The Center accepts students only for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Degree Requirements: A minimum of 72 points is required, at least 36 of which must be taken in residence at New York University. This includes the required first-year core curriculum (see below). The student is expected to fulfill the course requirements, complete the doctoral research, and defend the thesis within five years.

Curriculum Planning, Advisement, and Examining Committees: An adviser and two other members of the faculty guide the student in the selection of formal courses until the thesis proposal has been submitted. At this time a dissertation committee is selected, consisting of three members of the faculty whose research interests are appropriate to help the student in the planning and execution of the proposed doctoral research.

Examinations: The student’s general knowledge of the field of neural science is documented by satisfactory performance in the first-year core curriculum taught by the staff of the Center. Completion of this requirement qualifies the student as a candidate for the doctoral degree.

Specific knowledge related to the area of the doctoral thesis is examined orally at the time of the presentation of the thesis proposal to the dissertation committee. The formal presentation of the dissertation proposal must be filed at least six months before the defense of the thesis.

The final examination consists of the oral defense of the doctoral thesis. The examination committee usually consists of the three members of the dissertation committee plus two additional members. Passage of the thesis defense is contingent on all but one of the examiners voting to accept the thesis and its defense. If there is a dissent, the dissenter shall provide a written report detailing the grounds for the dissent.

Research and Sponsorship: Many students may have already selected a research area and made arrangements for research sponsorship at the time of admission. Others do not make this decision until they have completed the core courses described below, including rotations through the research laboratories of the staff of the Center, which expose the student to the interests and techniques of neuroscience. The final decision on the doctoral research to be undertaken depends on a mutual agreement between the student and the appropriate sponsor for the research.

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