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M.S. in Neuroscience
48.0 credits.

Ph.D. in Neuroscience
96.0 credits.

About the Curriculum
Students in both the Ph.D. and M.S. programs begin their coursework with a core curriculum. The curriculum consists of a series of core courses that are shared by all of the biomedical graduate programs in the medical school, and a series of programmatic courses. All students in the Neuroscience Program must take the core curriculum, although the possibility exists for students to be excused from a particular course if they are able to prove that they already have the necessary knowledge required of the particular course.

During the second year, students select elective courses and begin their thesis research in consultation with the Advisory-Examination Committee. At the end of the second year, students take a comprehensive examination to qualify for Ph.D. candidacy.

There are three rotations in the curriculum for which the student will be assigned a grade. The purpose of these rotations is enable the student to select the most appropriate Graduate Advisor to supervise the research project for the student. The Neuroscience Program Director and Steering Committee will advise each student on the selection of rotations, as well as on the progress and outcome of rotations. Flexibility will be afforded in certain situations in which the student may be able to select an advisor before completing all three rotations, or in situations wherein it is advisable to terminate a particular rotation early in favor of another choice.

Curriculum
First Year
Fall
IDPT 521S	Core Curriculum I		9.0
	- IDPT 522S Molecular Structure and Metabolism
	- IDPT 523S Molecular Biology and Genetics
NEUR 501S	Neuroscience 1st Lab Rotation		4.0
NEUR 508S	Neuroscience Principles and Techniques		2.0
	Total credits		15.0
Spring
IDPT 501S	Biostatistics I		2.0
IDPT 526S	Core Curriculum II		9.0
	- IDPT 527S Cell Biology I
	- IDPT 528S Cell Biology II
	- IDPT 529S Cell Signaling and Cell Cycle
	- IDPT 530S Cells to Systems
NEUR 504S	Neuroscience 2nd Lab Rotation		4.0
ANAT 602S	Medical Neuroscience		4.0
	Total credits		19.0
Second Year
Fall*
NEUR 503S	Neuroscience 3rd Lab Rotation		4.0
NEUR 609S	Advanced Neuroscience		4.0
NEUR 600S	Neuroscience Thesis Research		9.0
ANAT 501S	Neurobiology Topics		2.0
	Total credits		19.0
*Additional elective courses that students may consider in the Fall include: PHRM 512S Graduate Pharmacology 3.0 PHYS 503S Graduate Physiology 4.0 MCBG 506S Advanced Cell Biology 2.0
Spring*
IDPT 500S	Scientific Integrity and Ethics		2.0
PHRM 507S	Principles of Neuropharmacology, Behavior and Phys		4.0
NEUR 600S	Neuroscience Thesis Research		9.0
ANAT 504S	Neurobiology Topics		2.0
Students must select one of the following Advanced Neuroscience courses:
NEUR 511S	Advanced Cellular and Developmental Neuroscience		2.0
NEUR 512S	Advanced Cellular and Systems Neurophysiology		2.0
NEUR 634S	Motor Systems		4.0
	Total credits		19.0 - 21.0-
*An additional elective course students may consider in the Spring is PHRM 502S Current Topics in Pharmacology& Physiology 1.0
Third Year and Beyond*
During the third year, students develop a plan for their doctoral research in conjunction with their thesis advisor. A formal, written thesis proposal is then presented to the student’s Thesis Advisory Committee. Acceptance of this proposal after oral examination by the Committee leads to the final stage of doctoral training. Ph.D. candidates then spend the majority of their time on thesis research. After concluding their research, they must submit and publicly defend their thesis before the Thesis-Examination Committee.
ANAT 501S	Neurobiology Topics		2.0
NEUR 600S	Neuroscience Thesis Research		9.0
	Total credits		11.0
*Additional electives may include: IDPT 600S Thesis Defense (non-billable) 9.0 IDPT 800S Registered for Degree Only 9.0