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Neuroscience

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Interdisciplinary

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Earn Your Ph.D. Today

Drug discovery for brain and spinal cord research. Sensory and sleep biology. Neurodevelopment and regeneration. UW is at the center of neuroscience research and education, working to make sense of the structure and function of the nervous system and its complex processes.

Epically innovative since 1886, we’re seeking motivated and independent thinkers to join us as we take on the ultimate challenge of the biological sciences.

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Program Details

Tuition and Fees

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Program Requirements

Curriculum & Courses

What can you expect from UW’s Ph.D. in neuroscience program?

The interdisciplinary neuroscience Ph.D. program at UW offers a broad, research-based degree with a problem-oriented approach. You’ll gain hands-on scientific and experimental training using a variety of techniques and analytic tools to sharpen your job skills in research and communication, scientific writing, teaching and leadership.

Our neuroscience Ph.D. program is personalized as much as possible to prepare you for your desired career path, including post-doctoral fellowships and research fellowships that open up opportunities for lab research, teaching and medical scientist jobs.

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Student looking at computer screens with cells on them

With a commitment to helping graduate students find funding to cover tuition and other program costs, UW’s Ph.D. in neuroscience program is supported through faculty grants, university stipends, graduate assistantships and program funds. These are some common graduate student opportunities for financial support:

  • Graduate teaching assistantships
  • Graduate research assistantships
  • Grant funding, such as NIH grants, including the Sensory Neurobiology COBRE grant
Professor teaching

 

What Can You Do With a Neuroscience Doctoral Degree?

At UW, we prepare you to enter the job market with a Ph.D. in neuroscience as a research scientist in academia or with a private company or as a teacher. Or, you can continue your studies with a post-doctoral fellowship that will help you qualify for additional jobs with greater research emphasis in academia and the private sector.

Neuroscience Careers

UW neuroscience program has been very successful in placing its graduates. We have graduated students who have faculty positions at:

  • The Ohio State University
  • University of Utah Medical School
  • Columbia University Medical School
  • Texas Christian University
  • University of Mississippi Medical School
  • Indiana University Medical School
  • University of South Florida Medical School
  • Montana State University
  • Middlebury College
  • Louisiana State University
  • Colorado State University
  • Univsersity of California - Riverside
  • Harding University

Graduates have been successful in obtaining NIH individual postdoctoral fellowships prior to moving to regular faculty position.

 

 

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We also have many former students working for major companies, such as:

  • Glaxo Pharmaceuticals
  • Grey Matters International
  • LifeX Labs
  • The National Institute on Drug Abuse

 

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Neuroscience Doctoral Degree Program Highlights

In the heart of Laramie, Wyoming, and surrounded by miles of open space, UW and its Ph.D. program in neuroscience has so many reasons to visit — and many more reasons to stay.

Outstanding Faculty

UW’s Ph.D. program in neuroscience brings together faculty from the departments of veterinary science, zoology and physiology, and pharmacy. Their diverse expertise means you have a wide variety of opportunities to work with and learn from experts on focused topics. Join a faculty lab that is already funded or do rotations to find one that matches your career interests.

 

Diverse Research

Faculty labs are actively researching a variety of areas, including chronic pain, spinal cord trauma, sensory biology, addiction, sleep, neurodevelopment, epilepsy, behavior, learning and memory, regeneration, neurodegeneration, sensory neurophysiology, behavioral neuropharmacology, synaptic plasticity and more.

 

Teaching Experience

If you’re interested in a career in academia, UW’s neuroscience Ph.D. program provides opportunities to develop teaching skills. For example, you can be a primary instructor in undergraduate classes, assist faculty members with delivering class materials and mentor undergraduate students in faculty labs.

State-of-the-Art Facilities

The Neuroscience Center houses resources needed to conduct research, ranging from molecular and cellular circuit level to behavioral. Graduate students in the neuroscience Ph.D. program also have access to UW’s Microscopy Core facility and its extensive capabilities in imaging and service, including light and electron microscopes, sample preparation instruments and more.

Small Class Sizes

Our small environment means big opportunities. We support you while you’re on campus and beyond. Graduates from UW’s neuroscience Ph.D. program have moved on to post-doctoral fellowship, faculty and other positions.

Community

Attend seminars on research ethics. Participate in university-wide training. Join the Society for Neuroscience, Rocky Mountain chapter. Attend national meetings and conferences. Present and publish your graduate research. Engage with fellow graduate students and neuroscientists through the Visiting Speaker Series. 

 

The University of Wyoming (UW) provided me with a world-class education and gave me all the tools I needed to pursue any life path and career ambitions. UW has a very strong community, and I always felt supported both personally and professionally. At UW, I made life-long relationships with great mentors, colleagues and friends. I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend UW for both my undergraduate and graduate education, and I would do it all over again if I could.

- Ali Hamodi, Ph.D. ’16
Current postdoctoral associate at the Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine

Related Programs

You may also be interested in the following graduate programs at UW:

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Neuroscience Graduate Program

Department 3302, 1000 E. University Avenue

Laramie, WY 82071

Email: neuroscience@uwyo.edu