Interdisciplinary - Neuroscience

PHD

Why study Interdisciplinary - Neuroscience?

The University of Cincinnati Neuroscience Graduate Program is a degree-granting program of interdisciplinary study. The program supports study in a wide range of Neuroscience-related research areas, including but not limited to neural development; neurobiology of addiction; biology of neurological diseases and neurodegeneration; neuroimaging; neuroendocrinology of stress, obesity and diabetes; and cognitive neuroscience. The program is composed of over 70 faculty in multiple departments in the Colleges of Medicine, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Pharmacy, Allied Health and the Children’s Hospital of Cincinnati. All students have access to a full range of core facilities, including genomics, proteomics, functional MRI, confocal microscopy and rodent behavioral and metabolic phenotyping. The program covers stipend, tuition and health insurance for all students, and provides additional support for domestic and international travel to conferences. Program initiatives include opportunities for international collaboration and career counseling.

There are over 30 PhD students currently in the program. Recent graduates have gone on to post-doctoral work and Johns Hopkins, Cambridge, Washington University and Michigan. Students in the program are supported by training grants from NINDS, NIDDK and NIBIB, and by generous gifts from the Daniel L. Kline Fund.

Admission Requirements

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  • All students must complete a minimum of 90 graduate credit hours with at least 30 credit hours of didactic course work. A minimum grade point average of 3.0 is required. 
  • Qualifying Examination: After approval of a pre-proposal is granted by the Qualifying Exam Committee, a full proposal (formatted as a NIH predoctoral grant application) will be submitted to the qualifying exam committee. The doctoral candidate will subsequently provide a presentation of the proposal to the committee during which time questions about the proposal raised by committee members, including methodology and neuroscientific principles, will be addressed by the doctoral candidate.  
  • At least one first-author, peer-reviewed journal article published or in press is required. 
  • Dissertation Submittal and Defense: A final dissertation based on research performed will be submitted to the candidate's chosen Dissertation Committee consistent with the guidelines published in the NGP Handbook. The seminar-style dissertation defense will be conducted in public with questions and comments welcomed from the audience. After the public portion, the Dissertation Committee will conduct a closed examination. Following approval of 4/5 of the Dissertation Committee, recommendation to confer the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience will be submitted to the Graduate School. 
English proficiency is a requirement for doctoral candidacy in the neuroscience graduate program. International students whose first language is not English must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).  International applicants must score at least 100 on the TOEFL Internet-based test (iBT). The minimum overall score for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is 6.5.

Explore unique opportunities, faculty, and resources available in Neuroscience

Application Deadlines

If you would like to submit an electronic application for the Neuroscience/Medical Science Scholars Interdisciplinary program, please visit our On-Line Graduate School Application and complete the form.

Make sure to visit the Neuroscience/Medical Science Scholars Interdisciplinary website or contact the program directly for information about application requirements or to inquire about materials that need to be submitted when applying to this program.

The University of Cincinnati and all regional campuses are accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

Contact Information

Ana Madani
231 Albert Sabin Way, ML 0548
Medical Sciences Bldg., Rm 1058B
Cincinnati, OH 45267-0583
513-558-1803
Ana.Madani@uc.edu

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Program Code: 26DOC-INNS-PHD