Seeking a degree in Molecular Neuroscience?
The graduate program in Neuroscience
at Emory University is an interdisciplinary program, spanning many departments
and priding itself on a collaborative atmosphere encouraging excellence. Our
faculty and students have a broad scope of research interests within neuroscience,
ranging from molecular to cellular to behavioral
neuroscience.
Our program is one of eight Ph.D. programs that comprise the Emory
Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences (GDBBS). There
are over 260 faculty members in the Division, and graduate students of any program in the Division face no
departmental barriers. They can do laboratory rotations and
research with any of the Division Faculty. The can also switch to one of the other programs, have an advisor
from another program and take any course offered by the Division. This structure gives students tremendous
flexibility in choosing coursework, advisors and research plans. There are currently 98 students enrolled in the program, and the average time to finish the degree is about 5.5 years.
Admission
On-line applications and further information can be found at
the GDBBS admissions
website. Five criteria are considered in the initial evaluation. The most important variable is demonstrated
success (GPA) in a variety of undergraduate courses in the natural sciences that provide the necessary
foundation for graduate study of the chemical, physical, and biological properties of the nervous system.
Also very important are past research experience and letters of recommendation (especially from a research
mentor). We also look at a statement of goals letter written by the applicant, as well as GRE scores for the
General Test (Advanced GRE is not required). Promising applicants are invited for an interview, which is
very influential in the final decision regarding admissions. Historically, we receive ~140 applications
of which we invite 25-30 applicants for interviews, we accept 60-70% of those we interview, and we are
accepted by 50-60% of those we accept.
Joint Degree Programs
- Neuroscience/Biomedical Engineering
In 1997, Emory University and the
Georgia Institute of Technology joined forces to create a joint
Biomedical Engineering Department,
which includes 15 Emory faculty members (4 from Neuroscience), and over 25 faculty members from Georgia
Tech. The collaboration provides enormous opportunity and intellectual resources for students interested
in neuroengineering, neuronal modeling, computational neuroscience and other cutting-edge challenges.
Emory has eleven faculty that participate in this joint effort. The Chairman of the new department,
Dr. Don Giddens, headed the Johns Hopkins College of Engineering before coming to Emory.
- MD/PhD
Approximately 10-15% of Neuroscience graduate students are working
towards an M.D. degree or already have one. MD/PhD students are admitted through
the MD/PhD Program.
Financial Aid
All students receive a full tuition scholarship, complete health insurance coverage, and a
stipend of $24,500 (for the academic year 2009-2010). Students are guaranteed 5 years of stipend support.
Most U.S. residents are also eligible for federal subsidized student loans. The faculty encourages and
assists students in obtaining individual stipend support from extramural sources such as federal agencies
and private foundations (60% of our advanced students have NRSAs). Students with such support receive an
annual added bonus of $2,000.
Coursework
The program curriculum consists of 1 year of required neuroscience courses,
1 elective, a research statistics course, 3 research rotations, graduate seminar courses,
attendance at the Frontiers in Neuroscience seminar series for the first two years,
and the student's individual thesis research.
In addition, all students must participate in weekly seminars for the first 2
years of the program. These seminars are informal venues where students present
either relevant papers or their own research to their peers and a small group of
faculty members. From this experience, students learn presentation and
communication skills essential to a career in science.
Rotations
Students typically perform three research rotations in different labs before choosing a thesis
project and advisor. It is possible to start as early as the summer before the first year.
Rotations are of flexible length, and are designed to introduce students to an array of labs, techniques,
and approaches to neuroscience.
Teaching
The program offers several opportunities for students to gain teaching experience. After their
first year, students are required to participate in a weeklong summer training workshop. Faculty
for this course are drawn from among the best teachers across the university. There are workshops
on syllabus writing and grading, lecturing and leading discussions, the use of writing as a pedagogical
tool, the conduct of lab sessions, and the use of new technologies. This workshop is designed to prepare
students to be teaching assistants (TA) for one class during the second year. Students can choose to
TA more classes in subsequent semesters if desired, but only one assistantship is required.
