Graduate Program

The Program in Neuroscience has been designed to give students the opportunity to develop the technical skills and conceptual framework necessary for a career of research and teaching in neuroscience. Twenty-seven faculty members constitute the core faculty for the Program in Neuroscience, while 10 adjunct faculty members are also associated with the Program. Degrees can be earned through the Program in Neuroscience (Ph.D. in Neural Science), or, in the case of a double major, through both the Program in Neuroscience and a related discipline approved by the Program faculty. It is also possible to obtain neuroscience training through the biology, behavior, and neuroscience area within the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences.

Eligibility
Students holding bachelor's degrees are eligible for admission. Applicants should have a strong background in a natural science such as biology or psychology, mathematics, or computer science. A research background and strong letters of recommendation are also major determinants of admission.

Admissions Procedure
Students should apply directly to the Program in Neuroscience by accessing the Indiana University Graduate School 's Electronic Application Server . All applicants should indicate their area of research interest and list names of the core faculty members with whom they would like to work. Applicants, of course, are free to write individual faculty members to request reprints of articles and other details of research. Applications must include a complete entrance form, three letters of recommendation, scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), and an undergraduate transcript. Transcripts should be mailed to the Program in Neuroscience, Graduate Admissions, 1101 E. 10th St., Bloomington, IN 47405-7007. At least one score on the GRE should be 600 or above. The deadline for domestic applicants is January 1 and the International Applicant deadline is December 1. The Program in Neuroscience accepts students for the fall semester only. Students wanting to pursue a double major also must apply to the admissions committee of the other participating department. Students wanting to apply to the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences may also apply by accessing the IU electronic application as mentioned above at Electronic Application Server .

Financial Aid
Full-time graduate students ordinarily receive a fellowship or an assistantship and a tuition fee remission that covers up to ~90-95% of the tuition. Fellowships or Assistantships are available either through the Program in Neuroscience or through participating departments. Assistantships require 15-20 hours of work per week, and graduate assistants often work in both research and teaching. Fellowships are also available to qualified minority students.

Facilities and Research Environment
The laboratories of the neuroscience faculty and other departmental facilities provide opportunities to learn fundamental research methods as well as some of the newest research techniques. These include electron microscopy, immunocytochemistry, autoradiography, histochemistry, in vivo voltammetry, microiontophoresis, microdialysis, quantitative and spatial cellular analyses, and multiple- and single-unit recording from both anesthetized and awake, behaving animals. There are also facilities for video recording and computer-aided analyses of behavioral data. Laboratories are equipped with word processing, statistical, and graphics capabilities, and are computer linked to departmental and university networks, software, and databases, as well as to national and international communication networks. Students also have access to terminals in university computer clusters in a variety of locations across the campus. Shop areas are available for electronic design and assembly, woodworking, and metalworking. In addition, the university library system has excellent collections in neuroscience, biology, chemistry, and related areas.

A regular colloquium series presents talks by eminent neuroscientists from around the country, while an active local chapter of the Society for Neuroscience organizes weekly seminars and sponsors the international Grass Foundation Lecture series. Students also have the opportunity to interact with postdoctoral fellows or visiting scientists who are working with neuroscience faculty.

Curriculum
Research should be viewed as the student's greatest challenge and the major focus of the student's energy. A total of 90 credit hours, including dissertation, is required for the Ph.D in Neuroscience. Course work will include N500 or M555 and N501 (a one-year core sequence in neuroscience), which must be completed by the fifth semester of residence, and selections totaling at least 14 credit hours from offerings listed by the Program in Neuroscience or cross-listed with other departments, divisions, or special programs. An advisory committee, consisting of at least three members of the Graduate Faculty, will plan an individual program of study in consultation with the student.

All students also are required to: (1) complete six semesters of the research seminar (N650), beginning in their second year; (2) pass written and oral qualifying examinations by the end of their fifth semester; and (3) successfully write and defend a dissertation in neuroscience. In addition to the oral defense of the dissertation before the research committee, presentation of a public research seminar is required.