Twin Cities campus

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Twin Cities Campus

Neuroscience Ph.D.

Neuroscience
Medical School
Link to a list of faculty for this program.
Contact Information
Department of Neuroscience, 6-145 Jackson Hall, 321 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (612-626-6474; fax: 612-626-6460)
Email: neurosci@umn.edu
Website: http://www.neuroscience.umn.edu
  • Program Type: Doctorate
  • Requirements for this program are current for Fall 2021
  • Length of program in credits: 49
  • This program requires summer semesters for timely completion.
  • The NSCI 5551 Cell & Molecular Neurobiology Lab at Itasca is held at the Itasca Biological Station in Shevlin, Minnesota their first semester.
  • Degree: Doctor of Philosophy
Along with the program-specific requirements listed below, please read the General Information section of this website for requirements that apply to all major fields.
Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary field of inquiry. The objects of this inquiry, the brain and nervous system, are sufficiently complex and unique among biological systems to require experimental and analytical approaches that cross the traditional boundaries of molecular and cell biology, behavioral biology, biochemistry, genetics, pharmacology, physiology, and psychology. In some instances, neuroscientific inquiry may also encompass computer science, information processing, engineering, physics, and mathematics.
Program Delivery
  • via classroom (the majority of instruction is face-to-face)
Prerequisites for Admission
Special Application Requirements:
Applicants whose native language is not English are required to take the TOEFL and obtain a minimum score of 625 (paper) or 107 (Internet); or obtain 6.5 on the IELTS examination. There is no minimum GPA requirement to apply.
International applicants must submit score(s) from one of the following tests:
  • TOEFL
    • Internet Based - Total Score: 107
    • Paper Based - Total Score: 625
  • IELTS
    • Total Score: 6.5
The preferred English language test is Test of English as Foreign Language.
Key to test abbreviations (TOEFL, IELTS).
For an online application or for more information about graduate education admissions, see the General Information section of this website.
Program Requirements
25 credits are required in the major.
24 thesis credits are required.
Plan A: Plan A requires 23 major credits, up to credits outside the major, and 10 thesis credits. The final exam is oral.
This program may be completed with a minor.
Use of 4xxx courses toward program requirements is permitted under certain conditions with adviser approval.
A minimum GPA of 3.00 is required for students to remain in good standing.
At least 2 semesters must be completed before filing a Degree Program Form.
The neuroscience PhD curriculum begins in the summer session with the intensive laboratory course in cellular and molecular neurobiology (NSC 5551), held at the Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories. While taking courses, students explore research opportunities in the faculty's laboratories and thereby select a thesis advisor.
Summer - First Year (4 credits)
Take the following course or, with advisor approval, a substitute course.
NSC 5551 - Itasca Cell and Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory (4.0 cr)
Fall - First Year (9.5 credits)
Take the following courses or, with advisor approval, substitute courses. Take 1 credit of NSC 8334.
NSC 5461 - Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience (3.0 cr)
NSC 5561 - Systems Neuroscience (4.0 cr)
NSC 8321 - Career Skills and Understanding Responsibilities as a Neuroscientist (0.5 cr)
NSC 8334 - Laboratory Neuroscience (1.0-3.0 cr)
Spring - First Year (8.5 credits)
Take the following courses or, with advisor approval, substitute courses. Take 1 credit of NSC 8334.
NSC 5661 - Behavioral Neuroscience (2.0 cr)
NSC 8211 - Developmental Neurobiology (2.0-4.0 cr)
NSC 8321 - Career Skills and Understanding Responsibilities as a Neuroscientist (0.5 cr)
NSC 8334 - Laboratory Neuroscience (1.0-3.0 cr)
Fall - Second Year (3.0 credits)
Take the following course or, with advisor approval, substitute course.
NSC 8111 - Quantitative Neuroscience (3.0 cr)
Spring - Second Year (0.5 credits)
Take the following course or, with advisor approval, substitute course.
NSC 8321 - Career Skills and Understanding Responsibilities as a Neuroscientist (0.5 cr)
Thesis Credits
Take at least 24 doctoral thesis credits.
NSC 8888 - Thesis Credit: Doctoral (1.0-24.0 cr)
 
