Neuroscience Graduate Program Neuroscience Graduate Program Loyola University Medical Center Bldg. Such individuals will possess a broad, comprehensive knowledge of the field coupled with detailed, in-depth knowledge of their own particular area of research interest and the ability to communicate their knowledge to others. To achieve these goals, the program has several requirements. Students take a broad array of required courses, including Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Graduate Neuroscience, Neurochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology, Behavioral Neuroscience, Principles of Pharmacology, Statistics, and Ethics in Research in the Sciences.
Students also take elective courses in their area of specialization.
In addition, each semester students take the Neuroscience Seminar course, during which they make a presentation. They take a written comprehensive exam at the end of their third semester, and, after passing this, the emphasis shifts from the classroom to laboratory research. Lab rotations during the first year and first summer help students select an advisor, an event that usually occurs in the third semester. A thesis outline is submitted during the third year. Students average five years in all to complete their degree and receive a Ph.D. in Neuroscience.