis defense.

As members of GPN, students will acquire their more advanced training from coursework offered in departments around the University in order to fulfill the unit requirements for the PhD degree. The following is a list of potential electives organized by topic area as a guide to help students choose their curriculum.

* Medical Campus

Relevant to Molecular, Cellular & Systems (see also Computational)

• CAS BI 520 Sensory Neurobiology (4)
• CAS BI 545 Neurobiology of Motivated Behavior (4)
• CAS BI 575 Techniques in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience (4)
• CAS BI 599 Neurobiology of Synapses (4)
• CAS BI 644 Neuroethology (4)
• CAS BI 645 Cellular and Molecular Neurophysiology (4)
• CAS BI 655 Developmental Neurobiology (4)
• CAS BI 681 Molecular Biology of the Neuron (4)
• CAS PS 530 Neural Models of Memory Function (4)
• GMS AN 702 *Neurobiology of Learning and Memory (2)
• GMS AN 709 *Neural Development and Plasticity (2)
• GMS AN 804 *Methods in Neuroscience (4)
• GMS AN 807 *Neurobiology of the Visual System (2)
• GMS BN 798 *Functional Neuroanatomy in Neuropsychology (4)
• GMS PM 860 *Electrophysiology and Pharmacology of the Synapse (2)
• GMS PM 892 *Molecular and Neural Bases of Learning Behaviors (2)
• SAR HS 550 Neural Systems (4)
• SAR HS 755 Readings in Neuroscience (4)

Relevant to Biomedical & Translational

• CAS BI 554 Neuroendocrinology (4)
• GMS AN 707 *Neurobiology of Aging (2)
• GMS AN 713 *Autism: Clinical and Neuroscience Perspectives (2)
• GMS AN 808 *Neuroanatomical Basis of Neurological Disorders (2)
• GMS BN 782 *Forensic Neuropsychology (4)
• GMS BN 793 *Adult Communication Disorders (4)
• GMS BN 796 *Neuropsychological Assessment I (4)
• GMS BN 797 *Neuropsychological Assessment II (4)
• GMS BN 821 *Neuroimaging Seminar (2)
• GMS BN 891 & 892 *Case Studies in Neuropsychology (three different clinical rounds, sections A1, B1, and C1) (2 units each section)
• GMS BN 893 *Child Clinical Neuropsychology (4)
• GMS IM 690 *Imaging of Neurologic Disease (2)
• GMS PM 820 *Neuropsychopharmacology (2)
• GMS PM 840 *Neuroendocrine Pharmacology (2)
• GMS PM 850 *Biochemical Neuropharmacology (2)

Behavioral & Cognitive Neuroscience

• CAS PS 520 Research Methods in Perception and Cognition (4)
• CAS PS 525 Cognitive Science (4)
• CAS PS 528 Human Brain Mapping (4)
• CAS PS 544 Developmental Neuropsychology (4)
• CAS PS 721 General Experimental (4)
• CAS PS 734 Psychopharmacology (4)
• CAS PS 737 Memory Systems of the Brain (4)
• CAS PS 738 Techniques in Systems & Behavioral Neuroscience (4)
• CAS PS 821 Learning (4)
• CAS PS 822 Visual Perception (4)
• CAS PS 824 Cognitive Psychology (4)
• CAS PS 828 Seminar in Psycholinguistics (4)
• CAS PS 829 Principles in Neuropsychology (4)
• CAS PS 831 Seminar in Neuropsychology (4)
• CAS PS 833 Advanced Physiological Psychology (4)
• CAS PS 835 Attention (4)
• ENG BE 715 Functional Neuroimaging (4)
• GMS AN 716 *Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience (4)
• GMS BN 795 *Neuropsychology of Perception and Memory (4)

Theoretical & Computational Neuroscience

• CAS CN 500 Computational Methods in Cognitive and Neural Systems (4)
• CAS CN 510 Principles and Methods of Cognitive and Neural Modeling I (4)
• CAS CN 520 Principles and Methods of Cognitive and Neural Modeling II (4)
• CAS CN 530 Neural and Computational Models of Vision (4)
• CAS CN 540 Neural and Computational Models of Adaptive Movement and Planning Control (4)
• CAS CN 550 Neural and Computational Models of Recognition, Memory, and Attention (4)
• CAS CN 560 (colisted as BE 509) Neural and Computational Models of Speech and Hearing (4)
• CAS CN 570 Neural and Computational Models of Conditioning, Reinforcement, Motivation, and Rhythm (4)
• CAS CN 580 Introduction to Computational Neuroscience (4)
• CAS CN 700 Computational and Mathematical Methods in Neural Modeling (4)
• CAS CN 710 Advanced Topics in Neural Modeling: Comparative Analysis of Learning Systems (4)
• CAS CN 720 Neural and Computational Models of Planning and Temporal Structure in Behavior (4)
• CAS CN 730 Models of Visual Perception (4)
• CAS CN 740 Topics in Sensory Motor Control (4)
• CAS CN 760 Topics in Speech Perception and Recognition (4)
• CAS CN 780 Topics in Computational Neuroscience (4)
• CAS CS 640 Artificial Intelligence (4)
• ENG BE 509 (colisted as CN 560) Quantitative Physiology of the Auditory System (4)
• ENG BE 570 Introduction to Computational Vision (4)
• ENG BE 701 Auditory Signal Processing: Peripheral (4)
• ENG BE 702 Auditory Signal Processing: Central (4)
• ENG BE 707 Quantitative Studies of Excitable Membranes (4)
• ENG BE 710 Neural Plasticity and Perceptual Learning (4)

Coursework in related disciplines:

