StudyQA — PhD: Neuroscience — University of California

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Description Contents Requirements Funding

Neuroscience is a multidisciplinary approach to understanding nervous systems at levels ranging from the molecular and cellular to the whole organism. The goal of this Program is to prepare students for careers in research, teaching and/or scientific administration. Students are expected to learn the fundamentals of Neuroscience, starting with a required core sequence, become knowledgeable concerning a range of research methods as taught in a required Neuroscience laboratory course, and demonstrate capability in original research. Graduate student training ultimately reflects the research competence and specialties of the faculty, that is, the specific research training received by a graduate student is the responsibility of the major professor/mentor under whose guidance and in whose laboratory the student carries out the research projects leading to the degree. Students will benefit from an interdisciplinary training approach, tailored by the major advisor but enriched by the readily available expertise and laboratory facilities of program faculty with backgrounds ranging from chemistry to psychology. In addition to this training, it is our intention, through outside speakers and planned forums, to make students aware of alternate careers open to neuroscientists whose interests and talents might lead to areas such as biotechnology, science administration and the like.

The Interdepartmental Ph.D Program in Neuroscience at UC Riverside is aimed at providing high quality graduate training for students who come from a variety of undergraduate backgrounds but share a commitment and an intense interest in nervous system research. We currently have 37 faculty with expertise in various aspects of Neuroscience and whose principal appointments are in the Departments of Biology, Cell Biology & Neuroscience, Chemistry, Entomology, Psychology, and the Division of Biomedical Sciences.

A major part of training in Neuroscience is in supervised laboratory research, the student working with one or more of the Neuroscience faculty. Applicants are encouraged to make contact with faculty members whose work may correspond closely to their own individual interests.

Core Requirements: The Fundamentals

Neuroscience 200A. Fundamentals of Neuroscience
Neuroscience 200B. Fundamentals of Neuroscience
Neuroscience 200C. Fundamentals of Neuroscience

Neuroscience 201. Neuroscience Laboratory
Presents theoretical and practical aspects of modern methods and techniques used in nervous system research. Faculty teach modules on methods in which they have special expertise. Methods include, but are not limited to, light and fluorescence; microscopy, imaging ion concentrations within cells, immunocytochemistry, and electrophysiology of model systems
Taught by Douglas Ethell, Iryna Ethell, Mike Adams, Scott Currie and Douglas Altshuler
Neuroscience 257. Graduate Seminar in Cellular, Molecular and Developmental Biology
Reports on current research topics in CMD biology presented by visiting scholars, campus faculty and students. Course is repeatable.
Neuroscience 287. Colloquium in Neuroscience
Reports on current research topics in neuroscience presented by visiting scholars, campus faculty and students. Course is repeatable.
Neuroscience 289. Special Topics in Neuroscience
Interdisciplinary seminar with the instructor and topic varied each time the course is offered. Topics include: synaptic mechanisms; membrane channels; glial cells, developmental neurobiology; central pattern generation and behavior; CNS repair and regeneration. Course is repeatable.
Biochemistry 240. Special Topics in Biochemistry
Seminar with oral student presentations and intensive small-group discussions. Selected topics in the area of specialization of each faculty member (e.g., "Protein Expression and Plasticity of Brain Glutamate Receptors", Prof. Curras-Collazo).
Biochemistry/Chemistry 241. Bioorganic Chemistry
Fundamental mechanisms of enzyme action, transduction cycles in visual receptors, and G proteins.
Biology 211. Selected Techniques in Microscopy
Sample preparation and use of the electron microscope are emphasized, and other kinds of microscopy are shown. Laboratory work includes projects and techniques of special interest to the student.
Biology 285. Seminar in Animal Behavior and Neurobiology

Requirements

The nonrefundable $100.00 application fee ($125.00 for M.B.A./M.P.Ac./M.Fin./Flex M.B.A. applicants only) must be paid by credit card (VISA, MasterCard, or Discover) prior to submission of your application.
Applicants are required to submit an official copy of transcripts and degree certificates (in original language accompanied by certified English translations) from each academic institution attended after secondary school. These records should be sent directly from the Registrars Office of the academic institutions you have attended to the academic department to which you are applying. If this service is not available, applicants may also request official copies and send them in the institutions' original sealed and certified institution envelopes. Official records are original documents issued by the institution which bear the actual signature of the registrar in ink and the original wet ink stamp/seal of the issuing institution. The institution envelope must also bear that institution's appropriate authenticity indicator (original wet ink stamp and/or signature, etc.) from the appropriate department at that institution to consider the provided certified transcripts and degree certificates provided by the institution as official. Notarized documents are not acceptable. Credential evaluations by WES (World Education Services) or similar credential evaluation services are also not acceptable.
Statement of Purpose/Personal History Statement
Graduate programs require three (3) letters of recommendation. Applicants will be able to enter their recommenders' information directly into their electronic application. Recommenders will be notified electronically and provided instructions on how to submit a letter online. All letters of recommendation must be received electronically so they are attached to the applicants file for review.
The GRE general test is required of all applicants with the exceptions noted below. Some programs also require applicants submit scores from the Subject Test of the GRE. Consult the program to which you are applying for its requirements. Although current scores are preferred, some graduate programs will accept scores from tests taken within the last five years.
All applicants whose first language is not English and who have not earned an advanced degree at an institution where English is the exclusive language of instruction must submit scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). This exam is administered by the Educational Testing Service and offered in nearly every country abroad. This exam must be taken within two years of the time you intend to enroll at UCR. The minimum acceptable scores are: 550 for the written exam; 213 for the computer-based exam, and 80 for the internet-based exam (iBT). We strongly advise you to be aware of the deadline for the program to which you are applying. Dates and information for TOEFL may be obtained by contacting the Educational Testing Service (ETS) at the address below, by calling 1-877-863-3546, or by consulting the TOEFL Web site. Fellowship applicants should take the exam in time to meet the program deadline. Keep in mind that it may take up to two weeks for test scores to reach us from ETS.
Beginning with the Fall 2011 application cycle, UCR will accept scores from the Academic Modules of the International English Language Testing System IELTS) which is jointly managed by the British Council, IDP:IELTS Australia and the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. The exam must be taken within two years of the time you intend to enroll at UCR. The minimum acceptable scores are: overall band score of 7 with no individual section score less than 6. Please request an official Test Report Form (TRF) of your IELTS.