Skip to main content

Programs

Neuroscience

The Department of Neuroscience is recognized for its excellence in research programs and for its commitment to teaching and leadership in both graduate and medical education. In addition to our own
neuroscience graduate program, commitments include extensive instructional and leadership roles in the graduate programs of brain and cognitive sciences, biomedical engineering, and others. Connections among different levels of clinical education and graduate education are also strong. Over 90 faculty (primary, joint, and adjunct) are actively engaged in research on the structure and function of the nervous system across several levels of inquiry. Areas of interest cover a broad spectrum of neuroscience, including sensory, motor and integrative systems, cell signaling and transmission, development and aging, neurobiology of disease, learning and plasticity, neuro-engineering, and computational neurobiology. Extensive state-of-the-art instrumentation and methodologies are available for investigators, students, and staff, both within labs and across a set of departmental research cores. Close interactions among departments and centers sharing interests in neuroscience ensure that this discipline holds a leading presence throughout our unified medical and college campus, while the Department of Neuroscience remains central to Rochester’s research and teaching programs in the neural sciences. For students as well as fellows and visiting faculty, this translates into a highly attractive environment for training and career development. An enduring departmental role continues to be its commitment to education. This commitment includes extensive participatory and leadership roles in medical, graduate, and undergraduate curricula at the University of Rochester.

The neuroscience track attracts students from diverse backgrounds in the biological and physical sciences, psychology, and engineering. The hallmark of the track is its flexibility, allowing students to design a curriculum that will augment their unique research experience or broaden their perspective of neuroscience. Starting in the first year, students personalize their training with advanced coursework chosen from a rich variety of electives offered in the School of Medicine and Dentistry or the School of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering. In addition, students frequently collaborate with faculty to design their own interest-specific tutorials. Students in the neuroscience track may select a thesis advisor from more than 90 faculty representing nearly 30 departments and six interdisciplinary research centers. Successful completion of the track culminates in a PhD in neuroscience.

Information about faculty and research can be found on the Neuroscience website.

AdmissionsLink to section

Applying to Doctoral ProgramsLink to section

Students entering the program typically have a baccalaureate degree in one of the natural or applied sciences (such as biological sciences, chemistry, physics, neuroscience, psychology, biomedical engineering). Successful applicants usually have had college-level coursework, or equivalent professional experience, in disciplines relevant for neuroscience, including the biological sciences, chemistry, physics, and mathematics. In addition, prior laboratory research experience is strongly recommended.

Applicants must have earned a U.S. baccalaureate degree or its equivalent from a college, university, or technical school of acceptable standing. Students in their final year of undergraduate study may be admitted on the condition that their bachelor’s degrees are awarded before they matriculate. Evidence of the earned degree is required before matriculation in the form of an official transcript noting degree conferral.

Students are admitted to the PhD program, as a whole, rather than to a specific laboratory. Full-time study is required.

We expect all application materials (except official score reports) to be scanned and uploaded to your online application. Please note that the University of Rochester reserves the right to verify the accuracy of all transcripts and test scores, and to require submission of official documentation at any point in the admissions review process.

Required Materials
  • SMD graduate admissions application
  • Statement of purpose
  • Transcript(s)
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • GRE scores will not be used by the admissions committee even if submitted. Note: Because we share our admissions system with other programs, we are unable to remove the field that requests GRE information. Applicants can disregard this field. If GRE scores are submitted, the committee will not look at it or take it into account when making admissions decisions.
  • For applicants whose native language is not English, official TOEFL (SMD school code: 2948, SOPHAS application code: 5688) or IELTS score
  • Research papers, publications and other original works (optional)
  • CV/resume (optional)

Please do not include secondary school documentation or financial documentation. These are not used during the admissions process.