• CAS BI 551 Biology of Stem Cells (4)
• CAS BI 552/553 Molecular Biology (4,4)
• CAS BI 555 Techniques in Cell Biology (4)
• CAS BI 556 Membrane Biochemistry and Cell Signaling (4)
• CAS BI 621/622 Biochemistry (4,4)
• CAS BI 721 Biochemistry (4)
• CAS BI 735 Advanced Cell Biology (4)
• CAS MA 565 Math Models in the Life Sciences (4)
• CAS MA 573 Qualitative Theory of Ordinary Differential Equations (4)
• CAS MA 581 Probability (4)
• CAS MA 582 Mathematical Statistics (4)
• CAS MA 583 Introduction to Stochastic Processes (4)
• CAS MA 584 Multivariate Statistical Analysis (4)
• CAS MA 585 Time Series and Forecasting (4)
• CAS MA 684 Applied Multiple Regression and Multivariable Method (4)
• CAS MB 722 Advanced Biochemistry (4)
• ENG BE 515 Introduction to Medical Imaging (4)
• ENG BE 540 Bioelectrical Signals: Analysis and Interpretation (4)
• ENG BE 550 Bioelectromechanics (4)
• ENG BE 560 Biomolecular Architecture (4)
• ENG BE 561 DNA and Protein Sequence Analysis (4)
• ENG BE 700 Advanced Topics in Biomedical Engineering (4)
• ENG BE 740 Parameter Estimation and Systems Identification (4)
• ENG BE 747 Advanced Signals and Systems Analysis for Biomedical Engineering (4)
• GMS BI 776 *Gene Targeting in Transgenic Mice (2)
• GMS BI 782 *Molecular Biology (4)
• GMS BI 786 *Biochemical Mechanisms of Aging (2)
• GMS BI 789 *Physical Biochemistry (2)
• GMS BI 797 *Molecular Mechanisms of Growth and Development (2)
• GMS BL 755/756 *Biochemistry (4,4)
• GMS MI 713 *Comprehensive Immunology (4)
• GMS MM 701 *Genetics and Epidemiology of Human Disease (2)
• GMS MM 703 *Cancer Biology and Genetics (2)
• GMS MM 710 *Molecules to Molecular Therapeutics: The Translation of Molecular Observations to Clinical Implementation (4)
• GMS PM 800 *Systems Pharmacology (4)
• GMS PM 832 *Pharmacogenomics (2)
• GMS PM 843 *Pharmacologic Intervention in Inflammatory Responses (2)
• GMS PM 880 *Gene Regulation and Pharmacology (2)
• GMS PM 881 *Drug Discovery and Development (2)
• MET AD 893 Technology Commercialization: From Lab to Market (4)

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Ph.D. in Psychology and Neuroscience

General info.

• Faculty working with students: 40
• Students: 80
• Students receiving Financial Aid: 100%
• Part time study available: No
• Application terms: Fall
• Application deadline: December 2

Nancy Zucker Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Duke University Box 90086 Durham, NC 27708-0086

Email:  [email protected]

Website:  http://psychandneuro.duke.edu

Program Description

Graduate training leading to a Ph.D. in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience is offered through a unique program that merges social sciences and natural sciences in the study of brain, behavior, and cognition in humans and animals. Program tracts are offered in Clinical Psychology, Cognition & the Brain, Developmental (DEV), Social Psychology, and Systems and Integrative Neuroscience (SINS).

• Psychology and Neuroscience: PhD Admissions and Enrollment Statistics
• Psychology and Neuroscience : PhD Completion Rate Statistics
• Psychology and Neuroscience : PhD Time to Degree Statistics
• Psychology and Neuroscience: PhD Career Outcomes Statistics

Application Information

Application Terms Available:  Fall

Application Deadline:  December 2

Graduate School Application Requirements See the Application Instructions page for important details about each Graduate School requirement.

• Transcripts: Unofficial transcripts required with application submission; official transcripts required upon admission
• Letters of Recommendation: 3 Required
• Statement of Purpose: Required
• Résumé: Required
• GRE General (Optional)
• For clinical applicants ONLY:  If you were not a psychology undergraduate major, it is recommended that you take the GRE subject test. For psychology majors, it is not necessary to take the subject test.  No other area within Psychology and Neuroscience requires the subject test.
• English Language Exam: TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo English Test required* for applicants whose first language is not English *test waiver may apply for some applicants
• GPA: Undergraduate GPA calculated on 4.0 scale required

Department-Specific Application Requirements (submitted through online application)

Writing Sample None required

Additional Components Applicants to the joint Ph.D. program in Public Policy and Allied Disciplines must submit an additional essay for admission to the program. Regardless of your selection of primary department, please respond to the following prompt:

In 500 words or less, please explain your interest in the joint Ph.D. program offered between Public Policy and an Allied Discipline. Highlight how your research interests and past experiences lie at the intersection between Public Policy and the Allied Discipline and how participation in the joint program will facilitate your professional goals after receiving your degree.

We strongly encourage you to review additional department-specific application guidance from the program to which you are applying: Departmental Application Guidance

List of Graduate School Programs and Degrees

Neuroscience

Graduate Programs and PhD Programs in Neuroscience at Weill Cornell Graduate School study the nervous system from a wide variety of scientific disciplines. Students interact closely with faculty studying the nervous system from a wide variety of scientific disciplines, including molecular genetics, biochemistry, pharmacology, neuroanatomy, electrophysiology, and computational and systems neuroscience. They work at the molecular, cellular and organism systems, ranging from insects to rodents to human and non-human primates.

Focus areas in the program of study include: neural disease, synaptic transmission, developmental neurobiology and regeneration, vision, computational and systems neuroscience, and neuropharmacology.

