In the second year, students select from a variety of courses including neural systems, neurochemistry, and pharmacology. Over the usual five-year training period the student is required to complete a practical course in statistics, selected seminar courses, at least two laboratory rotations, and a total of 50 credit hours of research. The student typically devotes the majority of the first year to taking core courses and about half of the second year to taking electives. Following the first year, the student is expected to act as a teaching assistant in the neuroanatomy core course. The emphasis of the graduate program in Anatomy and Neurobiology is on research, and a student's participation in laboratory research begins in the first week of graduate study.
Students rotate through at least two laboratories during the first year.
By the end of the first year the student and the Graduate Committee select a faculty sponsor who will supervise the dissertation research. A two-part Qualifying Examination is given to the student by a Candidacy Committee no later than the end of the fall quarter of the third year. The second part consists of an oral examination and a dissertation proposal. The dissertation research topic is chosen by the student and faculty advisor under guidance of the Dissertation Committee, and an oral research proposal is made. The majority of the third and fourth years is devoted to completing the research and preparing a written dissertation suitable for publication.