Evaluation of Applications by the Admissions Committee

Our admissions evaluation process follows three core tenets, using specific metrics to define excellence in each area:

  1. Likelihood that the applicant can successfully complete the academic requirements to obtain a PhD from the NGP
    • Cumulative GPA and grades in STEM courses
    • Research and other work experiences
    • Writing skills
    • Reference feedback
  2. Programmatic match with individual’s professional goals
    • Relevance of coursework
    • Alignment of research interests and experience
    • Stated commitment to research
    • Reference feedback
  3. Potential to contribute to institutional core values (provide link to iCare values)
    • Leadership
    • Reliability/dependability
    • Teamwork and service
    • Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion

These are the core assessment areas, but our evaluations extend to other critical factors, including but not limited to considerations that cross categories: resilience, recovery from setbacks, effective adaptation to changing/stressful environments and situations.

Highlights About Our Admissions Process
  • There is no GRE score requirement.
  • There is no “triage” line for consideration.
  • Every application received before the deadline is read by faculty on the admissions committee.
  • The admissions committee has both faculty and student members.
  • Consistent evaluation rubrics (scores based on core tenets) are used for all applicants.

Selected applicants will interview with at least three program faculty members whose further evaluation will be considered before any admissions offer is recommended.

AcademicsLink to section

Master's Degrees and RequirementsLink to section

In pursuit of the PhD, students can earn a master’s degree en passant. The master’s degree is awarded after satisfactory completion of the Part I and Part II qualifying exams and a minimum of 30 credits hours of study in:

  • Cellular Neuroscience
  • Integrative and Systems Neuroscience
  • Ethics in Research
  • Human Brain Anatomy
  • Introduction to Programming
  • Three to four laboratory rotations
  • Four semesters of Journal Club
  • Applied Statistics in the Biomedical Sciences
  • Teaching assistant for one semester
  • NSC Student Seminar
  • Dissertation research
  • Ten elective credits including Neuroinflammation, Biology of Neurological Disease, and/or a host of interdepartmental courses offered by Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Center for Visual Science, Biomedical Engineering, and Biostatistics and Computational Biology, to name a few.

Part I Exam – The student, in consultation with their advisor, selects a minimum of 50 papers to read that are relevant to the student’s scientific area of interest. Based on the readings, the student formulates five broad hypothesis-driven research questions at the end of the reading period. With the committee’s approval, the student composes written answers to these questions.

Part II – Thesis Proposal/Qualifying Exam: After passing the Part I exam, the student is expected to formulate a thesis proposal with the guidance of their thesis advisor. The written proposal includes the specific aims and overall significance of the proposed research, sufficient background for others to understand the research plan, key preliminary data that support the aims, and a description of the experimental design that will be used to accomplish the stated aims. Successful completion of the thesis proposal/qualifying Exam advances the student to candidacy for the PhD degree.

Doctoral Degrees and RequirementsLink to section

The neuroscience degree provides a comprehensive, research-intensive training experience for students seeking a PhD degree in the study of the nervous system. The first-year curriculum provides students with a thorough understanding of the fundamental concepts that underlie contemporary neuroscience, from the molecular and cellular to systems levels. Active learning is fostered through participation in the Neuroscience Journal Club, Student Seminar, and laboratory rotations with faculty selected by the student. During the first year, students engage in a rigorous curriculum in cellular and systems neuroscience that builds a solid foundation for subsequent, more specialized coursework tailored to the individual career and research interests of each student. In addition, first-year students complete three laboratory rotations that, through active participation in a research project, provide an insider’s view of the research interests, laboratory environment, and mentoring style of potential thesis advisors. At the end of the first year, students choose a PhD degree track (neuroscience or neurobiology and anatomy) and thesis advisor and begin developing and carrying out their dissertation research. Training in subsequent years occurs largely through active participation in laboratory research, journal clubs, seminars, and continuous participation in local, national, and international scientific meetings. Students are awarded the PhD degree upon successful defense of scholarly research described in a publishable dissertation.

The PhD is an interdepartmental degree with over 90 faculty members serving as mentors for students. Faculty represent nearly 30 basic science and clinical departments and centers from the School of Medicine and Dentistry and the schools of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering. Faculty research interests span all major themes in neuroscience, including neural cell signaling and communication; learning, memory, and adaptive plasticity; neurobiology of disease; neurodevelopment and aging; neuroengineering; neurogenetics; sensory, motor, and integrative systems neuroscience; and neuroregeneration and repair. Collaborations across these themes are a hallmark of the program, providing students the opportunity to design thesis projects without regard to traditional boundaries.

