Program Overview

1^st Year Curriculum

• INP Bootcamp
• Complete a core curriculum that includes Principles of Neuroscience I, Principles of Neuroscience II, an ethics course, and a graduate seminar in neuroscience, and have the possibility of taking additional elective courses. The General Knowledge Qualifying exam is embedded in the final exams of Principles I and II courses.
• Participate in 2-3, eight-week research lab rotations with the expectation of choosing a dissertation faculty advisor and joining a lab by the end of the Fall semester or mid-way Spring semester.
• Attend neuroscience seminars and journal clubs.

2^nd Year Curriculum

• Take the Specialized Knowledge Qualifying Exam at the beginning of the 2^nd year
• Complete required coursework that includes a statistics course, an ethics course, a grant writing course, a graduate seminar in neuroscience and three graduate elective courses in neuroscience.
• Engage in full-time research in chosen lab.
• Attend neuroscience seminars and journal clubs.
• Submit a predoctoral NSF Fellowship by the end of the 2nd year.
• Students are expected to form their thesis committee, write and develop their thesis proposal by the end of 2^nd year.

3^rd Year and Beyond

• Enter into PhD candidacy early in year 3.
• TA in the Fall or Spring semester in year 3 and attend TA workshop.
• Engage in full-time dissertation research.
• Submit a predoctoral NRSA (or other relevant fellowship) in the 3^rd - 5^th year.
• Participate in Ethics "refresher" module in year 4.
• Attend neuroscience seminars and journal clubs.
• Complete research, write, submit, and defend dissertation (year 5).

The overall goal of the INP Qualifying Exam is to confirm that each student has the foundational knowledge and skills needed for success in the program. This includes a broad understanding of neuroscience, the ability to write a clear review paper addressing a knowledge gap in their field, and the skill to defend their topic orally. The qualifying exam consists of two parts.  

Part I assesses breadth of knowledge and is baked into the Principles of Neuroscience I and II courses that are taken in the first year, and form part of the core curriculum required for all INP students. Scoring at least 90% on the final exam of these two courses represents successful completion of the breadth of knowledge qualifying exam.

Part II focuses on depth of knowledge and is comprised of both written and oral elements in which students must write a brief review paper, give an oral presentation on the paper and pass an oral examination on the specialized knowledge related to the area of research of the paper. The paper must be submitted in the summer of the second year with the presentation and oral exam to follow in the first semester of the second year.

Our graduate program is designed not only to produce outstanding young scientists but also to ensure that our graduates have the experience necessary to succeed in the neuroscience community. Therefore, we require all students to gain experience in grant writing and teaching skills. Students are expected to submit applications for a predoctoral NSF and/or NRSA fellowship, as well as for any other appropriate fellowship programs. NSF predoctoral fellowship applications are generally submitted in the 2^nd year and NRSA applications are usually submitted in the 3^rd-5^th years.

Students must gain teaching experience by performing at least one semester as a teaching assistant (TA) in an undergraduate or graduate course. The expectation is that the TA will be performed in the student’s third year. Prior to their first TA assignment, every TA appointed through BIO must attend TA Training, which is offered through the Biology Instructional Office. Students may not TA for more than three semesters.

In addition to coursework, student's knowledge base is built through attending seminars and journal clubs. Developing the ability to understand and evaluate a broad range of neuroscience research is an essential component of our training program and therefore students are strongly encouraged to attend the Neuroscience seminar series as well as any other seminar or journal club related to their interest.

Weekly seminar series are offered by the Department of Neuroscience, the Behavioral Neuroscience program, the Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, the Center for Perceptual Systems, the Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research, the Department of Molecular Biosciences and the Division of Pharmacology & Toxicology. Attending these seminars allows graduate students to hear outstanding lectures given about cutting-edge research and to meet and talk with these scientists individually. In addition, INP hosts the monthly  Neuroscience Dialogues seminar series, which is exclusively reserved for INP graduate students and postdocs to present work in progress.

Journal clubs in which students and faculty present results from recent literature to each other, are a means of keeping up with progress in the neuroscience literature and of developing critical thinking and oral presentation skills. There are several standing journal clubs within the Institute with topical areas of focus, such as Learning and Memory, Ion Channels, and Cellular Neurophysiology that are attended by INP faculty, students, postdoctoral fellows and technicians. 

The 2025 INP Retreat will be held on Saturday, April 5th at McKinney Roughs Nature Park.

The INP Retreat is held each year and is a day-long event designed to focus on fun and community building with the goal of bringing everyone together to foster a stronger, more connected environment. All of INP is included—faculty, postdocs, students and even partners and families.