Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is your stipend level?
A: For the 2009-2010 academic year, our students receive $26,000/year plus the cost of fees and tuition. This stipend level has been increasing every year and remains competitive with other programs.
Q: Where will my funding come from?
A: The graduate program provides funding for your first two years and after that your PI will take over your funding. Many of our students also receive outside fellowships.
Q: How much will I pay for health care?
A: Your health care is included in your fees which are paid by the program or your PI. The program includes health, vision and dental.
Q: What is your Institution and Department code for the GREs?
A: Our Institution Code is 6907.
Q: Where do I send my application materials?
A: With the exception of official transcripts and test scores, all application materials are submitted on-line. All of the on-line application materials go directly to the Office of Graduate Studies and Research, who then forwards the information to the Graduate Program Office. Please send the Official Transcripts, GRE, and TOEFL scores directly to the Neurosciences Program Office.
Q: What is the application deadline?
A: Fall Term -- December 15 (for competitive stipend); May 1 (final deadline). This means that after the December deadline there is no guarantee of financial support and after the May deadline you cannot matriculate the following Fall. For international applications the deadline is December 15.
Q: What is the GSBS campus like?
A: The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is two miles southwest of downtown Houston. The campus is immediately adjacent to Rice University and “the Village,” a student centered collection of shops, restaurants, and entertainment. The TMC is also about three miles from the University of Houston’s main campus.
The UTHSC-H campus is located in the heart of the TMC and is made up of the Dental Branch, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS), the Medical School, the School of Public Health, the School of Nursing, the School of Health Information Sciences, the Harris County Psychiatric Center, the Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, and The Texas A & M University Institute of Biosciences and Technology.
Safe, convenient and affordable housing is available near the campus and the UT Student Housing complex is adjacent to the newly remodeled Recreation Center.
Q: What courses will I take once enrolled in the program?
A: Core Courses By the time of the Qualifying Exam, students are expected to demonstrate competence in the basics of neuroscience by taking mandatory course work in cellular, molecular, systems, and cognitive neuroscience. These four Tier I courses form the core curriculum. They generally meet twice per week and are given in a traditional lecture format. In addition to the Tier I courses a course on ethics in biomedical sciences and a statistics course are required.
Electives To take advantage of the breadth of neuroscience expertise found locally and the need for the student to obtain a broad based knowledge in neuroscience, students must satisfy the elective requirements. A series of Tier II courses are offered during the academic year. These interactive electives are seminar style graduate level courses that emphasize small group discussions focused and centered on an advanced neuroscience topic. Modern and classical papers are read and discussed each week. These courses are intended to bring the students up-to-date in a particular field, by critically reading the major contributions to that field, as well as give them the opportunity to present material in a relatively informal setting. The topics for a given year will be announced at the beginning of the academic year. Please note that the topics change frequently, even within the given year, and not all of them will be repeated.
Students are required to take elective courses based on the track with which they affiliate. There are three tracks within the program: cellular and molecular, computational, and systems and cognitive. Each track offers Tier II courses.