Over 60 faculty members in the program come from Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC), Sloan-Kettering Institute (SKI, part of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center), Burke-Cornell Medical Research Institute and Houston Methodist.

The research interests of the program cover the entire range of neuroscience, including the regulation of neural development, neuronal plasticity, control of neurotransmitter synthesis and release, learning, the response of neurons and neural tissue to injury, the regulation of gene expression, endocrine function, circuit development, vision and other sensory systems, information processing and behavior.

The basic science of developmental neurobiology explores the elementary processes by which the brain forms (morphogenesis), structure is established (histogenesis), neuronal and glial subtypes are specified from progenitors, connections are established and operates. Discoveries about the way that neurons form and communicate make this field one of the most promising routes toward increasing our understanding of the brain and mind. Genetics research in neurology and psychiatry is an exciting, rapidly advancing field that looks at the etiology of disease, as well as works to identify genetic predictors of disease, likely responses to available treatment and avenues to new therapies. Studies of epigenetic effects are opening a new perspective on "nature versus nurture" issues in brain development at the molecular level.

Development and function of the nervous system as a unifying theme of the Neuroscience program is reflected in the work at The Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology. This institute is engaged in research on typical and atypical brain development. A primary objective is to use new techniques to study developing children in order to transform clinical methods. The Institute's program of research and training emphasizes functional neuroimaging, and genetic and behavioral influences on cognitive and emotional development. The Institute is both wide ranging and influential in its technical approaches to the study of children. It has become one of the best research centers in the world for the neurocognitive study of children.

Research is also ongoing in the fields of cerebrovascular physiology, cerebral ischemia, cellular and system neurophysiology, cellular and molecular neurobiology, neuroanatomy at the light and ultrastructural level, and imaging.

Translational research links many of the areas of basic science to clinical problems . Particular translational areas include studies in humans with brain injury, neural tube defect (spina bifida, anencephaly) and cortical malformations, neurodegenerative diseases, epilepsy, neuroimmunological and behavioral disorders.

Many members of the program have a special interest in questions that are particularly relevant to human disease, and their research has important implications for topics such as stem cell therapeutics, the regulation of pain, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, neural tumors, stroke, addiction, aging, brain malformations, epilepsy, autism and neuropsychiatric illnesses.

Related Links

• 2024-2025 NS handbook
• Rules and Responsibilities for NS students

Program Requirements

Applicants to the program are expected to have had thorough undergraduate training in biology, psychology, organic chemistry, physics and/or mathematics. Candidates must apply for admission online. Applicants are not required to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).  Applicants whose native language is not English are required to take the TOEFL examination.

Becoming a Doctoral Candidate

The course of study, which includes course work, seminars, laboratory rotations and thesis research, is individualized. Students are expected to work closely with members of the faculty whose research approach complements their own interests. Regularly scheduled seminars, where work in progress is presented and discussed, afford students the broadest possible view of the neurosciences and are an important component of their graduate training.

Laboratory rotations allow students to experience research first hand and to acquaint themselves with the program's research faculty. Students are expected to complete at least three rotations of three months each, but may complete additional rotations, before choosing a thesis advisor (major sponsor).

Prior to July 1st of year two, students must successfully complete the ACE (Admission to Candidacy Examination). The ACE is designed to test the student's general knowledge of neuroscience and also includes preparation of an original written research proposal. In consultation with the thesis advisor, and with the consent of the director of the program, the student chooses an ACE topic and committee. The ACE topic should not be a part of the thesis. The committee should consist of 3-4 examiners, including a designated chair from the neuroscience graduate faculty, the student's thesis advisor and two grad faculty with expertise in the topic. With submission of the ACE the student should submit a one page thesis proposal.

PhD Research and Degree

Thesis research is completed usually within four to six years from enrollment in the program, under the direction of the student's major faculty sponsor. The Special Committee advises the student in his or her research, meeting at least annually with the student to monitor progress and to oversee development of the thesis. During this time the student continues to participate in the other educational programs offered by the graduate program but works full time in the laboratory. Annual special committee meetings are mandatory.

Upon completion of the thesis, the student prepares the work for publication, presents it to the University in an open seminar, and defends the validity of the work before the Special Committee and the members of the program. The culmination of the student's successful progression through the program is the final examination (the "defense") and certification by the Special Committee that the thesis represents an official piece of research satisfying the requirements of the Graduate School for the PhD degree.

Student Stories

I’m a firm believer that in order to excel in something, you must be passionate about it. Combining my passion for science with the drive to help others motivated me to enroll in a Ph.D. program at Weill Cornell.

I chose Weill Cornell for my graduate studies because not only was the research high level and cutting edge, but the community was collaborative and engaging.

"Faculty members are approachable and supportive. I feel comfortable dropping by their lab to ask for advice, lab-related or not."

Research Topics

• Neural Networks
• Neuro-oncology
• Neurobiology
• Neurodegeneration
• Neurodevelopment
• Neurovascular Biology
• Anrather, Josef
• Blasberg, Ronald
• Burre, Jacqueline
• Calderon, Diany
• Cho, Sunghee
• Colak, Dilek
• DeMarco, Natalia
• Dittman, Jeremy
• Eliezer, David
• Fakhro, Khalid
• Gardner, Daniel
• Gibson, Gary
• Glass, Michael
• Goldstein, Peter
• Grafstein, Bernice
• Grosenick, Logan
• Hochrainer, Karin
• Hollis, Edmund
• Holodny, Andrei
• Huang, Xin Yun
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• Vierbuchen, Thomas
• Wagner, John
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• Willis, Dianna
• Yoshida, Yukuta
• Yun, Kyuson
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Courses and Required Curricular Components

• Addiction and Society
• Biology of Neural Diseases
• Development and Learning Seminar
• From Neuron to the Brain: An Introduction to Neuroscience
• Logic and Experimental Design
• Mathematical Structures in Neuroscience
• Neuroscience 444–Drug Development: A Disease Business Approach
• Neuroscience Faculty and Their Research
• Progress in Neuroscience Seminar Series
• Research Proposals and Scientific Journalism: Inspiration, Writing and Evaluation
• Responsible Conduct of Research

Program Chair

Program director, program coordinator.

