Doctoral Program - Requirements

Students must complete the following requirements to obtain the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy with a specialization in Neuroscience:

Research Rotations

First- year students obtain hands-on research experience by participating in Research Tutorial Rotations in three different laboratories. Each tutorial rotation generally lasts ten weeks. At least three rotations must be completed by the end of the spring quarter of the student’s first year. It is expected that each student will find a faculty member under whose mentorship the dissertation research will be completed.

Only Summer or Fall Quarter rotations are scheduled before arriving in Houston. The student is responsible for arranging his or her own rotations and registering with the Registrar’s Office. Winter and Spring rotations are scheduled during the student’s first year. The student and faculty member meet to discuss what is expected prior to the beginning of the rotation and then have regular meetings during the rotation to discuss the student’s progress. At the conclusion of each rotation, written evaluations are submitted both by the faculty member and the student to the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and the Graduate Program Coordinators. Students are required to present a short talk at the end of each of the three rotations.

MD/PhD student do their research rotation prior to their first year of Medical school and the second two rotations during the summer between their fist and second year of medical school.

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Course Work

All students in the Neuroscience Program are required to take four Program Core Courses and complete three research rotations. Also required is the Ethical Dimensions of Biomedical Science. A number of elective courses are available which can be taken any time during the student’s tenure in the graduate program. Core Courses must be taken for credit and a grade of "B" or better must be obtained. All other courses may be taken for a grade of "B-" or better. If a student receives a grade of "C+", the option of either repeating the course or taking a different course from the list of electives exists. Each student has the responsibility to remediate any poor grades within one year.

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Core Courses

By the time of the Advancement to Candidacy Exam, students are expected to demonstrate competence in the basics of neuroscience by taking four quarters of mandatory course work including the four core neuroscience courses and the GSBS ethics course.

Advisory committee

At the end of each student’s first year he/she selects an Advisory Committee which consists of at least five members, including the student's Advisor, chosen to assure representation by faculty members competent in the student's major area of research.

This committee helps each student to: (1) recommend coursework to prepare the student with an adequate theoretical background, (2) prepare the student for the Candidacy exam, and (3) determine if the research project being undertaken is suitable.

Therefore, this Committee usually contains faculty who are expert in the field in question, some of whom have extensive experience with the GSBS, along with some faculty who are not representative of the field of study and who can provide breadth of knowledge (and one "outside" member).

There is no maximum number of Committee members, but more than 6 is not recommended since it is difficult to have all of them at one Committee meeting. The Advisory Committee may have 2 non-GSBS members who are at the faculty or staff level at their institution. Students must meet with the Advisory Committee every six months.

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Advancement to Candidacy Exam

The Advancement to Candidacy is taken during the Spring quarter of the student’s second year. The exam must be passed by the end of the summer of the second academic year.

The exam is designed to meet two objectives:

  1. To evaluate the student’s ability to propose, write a proposal and defend an original research project.
  2. To evaluate the breadth of student’s general neuroscience knowledge as gained from the Core Courses taken in the first year of study.

The Advancement to Candidacy Examination requires the student to select a research problem in the neurosciences and propose an experimental approach to solve it. The research problem should be broad, requiring experimental approaches from multiple disciplines, and should be outside the area of the mentor’s laboratory and student’s anticipated dissertation research. Although most breadth questions will be derived from the research proposal, the student will be responsible for all areas covered in the core curriculum.

There are four phases to the Advancement to Candidacy Examination (additional details regarding Candidacy Exam):

  1. Selection of an approved topic which is generated by the production of a two-page abstract submitted to the Program Directors and the Advancement to Candidacy committee.
  2. Writing a proposal in NIH small-grant format.
  3. Passing an oral examination based on the submitted proposal consisting of a thirty-minute presentation followed by a period of open questioning by a five-member committee, all of whom are chosen by the student in consultation with the mentor. One member of the examination committee must be a member of the Advancement to Candidacy Committee and one member must be outside the Program.
  4. The Chair of the student’s examination committee will submit an evaluation form to the GSBS Academic Standards Committee describing the outcome of exam.

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Supervisory committee

The Supervisory Committee oversees the progress of the dissertation research and administers the Final Defense. The student should schedule at least one supervisory committee meeting each Quarter after Advancement to Candidacy. The Chair of the supervisory committee and four additional members must sign a progress report at each meeting to indicate that the student is making adequate progress towards completing his/her dissertation.

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Defense of Dissertation

The Defense of Dissertation consists of two parts.

  1. A public presentation of the dissertation work, followed by public discussion.
  2. An oral defense, in closed session, with the student’s Supervisory Committee.

The student MUST contact the GSBS academic standards committee at least one month prior to scheduling their defense. The student obtains a Ph.D. Dissertation form online and submits this, along with a one-page abstract of the research project, to the GSBS Office of Academic Affairs at least ten (10) working days prior to the date of their defense.

At the conclusion of the Doctoral Defense, all supervisory committee members will sign the "Final Report of the Final Examination and Filing of the Dissertation for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy” directly following the examination. The student delivers the form in person to obtain the appropriate signatures from the Neuroscience Program Director.

The Ph.D. degree is conferred at the end of the quarter in which all forms are completed. The student may, if they choose, attend the graduation ceremonies held in the following June.

Additional information about academic advising can be found in the on the GSBS website.

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Coursework

All students in the Program are required to complete three research rotations, take four Core Courses, take Ethical Dimensions of Biomedical Sciences and attend Research Seminar for two years. Students are encouraged to attend optional elective courses.

Core Courses

  • GS 140063 is a course in Molecular Neuroscience taught every fall. The course coordinator is Dr. M. Neal Waxham. Each week, there are three hours of lectures. Topics covered in this course include molecular aspects of nerve cells function including neurotransmitter synthesis, neurotransmitter receptors, second messenger systems, development and plasticity.
  • GS 140143 is a course in Cellular Neurophysiology taught every fall in parallel with Molecular Neuroscience. The course is run by Dr. Heidelberger and covers cellular physiology, synaptic transmission and plasticity.
  • GS 140000 is a course in Systems Neuroscience taught every spring. The course director is Dr. Valentine Dragoi. It covers visual, auditory, olfactory, somatosensory, and motor systems. There are lectures from researchers in each field and discussion sections on research papers. This course includes sessions on mammalian neuroanatomy which provides a hands-on look at the central nervous system including the key structures and their connectivity and the types of information they carry.
  • GS 1400023 is a course on the introduction to cognitive neuroscience and the neural basis of behavior taught every spring in parallel with Systems Neuroscience. The course coordinator is Dr. Anne Sereno. Topics include neurology and psychiatry, attention, learning and memory.
  • GS 210051 Ethics Course Requirement: Students are required to take an Ethics Course by the end of their second year.
  • GS 010014 Statistical Methods is offered every summer. The course director is Dr. Alan White. This course is designed for graduate students and addresses principles of statistical methods and study design as well as selected advanced topics relating to biological research. The course will combine lectures, discussion, and practical examples drawn from medical research.

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