Graduate Program
Ph.D. Application Procedure
Stipend, Tuition Remission, and Benefits
If you are accepted, you will receive full tuition remission, a stipend and a benefits package. Learn more about the student life at Einstein.
Neuroscience Graduate Student Organization
The Neuroscience Graduate Student Organization (NGSO) is the association for all students, post-doctoral fellows, and research trainees in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The NGSO provides services and activities to enhance the academic, professional, and social experience of all individuals within the department, in addition to the public. To achieve these goals, the NGSO holds monthly meetings to plan activities that serve Einstein, the department, and the community.
Graduate Courses
The faculty and students of the Department of Neuroscience investigate a wide range of nervous system operations in the developing and mature organism. Organizational levels range from molecules and neurons to neural systems and cognitive functions. The Department offers courses focused on each of these organizational levels:
If, under unusual circumstances a student wishes to enroll in a non-Einstein course, this request must be pre-approved by the Department of Neuroscience Graduate Education Committee.
Joining the Department of Neuroscience
By the end of the first year, students who wish to join Neuroscience must declare in a lab whose principal investigator is affiliated with the Department of Neuroscience. The chairperson of the Department of Neuroscience must approve this choice. The student and mentor(s) will select a student advisory committee (SAC) consisting of faculty members that will play a guiding role in the graduate student training. Students in the Department are required to attend department-hosted weekly seminars, and student-driven works-in-progress (WIP) sessions, and follow otherl departmental requirements.
Qualifying Exam:
All graduate students are expected to take and pass the qualifying exam by the end of the Spring term of their second year (third year for MSTP students). By this time it is expected that students will have completed the majority (but not necessarily all) of required courses. The written section of the qualifying exam in the Department of Neuroscience is different from that of other departments.
Student Advisory Committee:
The Student Advisory Committee (SAC) usually consists of four faculty members and does not include the Thesis advisor. These faculty evaluate the laboratory work that constitutes the research component of the PhD degree. SAC meetings are expected every six months, and the filing of written reports of their content using the One45 system are departmental requirements for the PhD degree. It is the responsibility of each student to schedule a meeting of their SAC as per school guidelines. The Graduate Education Committee convenes monthly to review these reports and the recommendation of the SAC.
Thesis Defense:
Students are required to remain in residence until the thesis research has been completed to the satisfaction of the PhD mentor, the SAC, and the Thesis Examining Committee. The preparation and defense of the PhD thesis in Neuroscience is a culmination of a student's independent laboratory research. Information about the Thesis Defense can be found here.
Ombuds Committee
The Ombuds Committee at Einstein is a group of individuals committed to providing an informal, impartial, open-minded and supportive ear for Einstein students to voice and be heard with respect to their concerns and complaints about their learning environment and interactions with their teachers, the clinical and laboratory staff. More information can be found here.