• Dua, Maullika

Student Handbook

To view the Neuroscience Student Handbook, click here .

Weill Cornell Medicine Graduate School of Medical Sciences 1300 York Ave. Box 65 New York, NY 10065 Phone: (212) 746-6565 Fax: (212) 746-8906

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MPhil in Basic and Translational Neuroscience

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Course closed:

Basic and Translational Neuroscience is no longer accepting new applications.

The MPhil in Basic and Translational Neuroscience is a stand-alone postgraduate course in neuroscience offering both taught and research components.  This one-year neuroscience programme is aimed particularly at those who want to prepare for later studies at PhD level, clinicians and others who want graduate-level research training but for whom a full PhD might not be required or appropriate, and graduates who plan a career in translational neuroscience, including careers in the pharmaceutical industry.

This course offers both taught and research components including a project rotation, research training modules, lectures, seminars and workshops, and the opportunity to undertake a wide variety of generic skills training. Students may participate in a symposium where they will have the opportunity to present their research.

Students selected onto the course will follow the structured MPhil in Basic and Translational Neuroscience research training. The aims of this one-year, full-time research training course are as follows:

• to give the student experience of research work;
• to expose them to a variety of laboratory environments and the balance of self-sufficiency and teamwork needed in a researcher;
• to introduce them to the basic skills of experimental design, project management, time management etc. needed in research;
• to familiarise the student with the practicalities of laboratory research, imparting an understanding of the nature of bench research, of record keeping and data handling, and of good laboratory practice;
• to introduce them to basic analytical techniques needed to understand and contextualise their research;
• to familiarise them with basic scientific writing and presentation skills.

The additional objectives that are specific to this programme will be:

• to attract students from a wide range of backgrounds into neuroscience by providing a taught module with a basic overview of neuroscience;
• to provide students with thorough training in neuroscience methods, data analysis and statistics techniques;
• to give students the necessary basic yet broad understanding of neuroscience to prepare them for future PhD studies; and
• to provide students with adequate experience in neuroscience research to enable them to make an informed choice of PhD project if they so wish.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the master's course, students drawn from a diverse range of subject backgrounds are all expected to have:

• developed a broad understanding of modern research techniques, and thorough knowledge of the literature applicable to research in topics related to neuroscience;
• been exposed to a number of theoretical approaches to brain science and trained in critical thinking in the area;
• acquired specific expertise in neuroscience research methods and statistics;
• demonstrated originality in the application of knowledge, together with a practical understanding of how research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in the field;
• acquired knowledge of a broad range of interdisciplinary research areas and supervisors to inform their choice of PhD projects if applicable; and
• undertaken training in generic and transferable research skills including the critical evaluation of current research and research techniques and methodologies.

Students wishing to progress to the PhD after completing this MPhil course must apply via the University's online portal. They will be required to pass the MPhil degree at a sufficient level to satisfy the Postgraduate Education Committee of the Faculty or Department they are applying to in order to show that they have the skills and ability to achieve the higher degree.

The Postgraduate Virtual Open Day usually takes place at the end of October. It’s a great opportunity to ask questions to admissions staff and academics, explore the Colleges virtually, and to find out more about courses, the application process and funding opportunities. Visit the  Postgraduate Open Day  page for more details.

See further the  Postgraduate Admissions Events  pages for other events relating to Postgraduate study, including study fairs, visits and international events.

Key Information

12 months full-time, study mode : taught, master of philosophy, department of physiology, development and neuroscience, course - related enquiries, application - related enquiries, course on department website, dates and deadlines:, michaelmas 2024 (closed).

Some courses can close early. See the Deadlines page for guidance on when to apply.

Funding Deadlines

These deadlines apply to applications for courses starting in Michaelmas 2024, Lent 2025 and Easter 2025.

Similar Courses

• Clinical Biochemistry PhD
• Planetary Science and Life in the Universe MPhil
• Medical Science (Clinical Biochemistry) MPhil
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• Medical Science (Medical Genetics) MPhil

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Doctor of Philosophy - Neuroscience

Apply Now Request Information

The UNLV Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience program takes an interdisciplinary approach towards transforming students into neuroscientists that can enter their independent line of research. Our students expand their experience and knowledge of the field by participating in the following:

• Completing comprehensive courses centered around topics such as cellular and molecular neuroscience, systems and cognitive neuroscience, and ethics in scientific research.
• Receiving mentorship from a model faculty member who serves as an academic and professional guide and research supervisor.
• Getting involved in their mentor’s research group and other research groups that may align with their interests.
• Making progress in the field by conducting, publishing, and presenting their research.

Students can either enroll in a post-masters or post-bachelor’s track depending on their educational experience.

