Neuroscience Ph.D. Degree Requirements
All doctoral neuroscience students must complete core courses, including Introduction to Neuroscience (NEUR 5280) and Structure and Function of the Nervous System (NEUR 5100), along with a Statistics course (e.g., STAT 5050, STAT 5210) by the end of their second year. The program is research-focused, requiring 2-3 credit hours of research each semester, as well as enrollment in the weekly Neuroscience Seminar for intellectual exchange and professional development. Additional coursework is selected from neuroscience, physiology, pharmacology and molecular biology, with a minimum grade of B required in all courses.
Students must have a graduate adviser, a faculty member from the neuroscience program, who directs their research and coursework. By the second year, students will form an advisory committee to guide their education. The committee, including at least three neuroscience faculty and one outside member, oversees the student’s progress and sets the qualifying exam. Upon successful completion, the student advances to Ph.D. candidacy.
The dissertation, the key component of the program, reports the student’s research findings. It must be accompanied by a formal seminar, followed by an examination by the advisory committee.
Education is Our Main Goal
The overarching goal of the neuroscience program is to provide students with a highly competitive graduate education that fosters independent thinking, scholarly leadership and ethical responsibility. The neuroscience program handbook offers an overview of the program’s organization, admission criteria and procedures, graduate student expectations and the steps leading to the doctorate degree in neuroscience. The program aims to develop students into independent researchers and scholars, with key benchmarks including knowledge of relevant literature, research design and experimental techniques, proficiency in scientific writing, collegiality and scientific ethics, effective communication skills for presentations and teaching, and ultimately, independence in research.
Applicants to the doctoral neuroscience program must complete the online application
process. Evaluation of applicants cannot begin until all required materials have been
submitted. The following are needed:
- Application for admission
- Copies of all official transcripts
- Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores accepted, but not required
- Three letters of recommendation
- TOEFL scores for international students (The University of Wyoming’s school code for
TOEFL is 4855)
- Personal statement
- 1-3 page personal statement explaining your motivation for pursing a PhD in the field of Neuroscience. Please describe your areas of interest and any specific research topics or techniques with which you have experience. If your interests are still broad, indicate your general interests and graduate training goals in your statement. We are also interested in learning about your long-term career goals. What do you aspire to do after graduation? Why are you specifically interested in the University of Wyoming?
The neuroscience program does not have any absolute criterion for admission but applicants
typically have:
- An undergraduate grade point average of at least 3.0 (4.0 scale)
- An undergraduate degree in a discipline that is a component of neuroscience, such
as biology, psychology, physiology, chemistry, physics or chemical or bioengineering
- Graduate Record Examination (GRE) accepted, but not required
- 3 strong letters of recommendation to support your application
- TOEFL scores (550- paper based; 79 iBT, or higher) for international students
- Prior research experience
There are no specific undergraduate class requirements. However, classes in biology, chemistry and biochemistry are preferred as they provide a foundation for neuroscience studies. We encourage motivated applicants from degrees in diverse areas that are interested in transitioning to neuroscience. Students with an M.S. degree in neuroscience or related fields are also encouraged to apply.
Graduate students in the neuroscience program are supported financially via a number of mechanisms. Graduate teaching assistants are provided a stipend by the University and are required to assist teaching in neuroscience-related classes. Graduate research assistants are supported directly by the neuroscience program and do not have teaching requirements. Some students are supported from external NIH or NFS grants obtained by their advisors. Other may be supported via the Sensory Neurobiology COBRE grant. Support of graduate students is flexible and often changes during the degree process to suit the student needs, and according to the availability of funds. All funding mechanisms cover tuition expenses.
