About the Program

The Neuroscience Graduate Program at UC Berkeley is a unique, diverse PhD training program that offers intensive, integrated training in multiple areas of neuroscience research.

The program involves more than 50 faculty from different campus departments, with expertise ranging from molecular and cellular neuroscience, to developmental neuroscience, systems and computational neuroscience, and human cognitive neuroscience.

We provide a highly interdisciplinary, intellectually dynamic training environment of coursework, research training, and mentoring, within a strong research program that produces fundamental advances in knowledge and cutting-edge techniques.

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Admissions

Admission to the University

Minimum Requirements for Admission

The following minimum requirements apply to all graduate programs and will be verified by the Graduate Division:

1. A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;
2. A grade point average of B or better (3.0);
3. If the applicant comes from a country or political entity (e.g., Quebec) where English is not the official language, adequate proficiency in English to do graduate work, as evidenced by a TOEFL score of at least 90 on the iBT test, 570 on the paper-and-pencil test, 230 on the computer-based test, or an IELTS Band score of at least 7 (note that individual programs may set higher levels for any of these); and
4. Sufficient undergraduate training to do graduate work in the given field.

Applicants Who Already Hold a Graduate Degree

The Graduate Council views academic degrees not as vocational training certificates but as evidence of broad training in research methods, independent study, and articulation of learning. Therefore, applicants who already have academic graduate degrees should be able to pursue new subject matter at an advanced level without need to enroll in a related or similar graduate program.

Programs may consider students for an additional academic master’s or professional master’s degree only if the additional degree is in a distinctly different field.

Applicants admitted to a doctoral program that requires a master’s degree to be earned at Berkeley as a prerequisite (even though the applicant already has a master’s degree from another institution in the same or a closely allied field of study) will be permitted to undertake the second master’s degree, despite the overlap in field.

The Graduate Division will admit students for a second doctoral degree only if they meet the following guidelines:

1. Applicants with doctoral degrees may be admitted for an additional doctoral degree only if that degree program is in a general area of knowledge distinctly different from the field in which they earned their original degree. For example, a physics PhD could be admitted to a doctoral degree program in music or history; however, a student with a doctoral degree in mathematics would not be permitted to add a PhD in statistics.
2. Applicants who hold the PhD degree may be admitted to a professional doctorate or professional master’s degree program if there is no duplication of training involved.

Applicants may apply only to one single degree program or one concurrent degree program per admission cycle.

Any applicant who was previously registered at Berkeley as a graduate student, no matter how briefly, must apply for readmission, not admission, even if the new application is to a different program.

Required Documents for Applications

1. Transcripts:  Applicants may upload unofficial transcripts with your application for the departmental initial review. If the applicant is admitted, then official transcripts of all college-level work will be required. Admitted applicants must request a current transcript from every post-secondary school attended, including community colleges, summer sessions, and extension programs. Official transcripts must be in sealed envelopes as issued by the school(s) attended. 
   If you have attended Berkeley, upload your unofficial transcript with your application for the departmental initial review. If you are admitted, an official transcript with evidence of degree conferral will not be required.
2. Letters of recommendation: Applicants may request online letters of recommendation through the online application system. Hard copies of recommendation letters must be sent directly to the program, not the Graduate Division.
3. Evidence of English language proficiency: All applicants from countries or political entities in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency. This applies to applicants from Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Latin America, the Middle East, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, most European countries, and Quebec (Canada). However, applicants who, at the time of application, have already completed at least one year of full-time academic course work with grades of B or better at a US university may submit an official transcript from the US university to fulfill this requirement. The following courses will not fulfill this requirement: 1) courses in English as a Second Language, 2) courses conducted in a language other than English, 3) courses that will be completed after the application is submitted, and 4) courses of a non-academic nature. If applicants have previously been denied admission to Berkeley on the basis of their English language proficiency, they must submit new test scores that meet the current minimum from one of the standardized tests.

Where to Apply

Visit the Berkeley Graduate Division application page . 

Admission to the Program

Applicants to the program should have a bachelor's degree in science from a four-year college and at least one year of laboratory experience. Applicants are required to submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test scores, and are strongly encouraged to submit one GRE Subject Test score (in biochemistry and cell biology, chemistry, psychology, biology, computer science, or physics).

Doctoral Degree Requirements

Normative Time Requirements

Normative Time to Advancement

Step I: Lab Rotations and Presentations

During the first year of graduate study, each neuroscience graduate student spends three 10-week periods performing research projects in different faculty laboratories. The goal is to expose students to different techniques and approaches in neuroscience and to provide training in experimental design, critical analysis of data, and presentation of research findings. Performance in rotations is evaluated and graded. Rotations also allow students to identify the laboratory in which their thesis research will be performed. During the spring semester, students formally present results from the laboratory rotations in a dedicated course, NEUROSC 290 (Neuroscience First Year Research), designed to train students in clear, effective presentation of scientific findings.

Step II

Students complete an oral qualifying exam during the spring semester of year two. This exam is structured around two written proposals—one in the student’s proposed area of thesis research, and the other in an area of neuroscience outside the thesis topic. During the exam, a faculty committee tests the student’s knowledge of these areas and general neuroscience. Students must demonstrate the ability to recognize important research problems, propose relevant experimental approaches, and display comprehensive knowledge of relevant subjects. Students must pass the qualifying examination before advancing to doctoral candidacy.

Normative Time in Candidacy

Step III

Students undertake research for the PhD dissertation under a four-person committee in charge of their research and dissertation. Students do original research using a wide variety of cutting-edge neuroscience methods. The students then write the dissertation based on the results of this research. On completion of the research and approval of the dissertation by the committee, the students are awarded the doctorate.

Total Normative Time

Total normative time is 5.5 years.

Time to Advancement

Curriculum

One Graduate Course in Each of the Following Three Foundational Areas

Students can either take one graduate level course from each category, or three graduate level courses chosen form two areas, plus a selected advance undergraduate course from a third area. They are taken in years 1-2.

1. Cellular, Molecular and Developmental Neuroscience

2. Systems and Computational Neuroscience 

3. Cognition, Brain and  Behavior 

Two Graduate Elective Seminars or Courses 

Students must take two additional elective courses. These can be either graduate-level seminars or graduate-level lecture courses, and can be 1 unit or more. These are typically taken years three-four. You may also select a foundation course as an elective. Consult your thesis adviser and thesis committee to select the most appropriate course for you.

Time in Candidacy

Dissertation Presentation/Finishing Talk

There is no formal defense of the completed dissertation. Neuroscience students are required to publicly present a thesis seminar about their dissertation research in their final year.

Required Professional Development

Presentations

During their fourth year of study, students are required to make a presentation on the progress of their thesis work while enrolling in NEUROSC 294 (Neuroscience Graduate Student Presentation Seminar), a journal club, for a letter grade.

Teaching

Neuroscience students are required to serve as graduate student instructors (GSIs) for two semesters. Whenever possible, GSI assignments are determined with an eye toward student research interests. Teaching occurs during fall semester of the second year and spring semester of the third. Teaching affords students supervised experience in a variety of educational situations, including labs, discussion sections, and demonstrations. GSIs also participate in record-keeping, grading, advising, and student consultations.

GSIs are evaluated by both supervising faculty and the students they teach. These evaluations become a permanent part of the student file. Deserving GSIs are nominated for the Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award.

Courses

Neuroscience