“The neuroscience doctoral program at UNLV was transformative. The supportive faculty and useful resources allowed me to delve deep into neuroinflammatory research, shaping my career and passion for teaching. The inclusive and encouraging environment fostered my growth as a scientist and mentor, preparing me to inspire future generations. ” Kendra McGlothen, Class of 2024

Receive Instruction and Support from Our Renowned Faculty

Our program’s faculty members come from a range of UNLV departments and schools, and they are part of a growing network of neuroscience researchers in the Las Vegas area. This allows our program to provide hands-on research opportunities to investigate the neural basis of behavior. Exciting research has been conducted in the following areas:

• Analysis of molecular and cellular biology
• Psychopharmacology
• Electrophysiology
• Behavioral and cognitive neuroscience
• Neuropsychology

Prospective students are welcome to speak to our faculty members to learn more about the education and research opportunities at UNLV.

UNLV Graduate College

702-774-8658 [email protected]

Undergraduate Research in Neuroscience

Getting involved in research .

Doing research in a faculty laboratory is a way to experience the real process of science and the search for new knowledge.  Most Neuroscience labs have undergraduates as part of their research team.  Those students get to apply their classroom knowledge and problem-solving skills to help make discoveries.  Students usually work as part of teams supervised by PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, under the guidance of the faculty member.  Student research may involve hands-on experiments, working with human subjects, analyzing data, developing research tools, or working with computational models.  

How to find a research lab position

There are several ways to find a research position.  To start, talk to classmates, staff undergraduate advisers, and your graduate student instructors (GSIs).  Read about the research focus of faculty members on the Neuroscience Department faculty page , which gives links to individual lab research websites.   Think about what scientific questions or approaches you are interested in.  Then, either apply to a structured research program, or contact individual faculty to express your interest in their research and see if a position is available.

Structured research programs

University Research Apprenticeship Program (URAP)

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF)

Biology Scholars Program

Amgen Scholars Program

and more at the research.berkeley.edu website

Apply directly to a neuroscience faculty lab

This is the most common way that students find a research position in a neuroscience lab.  Here are tips on how to proceed:  Check out the Neuroscience Department faculty page , or the broader Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute faculty page , to determine which labs you are interested in.  Before contacting the professor, read the research description on their laboratory website, and review some of their recent publications.  (You are not expected to understand the articles completely, but if you understand the general questions and approach, you will be more convincing when you contact them.).  Then email the professor to express interest in their work and in joining their research team, and request an appointment.  It's a good idea to include your resume and unofficial transcript in the email.  

During your appointment, discuss what you find interesting about their work, tell them about your goals, and ask if they would be willing to accept you into their lab.  Remember, it can be competitive to get into a lab, so you should approach this with focus and professionalism like you would for a job search.

Non-Neuro and Off-Campus Research Opportunities

Neuroscience majors who want research experience don't have to limit themselves to NEU Department labs.  There are many positions available on campus in other departments, and off-campus.  You can apply either through the structured research programs, or by contacting individual faculty.  Other relevant departments at Berkeley include:

Anthropology

Bioengineering

School of Public Health

Off-campus, you can find many opportunities at UCSF , which includes laboratories at the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland.

Expectations for a lab research position

The specific expectations, including the number of hours per week and duration of commitment, vary from lab to lab.  It is common to spend 10-12 hours per week on your research project.  Many labs will ask for a 1-year commitment.  Student research can be for credit, or can be paid, or can be on a volunteer basis (see below).  This depends on the lab and their resources, and the type of project.  You will have a project supervisor within the lab who will train you on all the needed methods, and will supervise your work. You may also be required to complete training courses or certifications that are needed for your research.

Research credit and honors research

Students can obtain course credit for their independent lab research by enrolling in NEU 99/199 and NEU 191 courses

Outstanding seniors can also undertake the Neuroscience Honors program , in which students perform laboratory research in fall and spring of their final year, culminating in a research presentation and a formal honors thesis.  Honors students enroll in NEU 196A/196B for their honors research.  Students who are interested in pursuing honors are strongly encouraged to look for a research position in a lab during the first semester of their junior year.  Students typically perform a year of research in a lab before undertaking their honors research in that lab.

Gunther Stent Neuroscience Research Scholars Program

The Stent Neuroscience Research Scholars Program recognizes students who have a passion and strong talent for research, and provides financial support for them to conduct targeted research or scholarship in the laboratory of an established Neuroscience Department faculty member for one year.  The goal is to allow students who have shown strong initial success in research to be able to immerse themselves in a research experience with a leading faculty member.  

This research scholars program is named for Professor Gunther S. Stent, who was an early molecular biologist and visionary neuroscientist at UC Berkeley. 

The program provides financial support in the form of a research stipend ($7500 for the 2024-2025 academic year) to support an undergraduate research during their junior or senior year.  Students must have already identified a faculty mentor and demonstrated successful initial research in that faculty laboratory.  The award will recognize both the student and the faculty mentor.

Faculty mentors must apply on behalf of the faculty-student pair.  Students also fill out an information form.  Please see the Stent Neuroscience Research Scholars page  for more information.  The application deadline for AY2024-25 is Aug 23, 2024.  We anticipate funding two scholars for this year.  Interested students should contact their faculty mentor to apply.

Research Experience Pathways (REP) Program

The REP-Neuroscience Program (REP Neuro) is an inclusive undergraduate research program focused on connecting work-study eligible Berkeley undergrads with Berkeley neuroscience laboratories for research experience, career mentorship, and scientific training. 

REP is a year-long program.  Students apply to REP, and each accepted student is matched to a specific project in a faculty lab, and works with their graduate student mentor to learn the ins-and-outs of that research project. In the spring, each REP student participates in the REP spring colloquium to present a poster of their scientific work. During the year, students also join weekly seminars with their REP community -- learning alongside their peers about the field of neuroscience, the path to graduate school, and career opportunities that await them as neuroscientists. REP Neuro provides financial support for student research via payment to students based on work study. REP students must have minimal or no prior research experience, and must be work-study eligible. 

