Neuroscience

View PDF of Neuroscience Admissions Checklist
Prospective students should use this checklist to obtain specific admissions requirements on how to apply to Graduate School.

View PDF version of the Neuroscience catalog description

Faculty

Theme Information

The UAB Neuroscience Graduate Theme is a portal into the comprehensive neuroscience research opportunities at UAB. Students entering the Neuroscience Graduate Theme will find a home and anchor for their entire graduate experience. Throughout a student's entire Ph.D. career, the faculty and staff of the Neuroscience Graduate Program provide continued support, encouragement, and guidelines for success.

The theme-based UAB Neuroscience Graduate Program seeks to equip and train students to become tomorrow's innovative neuroscientists by

• teaching basic neuroscience ideas that become stepping stones to more in-depth research
• providing unique professional and scientific avenues through which they can develop their presentation skills, learn critical thinking and how to design experiments
• offering students the opportunity to choose neuroscience research from a multitude of options available through labs all over campus, not limiting students to a department but, rather, a discipline
• providing opportunities for informal interaction with other students to discuss research, scientific writing, as well as a social network of peers to assist students in staying grounded

Students enter the neuroscience theme either through direct admit into the program or after their first year when moving into the permanent lab of a neuroscience mentor. Neuroscience theme students follow the neuroscience curriculum and do not join a departmental graduate program nor follow a departmental graduate program curriculum. The student becomes affiliated with the department in which the mentor holds his/her primary appointment for the purpose of the awarding of the degree.

Some of the affiliated departments:

• Neurobiology
• Cell Biology
• Neurology
• Psychiatry
• Pediatrics
• Pathology
• Physiology & Biophysics
• Vision Sciences

ADMISSION TO THE PROGRAM

Admission to our program is highly competitive. We generally admit only 6-7 students each year. Students admitted to our students meet and usually exceed general requirements of:

• 3.0 or above undergraduate GPA
• GRE scores of 550 or better on each section for a minimum composite score of 1100
• Strong background in biology, chemistry and/or mathematics
• Research experience
• TOEFL (for international students) of greater than 500 on paper-based test and greater than 173 on computer-based test

Required Application Materials

Domestic students: (No application fee)

• Application and personal statement
• Official transcripts from all undergraduate institutions attended
• Official GRE scores (Institutional code 1856)
• 3 letters of recommendation

International students: ($60 application fee)

• Application and personal statement
• Official transcripts from all undergraduate institutions attended
• Official GRE scores (Institutional code 1856)
• Official TOEFL scores
• 3 letters of recommendation

All students accepted into the program receive

• free tuition
• free health insurance
• $26,000/year stipend.

CURRICULUM

All first year students follow the same curriculum, designed to provide them with the foundations they will need as they move into permanent labs and begin their own research projects. Students begin their year attending the Intro to Neurobiology course at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab on Dauphin Island, Alabama, on the Gulf of Mexico. While there, the student is exposed to a variety of learning opportunities, including lectures, hands-on experiments, and going out into the Gulf to "fish" for marine life. Students live at Dauphin Island, dorm style, for 2 1/2 weeks in late summer, working hard with UAB faculty and teaching assistants and playing hard during their downtime. This course provides a very unique opportunity for neuroscience students.

General Requirements for Ph.D.

• Students are required to successfully complete 2 electives prior to their last semester.
• Registration for the Student Summer Seminar Series (GBS 737) is required for each student each summer semester. Participation includes attendance, completion of an evaluation form for each speaker, and the presentation of a 20 minute PowerPoint talk and 10 minute Q-A session. Students will present once each summer. First year students are excluded from presenting.
• Students must register for and attend a seminar series of their choosing (with advice from their mentor) each semester until graduation.
• A biostatistics course is required. At this time, a particular stats course is not recommended. Work with your mentor on choosing the stats course that works best for you.
• All students must successfully complete an ethics course. This is taken during the summer semester of the student's first year (GRD 717).
• Students must register for a journal club of their choosing (with advice from their mentor) each semester until graduation.
• Two first-authored papers accepted to an appropriate journal are required unless the student's committee recommends/approves differently.
• Students must be registered for a minimum of 12 hours during the Fall semester, 12 hours during the Spring semester, and 9 hours during the Summer semester each year.
• 18 credit hours of dissertation research are required before graduation. This means you must have a minimum of two semesters between the semester of your Qualifying Exam and your final defense semester.
• You must be registered for at least 3 credit hours during the semester in which you plan to graduate.

