Overview
At a Leading University in a Preeminent System, the Neuroscience Graduate Program Is at the Very Top of Its Field
Among the preeminent university systems in the world, the University of California counts the Berkeley campus as one of its brightest stars, offering over 100 graduate programs. The Neuroscience Graduate Program at UC Berkeley offers Ph.D. training that has been uniquely designed to provide an education in the many interrelated areas of study involved in cutting-edge neuroscience research, from neurobiology to cognitive science, from human and animal behavior to computational and theoretical modeling.
With over 50 faculty members from different departments, the program's reach extends across the entire landscape of neuroscience. The program is highly interdisciplinary, an approach that creates a challenging and dynamic environment for this ever evolving field. Neuroscientists work side-by-side in the lab with engineers and roboticists to study motor control, with bioengineers to grow stem cells for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, and with chemists to develop new reagents for optical monitoring and control of neural activity. Neuroscience Graduate Program students are trained at these intersections between fields and help drive scientific and technological advances.
The Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute (HWNI) is a partner in UC Berkeley's pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, and public service and serves as the hub for neuroscience studies and research programs. The HWNI Administration, with research administration assistance from Research Enterprise Services (RES), provides comprehensive administrative, organizational, technical, and communications services for the graduate programs in the field of neuroscience.
Taught by Premier Academics, the Neuroscience Curriculum Provides a Broad Foundation for Graduate Student Specialization
Neuroscience is a broad field that requires multidisciplinary training as well as intensive study of specific concepts and techniques related to each student's primary research focus. The Neuroscience Graduate Program is designed to provide highly individualized, flexible training that fulfills both these needs. It is a Ph.D.-level program only, with a standard completion time of five to five-and-a-half years. There is no master's degree offered in this specialty.
The Neuroscience Graduate Program has a highly flexible structure, including flexible and customizable course work requirements designed to offer students sufficiently broad training so as to be up-to-date in every major area of neuroscience, while still encouraging focus on students' primary research interests. Among the training faculty are members of the National Academy of Sciences and winners of many of the most prestigious academic and professional awards in the world.
In the program's first two years, each student is required to take three courses chosen from three broad areas: cellular, molecular, and developmental neuroscience; systems and computational neuroscience; and cognition, brain, and behavior. Students consult with faculty advisers to decide upon the most appropriate individual courses, with an eye toward establishing a broad foundation of primary knowledge while simultaneously beginning the process of focusing on their ultimate special interests.
Multiple Funding Options Can Result in Many Kinds of Financial Aid Packages for the Neuroscience Graduate Program
All admitted students receive full financial support (including payment of tuition and fees) and direct financial support (set at $27,000 for the 2009-10 academic year) during their period of enrollment in the program, providing they maintain good academic standing. In addition, many students receive highly competitive fellowships, such as those offered by NSF, NDSEG, NIH, NASA, and other sources.
Short-term loans, disabled student services, and various benefits for veterans, reservists, and dependents of veterans are also available in various amounts and forms to help as many students as possible. There are also such specific opportunities as the American Indian Graduate Center (AIGC) Fellowships, and other specially focused grants and fellowships managed by the University's Graduate Division.
Graduate Outcomes Are as Excellent as the Graduate Program, Consistently Producing Top Scientists and Innovators
Following graduation in recent years, most newly-minted graduates of the Neuroscience Graduate Program opted for postdoctoral appointments leading to academic jobs. Others found jobs in private industry, consulting firms, research institutes, or went on to further graduate studies in medical, veterinarian, or law schools.
The San Francisco Bay Area Offers the Riches of Culture, Art, Cuisine, Entertainment, and Sports of a World-Class Region
Berkeley and the San Francisco Bay Area offer a rich, varied environment for students with a wide variety of personal and recreational interests. The international city of San Francisco, like the rest of the Bay Area, offers a full range of shopping venues, arts, cultural showings and offerings, superb world cuisine, and a vibrant, varied nightlife.
For outdoor fun, Tilden Park is mere minutes from campus, and only a short drive puts students at Point Reyes National Seashore, the Muir Woods, and the wine country of Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties. For dining and nightlife, a quick check of online directories presents culinary offerings from around the world.
For arts, culture, and general curiosity, there is the amazing California Academy of Sciences and the Museum of Modern Art, the Asian Art Museum, the Legion of Honor Art Museum, and the De Young Museum at Golden Gate Park. Every other facet of the music and entertainment world is on tap, as well, with numerous offerings in all music styles, at both large venues and small clubs throughout the Bay Area. Sporting, athletic, and recreational pursuits are also part of a well-balanced life. There are healthy and invigorating activities for every taste and talent.