Applications are accepted each summer for the fall cohort.  The deadline for Fall 2024 was June 30, 2024.

For more details, see the  REP Neuro website  or email  [email protected]

William Walker , PhD

Contact information, affiliations.

• Department of Neuroscience
• Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute

Graduate Training

• PhD in Neuroscience, The Ohio State University

Fellowships

• Postdoctoral Scholar, West Virginia University

Research Interests

Dr. Walker's lab examines the mechanisms by which tumors alter the brain and how the CNS can alter tumor development. My lab is particularly interested in applying well defined neuroscience concepts (e.g., circadian rhythms and chronotherapeutics) to cancer biology to improve cancer treatment and quality of life in cancer survivors. Current projects within the lab include: (1) examining the effects of chrono-chemotherapy treatment for brain metastases of breast cancer, (2) investigating whether chronotherapeutic treatment of cancers can improve cancer survivors’ quality of life, and (3) examining the effects of timed CAR T-cell administration on anti-tumor efficacy in solid tumors.

Grants and Research

Ongoing Support

• R00 NCI, Pathway to Independence, R00CA273424, PI: Walker 2024–2027      Circadian Rhythms in Blood Brain Barrier Permeability and Increased Efficacy of Chemotherapy for Brain Metastases

Publications

Google Scholar

• Liu JA, Walker II WH, Meléndez-Fernández OH, Bumgarner JR, Zhang N, Walton JC, Meares GP, DeVries AC, and Nelson RJ (2024). Dim light at night shifts microglia to a pro-inflammatory state after cerebral ischemia, altering stroke outcome in mice . Experimental Neurology doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2024.114796 PMID: 38677449
• Liu JA, Bumgarner JR, Walker II WH, Meléndez-Fernández OH, Walton JC, DeVries AC, and Nelson RJ (2024). Chronic phase advances reduces recognition memory and increases vascular cognitive dementia-like impairments in aged mice . Scientific Reports doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-57511-2 PMID: 38565934
• Walker II WH, Liu JA, Meléndez-Fernández OH, May LE, Kisamore, CO, Brundage KM, Nelson RJ and DeVries AC (2024). Social enrichment alters the response of brain leukocytes to chemotherapy and tumor development in aged mice . Heliyon doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23366 PMID: 38148808
• Walton JC*, Walker II WH*, Nelson RJ, and DeVries AC (2024). Time of day bias for biological sampling in studies of mammary cancer. Scientific Reports doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-50785-y PMID: 38191908 *Authors contributed equally to the work
• Kisamore CO, Elliott BD, DeVries AC, Nelson RJ, Walker II WH (2023) Chronotherapeutics for Solid Tumors. Pharmaceutics doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15082023 PMID: 37631237
• Bumgarner JR, Walker II WH, Quintana, DD, White RC, Richmond AA, Meléndez-Fernández OH, Liu JL, Becker-Krail DD, Walton JC, Simpkins JW, DeVries AC, Nelson RJ (2023) Acute exposure to artificial light at night alters hippocampal vascular structure in mice . iScience doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106996 PMID: 37534143
• Liu J, Walton JC, Bumgarner JR, Walker II WH, Meléndez-Fernández OH, DeVries AC, Nelson RJ (2022) Chronic exposure to dim light at night disrupts cell-mediated immune response and decreases longevity in aged female mice . Chronobiology International doi:10.1080/07420528.2022.2135442 PMID: 36268694
• Nelson RJ, Bumgarner JR, Liu J, Love J, Meléndez-Fernández OH, Becker-Krail D, Walker II WH, Walton JC, DeVries AC, Prendergast BJ (2022) Time of Day as a Critical Variable in Biology . BMC Biology doi: 10.1186/s12915-022-01333-z PMID: 35705939
• Becker-Krail D, Walker II WH, & Nelson RJ (2022). The Ventral Tegmental Area and Nucleus Accumbens as Circadian Oscillators: Implications for Drug Abuse and Substance Use Disorders . Frontiers in Physiology doi: 10.3389/fphys.2022.886704 PMID: 35574492
• Walker II WH, Sprowls SA, Bumgarner JR, Liu JA, Meléndez-Fernández OH, Walton JC, Lockman PR, DeVries AC, & Nelson RJ (2021). Circadian Influences on Chemotherapy Efficacy in a Mouse Model of Brain Metastases of Breast Cancer . Frontiers in Oncology doi: 10.3389/fonc.2021.752331 PMID: 34956876.
• Walker II WH, Kaper AL, Meléndez-Fernández OH, Bumgarner JR, Liu JA, Walton JC, DeVries AC, & Nelson RJ (2021). Time-Restricted Feeding Alters the Efficiency of Mammary Tumor Growth . Chronobiology International doi: 10.1080/07420528.2021.2011306 PMID: 34894935.
• Walker II WH, Bumgarner JR, Becker-Krail DD, May LE, Liu JA, & Nelson RJ (2021). Light at Night Disrupts Biological Clocks, Calendars, and Immune Function . Seminars in Immunopathology doi: 10.1007/s00281-021-00899-0 PMID: 34731290
• Walker II WH, Kvadas RM, May LE, Liu JA, Bumgarner JR, Walton JC, DeVries AC, Dauchy RT, Blask DE, & Nelson RJ (2021). Artificial Light at Night Reduces Anxiety-Like Behavior in Female Mice with Exacerbated Mammary Tumor Growth . Cancers doi: 10.3390/cancers13194860 PMID: 34638343
• Bumgarner JR, Walker II WH, & Nelson RJ (2021). Circadian Rhythms and Pain . Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.08.004 PMID:34375675
• *Nelson RJ, Bumgarner JR, Walker II WH, & DeVries AC (2021). Time-of-Day as a Critical Biological Variable. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.05.017 PMID: 34052279 (Featured in Scientific American) *Recommended in Faculty of 1000 Physiology
• *Walton JC, Walker II WH, Bumgarner JR, Meléndez-Fernández OH, Liu JA,Hughes HL, Kaper AL, & Nelson RJ (2021). Circadian Variation in Efficacy of Medications . Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics. doi: 10.1002/cpt.2073 PMID: 33025623 *Recommended in Faculty of 1000 Pharmacology & Drug Discovery

