Neurobiology and behavior academic program

Our PhD program of study combines formal coursework with seminars and dissertation in the lab research to develop a creative and critical intellectual approach to research and to model both interactive teamwork and independent scholarship. (Online course catalog; graduate course numbers: 7000s - 9000s)

Our formal curriculum balances breadth and depth with courses taught from the primary literature by faculty at the cutting edge of their discipline. Within their first two years, all students complete a core curriculum exploring the basic foundations and latest developments in neurobiology and the neural control of behavior. Formal courses include: Integrative Neuroscience I and II, Sensory Physiology and Behavior, Developmental Neurobiology, Neural Control and Regeneration in Motor Systems, and Nerve Cells and Behavior. The remainder of each student's curriculum is individually tailored to meet that student's goals and research interests, either drawing entirely upon expertise present in the Division or taking advantage of faculty and related programs in the School of Medicine and the Colleges of Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources and Veterinary Medicine.

We expect that most students entering our neurobiology graduate program will have a broad background in biology and will have completed courses in mathematics through integral calculus, chemistry through organic chemistry, and physics. Outstanding students with undergraduate degrees in areas other than biology (e.g., chemistry, physics, mathematics, psychology, etc.) are encouraged to apply with the understanding that subject matter deficiencies in biology will be addressed in the first year of graduate study.