Program of Study

A PhD in neuroscience is offered through the Graduate School of Wake Forest University. Faculty members in both basic and clinical departments, including Biology and Psychology, offer training in all areas of neuroscience. Major research efforts are focused on the key areas of neurobiology of aging, development of the nervous system, neurobiology of memory and learning, programmed cell death, neurodegenerative disease, neurobiology of alcohol and substance abuse, sensory neurobiology, regeneration and repair of the injured nervous system, cognitive neurobiology, and molecular neurobiology

All neuroscience students participate in a unified core curriculum composed of the following courses spread over the first two years: Introduction to Neuroscience I & II, Behavioral Neuroscience, Neuropharmacology, Clinical Neuroscience, and Molecular Neuroscience. The two semester Introduction to Neuroscience course is comprised of 5 - 6 week segments focused on Neuroanatomy, Cellular/Molecular Neuroscience, Developmental Neuroscience, Sensory-Motor Systems and Behavioral-Cognitive Neuroscience. All students must also take courses in (or demonstrate competence in) Experimental Design and Statistics. During their first year, students participate in independent laboratory rotations, the goal of which is to introduce students to various research approaches and methodologies and to aid in the later choices of a research sponsor and area of specialization. Following completion of the above requirements, students, with the advice and consent of a faculty thesis committee, are free to take elective courses offered in a wide variety of areas (see below). Between the second and third years, each student is expected to prepare and orally defend a comprehensive written research proposal. This serves as a preliminary exam which the student must pass at a high level of performance to continue in the program. The choice of a sponsor and a research area, as well as initiation of a research project leading to a PhD thesis, takes place during the first or second year.

The Neuroscience Program at Wake Forest University is designed to be a modular program that meets the students' needs for basic and advanced instruction in most areas of the neurosciences. The main purpose of the program is to provide instruction in several areas of neuroscience ranging from molecular and cellular neurosciences to behavioral biology including neural network models. In addition, there is an expanding emphasis on clinical neurosciences as a framework to provide a biomedical background and foster interests in prevention and treatment of neurological disease. The Neuroscience Program also is a research oriented training program for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to become skilled investigators in the complex and rapidly changing field of neurobiology. To foster this goal, students are encouraged to begin to participate in independent research projects during their first year of graduate study. Additionally, research oriented, small group tutorials are a required and preferred method of teaching by the faculty, and therefore, an integral part of every student's course of study. Graduate students in neuroscience actively participate in journal clubs, graduate tutorials, and regular seminars presented by outside speakers who are sponsored by basic science and clinical departments, the Neuroscience Program, and the Western North Carolina (Wake Forest University) Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience. Because of the low student-to-faculty ratio, there are ample opportunities to interact and to establish collaborative research arrangements with different laboratories that share common interests. The course work, laboratory and research experiences, and various opportunities for exchange of ideas, all serve to coordinate and promote the primary goal of the Neuroscience Program: to develop and train neuroscientists with expertise in all aspects of modern neurobiology.