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Northwestern University Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program (NUIN)

Degree Types: PhD

Northwestern University Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program (NUIN) is a highly interactive and collaborative program, with faculty distributed across more than 20 departments on the Chicago and Evanston campuses. Our program encourages interdisciplinary neuroscience research among six NU-affiliated centers, including in the Feinberg School of Medicine (FSM), Shirley Ryan Ability Lab, and Lurie Children’s Hospital on NU’s Chicago campus, and the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences (WCAS), McCormick School of Engineering, and the School of Communication on the Evanston campus. NUIN faculty pursue a broad range of research interests including molecular and developmental neuroscience, cellular physiology, cognition and systems neuroscience, and medical or 'translational' research. Training in research is supplemented with core and elective coursework, mentorship, teaching and other professional development opportunities.

This program attracts applicants from a broad array of academic backgrounds, including neuroscience, biology, computer science, chemistry, engineering, physics, and psychology. Our curriculum is designed to embrace this diversity while also providing intensive training in fundamental principles of neuroscience.

Additional resources:

Program Statistics

Visit PhD Program Statistics for statistics such as program admissions, enrollment, student demographics and more.

Degree Requirements

The following requirements are in addition to, or further elaborate upon, those requirements outlined in The Graduate School Policy Guide.

PhD

Total Units Required: 9

Course Title
Required Courses
Core Courses (3 units)
NUIN 401-1Fundamentals of Neuroscience
NUIN 401-2Fundamentals of Neuroscience
NUIN 401-3Fundamentals of Neuroscience
Required First Year Course (0 units)
NUIN 407-0NUIN Graduate Foundations
Biostatistics Elective (1 unit). Contact NUIN to confirm if classes not listed here count towards biostatistics requirement
NUIN 408-0Quantitative Methods and Experimental Design
PUB_HLTH 302-0Introduction to Biostatistics
PUB_HLTH 421-0Intermediate Biostatistics
BIOSTAT 302-0Introduction to Biostatistics
BIOSTAT 402-0Intermediate Biostatistics
DGP 484-0Quantitative Biology: Statistics and Data Analysis for Life Scientists
IBIS 432-0Statistics for Life Sciences
PSYCH 380-0Advanced Statistics & Experimental Design
PSYCH 450-0Fundamentals of Statistics
Additional Electives (5 units)
Noncredit Courses
NUIN 490-0Responsible Conduct in Neuroscience Research
NUIN 590-0Research
TGS 500-0Funded Doctoral Study

Other PhD Requirements

  • Laboratory rotations: three research rotations (additional if necessary) and poster, written, and oral presentations, first year
  • Seminar attendance: 6/quarter in Fall, Winter, Spring of first year
  • Examinations: research based qualifying exam, taken during second year
  • Teaching: two quarters of teaching assistantship, usually during the second year
  • Thesis Committee Meetings: written proposal and oral defense of thesis project to Thesis Committee, taken during third year; annual thesis committee meetings thereafter
  • Seminar presentation: oral presentation of research at a departmental or conference seminar
  • Publication: at least one first author research publication in a peer-reviewed journal
  • Dissertation: written dissertation, oral defense of dissertation to Thesis Committee, and public presentation of dissertation
  • We require in-person research activity for students to make timely progress toward a degree

Last Updated: September 12, 2023