GUIDELINES: Neuroscience PhD Program

Table 1. Overview of Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

WORKSHEET FOR NEUROSCIENCE PH.D. GRADUATION (pdf file)

Credit Hour Requirements

A total of 28-34 hours of graduate level courses are required for the Neuroscience PhD. Of these 28-34 hours, 11 or 14 hours consist of Neuroscience Core breadth and integration courses, 6-9 hours consist of Neuroscience depth courses, and the remainder are derived from Neuroscience-related discipline specialization courses (Table 2).

Survey and Integration of Neuroscience I (NRSC 5100; 2 credit hours for advanced students; 5 credit hours for students without advanced preparation)

Survey and Integration of Neuroscience II (NRSC 5110; 3 credit hours)

Advances in Neuroscience Research Seminar (NRSC 6100; 3 semesters required at 2 credit hours per semester)

Total: 11 credits for advanced students; 14 credits for students without advanced preparation

Students will also be required to take a minimum of 3 additional Neuroscience-related courses (2-3 credit hours/course) that will provide greater depth and focus on Neuroscience fundamentals than will be possible to cover in the year long Survey and Integration of Neuroscience course. The courses that will fulfill this requirement are Neuroscience-related courses that have been approved by the participating faculty in the Neuroscience Program (see Table 3). The specific depth courses that each student takes will be selected from the approved list by the student in consultation with their primary faculty advisor. These depth courses will provide the student with advanced expertise in several of the fundamental areas of neuroscience.

In addition to the above neuroscience courses, students will be required to take a sequence of courses that provides an advanced graduate-level specialization in a discipline that contributes to the field of Neuroscience. In most cases these specialty courses will consist of a sequence of graduate courses offered within the faculty advisor's department/program of affiliation. This specialization is comparable to a minor requirement. The goal of this specialization requirement is to make students experts within a discipline of Neuroscience.

Table 2. Summary of Credit Hour Requirements

Comprehensive Examination

In accordance with the graduate school requirements, students will be required to take a comprehensive exam which they must pass in order to advance to doctoral candidacy status. Successful completion (grade of B- or better) of the Survey and Integration of Neuroscience I and II courses will fulfil the Neuroscience component of the comprehensive exam. In addition, the student must pass a comprehensive exam in their area of specialization. The format of the specialty comprehensive exam will be determined by the student's advisor and will be appropriate for the advisor's department/program of affiliation.

Thesis

All Neuroscience PhD students will be required to complete a doctoral thesis with a primary Neuroscience focus. The thesis/dissertation will represent original state-of-the art research of quality suitable for publication in a reputable scientific journal. The student's thesis advisor must be a participating faculty member of the Neuroscience program. In addition, the student's thesis committee must include at least 1 additional Neuroscience faculty member from outside the student's area of specialization. In accordance with the requirements of the Graduate School, the student's committee must be comprised of a minimum of 5 faculty members that have graduate faculty appointments. The committee will be formed by the student's advisor, upon approval of the slate of members by the Director of the Neuroscience PhD Program.

Current Neuroscience Courses

The neuroscience courses for the program are outlined in Table 3. Additional courses can be petitioned to be added to this list.

Table 3. List of Current and Pending Courses