BOOK CHAPTERS

• Walker II WH & Nelson RJ (2023). Disruptions of circadian rhythms and sleep/wake cycles in neurologic disorders. In Sleep and Clocks in Aging and Longevity. Springer Nature doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-22468-3_22
• Walker II WH, Becker-Krail D, Meléndez-Fernández OH, & Nelson RJ (2023). Biological Clocks and Immune Function. In Neuroendocrine-Immune System Interactions. Springer Nature doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-21358-8_11
• Walker II WH, Walton JC, & Nelson RJ (2021). Disrupted Circadian Rhythms and Mental Health. In Handbook of Clinical Neurology (Vol. 179, pp. 259-270). Elsevier doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-819975- 6.00016-9 PMID: 34225967
• Walker II WH & DeVries AC. (2021). Regulating Systems in Neuroimmunology. Oxford. Research Encyclopedia of Neuroscience. doi: 10.1093/acrefore/9780190264086.013.6

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Here’s a look at questions about Tim Walz’s military record

Walz’s military record under scrutiny as Vance, GOP question his service

FILE - Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the running mate of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, is pictured at a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

• Copy Link copied

CINCINNATI (AP) — Republicans are questioning Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s military record after Vice President Kamala Harris named him as her running mate this week.

Here’s a look at the issue:

He retired before his unit’s deployment to Iraq

Walz served a total of 24 years in various units and jobs in the Army National Guard. But it’s his retirement in 2005 that’s prompting criticism from some Republicans who are suggesting he abandoned his team to pursue a campaign for Congress.

As he ramped up for a congressional bid in 2005, Walz’s campaign in March issued a statement saying he still planned to run despite a possible mobilization of Minnesota National Guard soldiers to Iraq. According to the Guard, Walz retired from service in May of that year.

In August 2005, the Department of the Army issued a mobilization order for Walz’s unit. The unit mobilized in October of that year before it deployed to Iraq in March 2006 .

There is no evidence that Walz timed his departure with the intent of avoiding deployment. But the fact remains that he left ahead of his unit’s departure. In a statement, the Harris campaign pushed back on GOP characterizations of Walz’s service, and also noted that he advocated for veterans once he was elected to the U.S. House.

“After 24 years of military service, Governor Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, where he chaired Veterans Affairs and was a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform — and as Vice President of the United States he will continue to be a relentless champion for our veterans and military families,” the campaign said.

Before leaving Detroit, where she and Walz played up their support for organized labor , Harris on Thursday responded to a question about the criticism of her running mate’s record.

“Listen, I praise anyone who has presented themselves to serve our country,” she said. “And I think that we all should.”

Walz didn’t serve in a combat zone

Earlier this week Harris’ campaign circulated on X a 2018 clip of Walz speaking out against gun violence, and saying, “We can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at.” That comment suggests that Walz portrayed himself as someone who spent time in a combat zone.

According to the Nebraska Army National Guard, Walz enlisted in April 1981 — just two days after his 17th birthday — and entered service as an infantryman, completing a 12-week Army infantry basic training course before graduating from high school.

While attending the University of Houston in 1985, he was reclassified as a field artillery cannoneer as a member of the Texas Army National Guard, later serving as an instructor with the Arkansas Army National Guard.

In 1987, Walz returned to Nebraska’s Guard detachment, continuing field artillery assignments while he completed a college degree. By 1996, he transferred to the Minnesota Army National Guard. In 2003, he deployed to Italy in a support position of active military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. But he was not in a combat zone himself.

“Do not pretend to be something that you’re not,” Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance said Wednesday as he campaigned in Michigan. “I’d be ashamed if I was saying that I lied about my military service like you did.”

Vance enlisted in the Marine Corps after graduating high school, serving four years as a combat correspondent, a type of military journalist, and deploying to Iraq in that capacity in 2005.

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Neither Trump nor Harris has served in the U.S. military. Trump received a series of deferments during Vietnam, including one attained with a physician’s letter stating that he suffered from bone spurs in his feet.

The Harris campaign statement said Walz “would never insult or undermine any American’s service to this country” and “thanks Senator Vance for putting his life on the line for our country. It’s the American way.”

What about his rank?

Harris’ campaign has referred to Walz as a “retired Command Sergeant Major,” one of the top ranks for an enlisted soldier. He did in fact achieve that rank, but personnel files show he was reduced in rank months after retiring. That left him as a master sergeant for benefits purposes.

Minnesota National Guard officials have said that Walz retired before completing coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy, along with other requirements associated with his promotion.

Associated Press writers Darlene Superville, Trenton Daniel and Richard Lardner contributed to this report.

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

BME Graduate Student Jacky Tian Receives Trainee Professional Development Award from Society for Neuroscience

This award recognizes undergraduate and graduate students and post baccalaureate and postdoctoral scholars who demonstrate scientific merit and excellence in research.

