If you are considering a graduate degree in neuroscience, Stony Brook's Graduate Program in Neuroscience should interest you.
Our graduate program offers multidisciplinary training leading to a PhD degree or combined MD/PhD given in conjunction with the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University.
Our total student population is usually around 40. Approximately half of our students are female, half are US citizens, 6-10 percent are classified as minority. In general, the program graduates anywhere from four to eight students per year and accepts an incoming class of five to ten.
Entrance into the program is considered very competitive. GRE scores, grades and recommendations from former instructors are among the factors considered in the decision making process. Admissions requirements are further described in the program's Guidelines.
Funding for students in the program comes from state sources, individual fellowships, and faculty research grants. The stipend for the academic year 2013-2014 is $27,030 and full tuition scholarships are awarded to all students.
Upon arriving on campus in the fall, incoming students attend university and program sponsored orientation programs designed to quickly acclimate them to the essentials of graduate life and to enable them to begin their career studies. For example, staff from the Graduate School provide TA (teaching assistant) training, and SPEAK tests to international students. Employee Relations presents details of health benefits, and the department's graduate program faculty describe the program objectives and requirements.
First year students all have their own study carrels in student offices that are also complete with a personal iMac computer. In later years, students have space in their home research laboratories.
Early in the semester weekly lunch meetings for 1st year students with faculty and a mini-course in ethics round out the introductory aspects of graduate training in Neuroscience at Stony Brook.
In setting course requirements and recommendations, individual academic backgrounds, interests, and career goals of incoming students are considered carefully. The course of study outlined in our Guidelines is presently being revamped. A core curriculum, laboratory rotations, and a major research project will remain as mainstays of our curriculum-all designed to ensure broad competence in modern neuroscience. Teaching and participation in seminars are important aspects of the education you will receive in our graduate training program.
There are currently 40 training faculty involved in the program that together offer a broad choice of advisors and research topics from which to choose. Seventeen have primary appointments in The Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, 23 have primary appointments in other departments (Biochemistry, Medicine, Pediatrics, Pharmacology, Physiology and Biophysics, Psychology, Psychiatry) and off campus in departments at Brookhaven National Laboratory and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories. Broadly, faculty research interests include Biophysics and Cellular Neurobiology, Molecular Neurobiology, and Integrative and Behavioral Neurobiology.
