This advising committee will meet with the student at least once each year until the student has completed the research proposal and qualifying exam. This is a sequence of three ten-week rotations through the laboratories of three faculty members, during which the student will conduct research under the supervision of the faculty. All first-year students are required to participate in three rotations. A fourth rotation is not uncommon, but it is an elective. The course is 5 hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week.
Coursework includes reading from a neuroscience text and from research papers, and writing essays.
One seminar or journal club course each quarter. A t least three additional graduate courses in topics suited to the individual program of the student must be taken to advance to candidacy. Other Requirements I n order to provide each student with experience teaching undergraduates, all students are required to serve as a teaching assistant for at least one quarter. S tudents are encouraged to attend a training program offered by another institution to provide training and experience not readily available on the Davis campus. Some examples are courses offered, primarily during the summer, at Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory , Friday Harbor Laboratories , or Hopkins Marine Station .