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NSC 5551 - Itasca Cell and Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory
Credits: 4.0 [max 4.0]
Grading Basis: S-N or Aud
Typically offered: Every Summer
Intensive lab introduction to cellular and molecular aspects of research techniques in contemporary neurobiology; held at Itasca Biological Station. Electrophysiological investigations of neuronal properties, neuropharmacological assays of transmitter action, and immunohistochemical studies in experimental preparations. prereq: Neuroscience grad or instr consent
NSC 5461 - Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Credits: 3.0 [max 4.0]
Grading Basis: A-F or Aud
Typically offered: Every Fall
Lectures by team of faculty, problem sets in important physiological concepts, discussion of original research papers. prereq: NSc grad student or instr consent
NSC 5561 - Systems Neuroscience
Credits: 4.0 [max 4.0]
Grading Basis: A-F or Aud
Typically offered: Every Fall
Principles of organization of neural systems forming the basis for sensation/movement. Sensory-motor/neural-endocrine integration. Relationships between structure and function in nervous system. Team taught. Lecture, laboratory. prereq: NSc grad student or instr consent
NSC 8321 - Career Skills and Understanding Responsibilities as a Neuroscientist
Credits: 0.5 [max 2.0]
Grading Basis: S-N or Aud
Typically offered: Every Fall & Spring
Information that falls outside of core neuroscience academic curriculum. Areas of practical value for graduate school and career development. Career skills, writing skills, responsible conduct in research. prereq: Neurscience grad major or instr consent
NSC 8334 - Laboratory Neuroscience
Credits: 1.0 -3.0 [max 10.0]
Grading Basis: S-N or Aud
Typically offered: Every Fall & Spring
Guided research. prereq: Grad NSc major
NSC 5661 - Behavioral Neuroscience
Credits: 2.0 [max 4.0]
Grading Basis: A-F or Aud
Typically offered: Every Spring
Neural coding/representation of movement parameters. Neural mechanisms underlying higher order processes such as memorization, memory scanning, and mental rotation. Emphasizes experimental psychological studies in human subjects, single cell recording experiments in subhuman primates, and artificial neural network modeling. prereq: Grad NSc major or grad NSc minor or instr consent
NSC 8211 - Developmental Neurobiology
Credits: 2.0 -4.0 [max 4.0]
Grading Basis: A-F or Aud
Typically offered: Every Spring
How neuronal types develop. Emphasizes general mechanisms. Experimental data demonstrating mechanisms. prereq: Neuroscience grad student or instr consent
NSC 8321 - Career Skills and Understanding Responsibilities as a Neuroscientist
Credits: 0.5 [max 2.0]
Grading Basis: S-N or Aud
Typically offered: Every Fall & Spring
Information that falls outside of core neuroscience academic curriculum. Areas of practical value for graduate school and career development. Career skills, writing skills, responsible conduct in research. prereq: Neurscience grad major or instr consent
NSC 8334 - Laboratory Neuroscience
Credits: 1.0 -3.0 [max 10.0]
Grading Basis: S-N or Aud
Typically offered: Every Fall & Spring
Guided research. prereq: Grad NSc major
NSC 8111 - Quantitative Neuroscience
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Grading Basis: A-F or Aud
Typically offered: Every Spring
Principles of experimental design and statistical analysis in neuroscience research. Includes an introduction to computer programming for data analysis using both classic and modern quantitative methods.
NSC 8321 - Career Skills and Understanding Responsibilities as a Neuroscientist
Credits: 0.5 [max 2.0]
Grading Basis: S-N or Aud
Typically offered: Every Fall & Spring
Information that falls outside of core neuroscience academic curriculum. Areas of practical value for graduate school and career development. Career skills, writing skills, responsible conduct in research. prereq: Neurscience grad major or instr consent
NSC 8888 - Thesis Credit: Doctoral
Credits: 1.0 -24.0 [max 100.0]
Grading Basis: No Grade
Typically offered: Every Fall & Spring
(No description) prereq: Max 18 cr per semester or summer; 24 cr required