Students completing the track are awarded a PhD in neuroscience.

Considerations for MSTP Students in the MD/PhD Program

Students admitted to the MD/PhD program proceed with the same course of study as other students in the PhD program, except they often begin their lab rotations in the summer before they join the program to choose a lab and research advisor. MD/PhD students can also transfer up to 10 credit hours from medical school courses and are not required to register for NSC 511 and NSC 581.

Graduate Course TitlesLink to section

  • ANA 512: Cellular Neuroscience
  • ANA 513: Neuroinflammation
  • ANA 518: Introduction to Neuroengineering
  • ANA 522: Neuroscience Student Seminar
  • ANA 581: Teaching Tutorial in Neuroscience
  • ANA 591: PhD Readings/Special Topics
  • ANA 595: PhD Research in Neuroscience
  • BCSC 501: Language
  • BCSC 502: Cognition
  • BCSC 508: Cognitive Neuroscience
  • BCSC 511: Behavioral Methods in Cognitive Science
  • BCSC 512: Computational Methods in Cognitive Science
  • BCSC 513: Introduction to fMRI: Imaging, Computational Analysis, and Neural Representations
  • BCSC 532: Probabilistic Theories of Cognitive Processing
  • BCSC 543: Neurochemical Foundations of Behavior
  • BCSC 546: Biology of Mental Disorders
  • BCSC 547A: Advanced Computational Neuroscience
  • BME 416: Speech on the Brain
  • BME 472: Advanced Biomedical Microscopy
  • BST 463: Introduction to Biostatistics
  • BST 465: Design of Clinical Trials
  • BST 467: Applied Statistics in the Biomedical Sciences
  • ECE 440: Introduction to Random Processes
  • GEN 503: Genetics Seminar
  • GEN 506: Principles in Stem Cell Biology
  • GEN 507: Advanced Genetics and Genomics
  • GEN 508: Genes, Development, and Disease
  • IND 409: Cell Biology
  • IND 417: Workshop in Scientific Communications
  • IND 418: Biostatistics Boot Camp
  • IND 420: Mastering Scientific Information
  • IND 431: Foundations Modern Biology I
  • IND 439: Leadership and Management for Scientists
  • IND 447: Signal Transduction
  • IND 501: Ethics and Professional Integrity
  • IND 511: URBest Internship
  • LING 425: Introduction to Semantic Analysis
  • LING 428: Lexical Semantics
  • MBI 589: Virology Seminar
  • MBI 473: Immunology
  • MBI 515: Advanced Immunology
  • NSC 410: Introduction to Programming
  • NSC 420: Biostatistics and Experimental Design Boot Camp
  • NSC 503: Neuroscience Student Seminar
  • NSC 511: Human Brain Anatomy
  • NSC 512: Cellular Neuroscience
  • NSC 525: Biology of Neurological Disease
  • NSC 531: Integrative and Systems Neuroscience
  • NSC 541: Neurons, Circuits, Systems 
  • NSC 547: Introduction to Data Analysis Methods in Neuroscience
  • NSC 581: Teaching Tutorial in Neuroscience
  • NSC 590: Lab Rotations in Neuroscience
  • NSC 591: PhD Readings/Special Topics
  • NSC 592: Neuroscience Journal Club
  • NSC 595: Neuroscience PhD Research
  • PHP 404: Principles of Pharmacology
  • PHP 405: Effective Scientific Communication
  • PHP 447: Signal Transduction
  • PHP 467: Statistical Rigor and Data Analysis
  • PM 419: Recruitment and Retention
  • PM 488: Experimental Therapeutics
  • PTH 507: Cancer Biology
  • PTH 509: Pathways of Human Disease
  • PTH 571: Molecular Basis of Disease
  • TOX 521: Toxicology I
  • TOX 522: Toxicology II
  • TOX 560: Societal Determinants of Neurotoxicity