Admission Requirements

GENERAL ADMISSION PREFERENCES FOR OUR PROGRAM:

• 3.0 or above undergraduate GPA
• GRE scores of 550 or better on each section for a minimum composite score of 1100
•  Strong background in biology, chemistry and/or mathematics
•  TOEFL (for international students) of greater than 500 on paper-based test and greater than 173 on computer-based test

REQUIRED APPLICATION MATERIALS: Domestic students: (No application fee) 

• Application and personal statement
• Official transcripts from all undergraduate institutions attended
• Official GRE scores (Institutional code 1856)
• 3 letters of recommendation

International students: ($60 application fee)

• Application and personal statement
• Official transcripts from all undergraduate institutions attended
• Official GRE scores (Institutional code 1856)
• Official TOEFL scores
• 3 letters of recommendation

All students accepted into the program receive

• free tuition
• free health insurance
• $26,000/year stipend.

Only online applications will be accepted.

Curriculum

All first year students follow the same curriculum, designed to provide them with the foundations they will need as they move into permanent labs and begin their own research projects. Students begin their year attending the Intro to Neurobiology course at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab on Dauphin Island, Alabama, on the Gulf of Mexico. While there, the student is exposed to a variety of learning opportunities, including lectures, hands-on experiments, and going out into the Gulf to "fish" for marine life. Students live at Dauphin Island, dorm style, for 2 1/2 weeks in late summer, working hard with UAB faculty and teaching assistants and playing hard during their downtime. This course provides a very unique opportunity for neuroscience students.

General Requirements for Ph.D.

• Students are required to successfully complete 2 electives prior to their last semester.
• Registration for the Student Summer Seminar Series (GBS 737) is required for each student each summer semester. Participation includes attendance, completion of an evaluation form for each speaker, and the presentation of a 20 minute PowerPoint talk and 10 minute Q-A session. Students will present once each summer. First year students are excluded from presenting.
• Students must register for and attend a seminar series of their choosing (with advice from their mentor) each semester until graduation.
• A biostatistics course is required. At this time, a particular stats course is not recommended. Work with your mentor on choosing the stats course that works best for you.
• All students must successfully complete an ethics course. This is taken during the summer semester of the student's first year (GRD 717).
• Students must register for a journal club of their choosing (with advice from their mentor) each semester until graduation.
• Two first-authored papers accepted to an appropriate journal are required unless the student's committee recommends/approves differently.
• Students must be registered for a minimum of 12 hours during the Fall semester, 12 hours during the Spring semester, and 9 hours during the Summer semester each year.
• 18 credit hours of dissertation research are required before graduation. This means you must have a minimum of two semesters between the semester of your Qualifying Exam and your final defense semester.
• You must be registered for at least 3 credit hours during the semester in which you plan to graduate.

Additional Information

For detailed information, contact:

Scott Wilson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Program Director
of Physiology and Neurobiology
UAB Department of Physiology and Biophysics
SHEL 914 / 1825 University Boulevard
Birmingham, AL 35294-2182
Tel: 205.975.5573
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.                   

Patricia Matthews
Program Manager
UAB Neuroscience Graduate Program
SHEL 120C / 1825 University Boulevard
Birmingham, AL 35294-2182
Tel: 205.934.7034
Fax: 205.996.6749
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.