Michele Santillan

Congratulations to U-M BME graduate student Yucheng (Jacky) Tian on receiving the Trainee Professional Development Award (TPDA) from the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) in conjunction with the organization’s annual conference . The SfN event is the largest organization of scientists and physicians in the world, with 30,000 attendees annually. This year, SfN will be held in Chicago from October 5 through 9. Tian will be presenting there in the Early Career Poster Session on October 5, dedicated to awardees, and at the Peripheral Nerve Trauma and Regeneration Poster Session on October 8.

The TPDA recognizes undergraduate and graduate students and post baccalaureate and postdoctoral scholars who demonstrate scientific merit and excellence in research.

Tian’s project title is “Development of Bionic Exoskeleton Control via the Muscle Cuff-Regenerative Peripheral Nerve Interface (MC-RPNI).” In this work, his team developed the MC-RPNI in a rat model, which is a novel surgical construct/procedure to provide improved motor signals for advanced exoskeleton control. The MC-RPNI serves as a bioamplifier for the peripheral nerve signals, which is essential for decoding motor intent and ultimately exoskeleton control for individuals with motor impairments such as foot drop.

Tian’s BME Ph.D. advisors are Dr. Stephen Kemp and Dr. Paul Cederna. Dr. Cynthia Chestek (also Tian’s BME PhD co-advisor) and Dr. Brent Gillespie are his other advisors on this particular project. “It’s a huge incredible multidisciplinary team,” Tian added. “Dr. Stephen Kemp is a neuroscientist, Dr. Paul Cederna is a plastic surgeon, Dr. Cynthia Chestek is a biomedical/electrical engineer, and Dr. Brent Gillespie is a mechanical engineer.”

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Neuro Jobs after Masters vs. PhD. Is there really a job at the end of all of this ?

Title says it all really. I don’t know where to begin looking. I worry about this constantly. I’m currently doing my masters in neuroscience with the intention of (likely) switching into a PhD. I don’t want to have to “think about jobs when the time comes”. I want to know what are likely my options. Yes I know the classic academia vs. industry route but I don’t know very much about the types of jobs when it comes to industry. I don’t know where to or how to begin to look. I just want to know that there will actually be something to do after grad school. What would I be able to apply to with just a masters? Any help or advice would be appreciated.

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Department of Psychology College of Social Science

Introducing new graduate student bailey rann.

August 8, 2024 - Shelly DeJong

Name:     Bailey Rann (she/her) 

Hometown: Greater Lansing area (Michigander through and through!) 

Education: B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Cognitive Science from Michigan State University 

Tell us about your background/experience.  

I transferred from LCC to MSU in 2020 to finish my Psychology degree. When I first started taking courses at MSU, I was certain that my future entailed a career in counseling or therapy. When I decided to pursue a minor in cognitive science and explore the world of research, my plans rapidly modified. Intro to Cognitive Science (LIN 463) at MSU was the first course I completed for my minor in cognitive science. It opened up a plethora of new information about the human brain and perception that completely fascinated me and pulled me in the direction of cognitive science. After completing this course, I joined Dr. McAuley's Timing Attention and Perception (TAP) Lab in 2022 and never looked back! 

Why grad school?  

The short answer is, I fell in love with research. I can't see myself doing anything else at this point in my life. 

What do you hope to research while you're here?  

Rhythm and Time Perception 

Why are you interested in Cognition & Cognitive Neuroscience?   

What is there not to like?! The CCN program will give me the opportunity to further explore the interworking's of the human brain. Specifically, I will have the chance to work with like-minded individuals who have the passion and drive to study time perception, attention, memory and rhythm. I love that the field of cognition and cognitive neuroscience is ever growing. There is so much still to learn and uncover! 

In your free time, what do you like to do?  

In my free time I like to swim, spend quality time with my friends, and read! I am also a lifestyle photographer and thoroughly enjoy getting creative with this medium. 

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Notre Dame graduate stuns world to win Olympic bronze in men's 1500-meters

Nick shepkowski | aug 6, 2024.

• Notre Dame Fighting Irish

As we're in the final week of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, one of the most exciting events of them will go down as the men's 1500-meter final in track and field. The race was hyped as the latest showdown between rivals Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) and Josh Kerr (Great Britian) who were the favorites for gold. It will be remembered for exceeding the hype and the United States walking away with gold and bronze medals in stunning fashion.

Cole Hocker of the United States used a late kick over the final 100 meters to stun the world and take gold from the two favorites. Josh Kerr held on for the silver medal by the slimmest of margins as former Notre Dame student-athlete Yared Nuguse finished third for the bronze. The final 125-meters of the race were pure insanity and worth watching if you missed it:

MUST WATCH: COLE HOCKER WINS OLYMPIC GOLD IN THE MEN’S 1500 METERS. EPIC RACE FINISH. pic.twitter.com/uSpVmPH4D1 — Chris Chavez (@ChrisChavez) August 6, 2024

This was one of the most-hyped events in the track and field competition these games and it easily exceeded those expectations. And did so with two Americans taking home medals when they were supposed to be good enough to only battle for third. Official times: 1. Cole Hocker, USA: 3:27.65 2. Josh Kerr, GB: 3:27.79 3. Yared Nuguse, USA: 3:27.80 4. Jakob Ingebrigtsen: 3:28.24

Nuguse, the Notre Dame track star

Seeing as he just won a bronze medal it probably won't come as a surprise that Nuguse was a star track athlete at Notre Dame. He set a then NCAA record in the 1500-meter run back in 2021 with a time of 3:34:68 but would finish second in the NCAA championships, falling only to none other than Cole Hocker, then of Oregon. Naguse was the anchor leg of Notre Dame's national championship winning distance medley relay team in 2019 while also winning the individual national championship in the 1500-meter run that year.

— Enjoy free coverage of the Irish from Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI  —

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NICK SHEPKOWSKI