The Department of Neurobiology offers a program of graduate study leading to a Ph.D. degree in neurobiology. The goal is to train scientists for academic positions in research-oriented institutions. Major strengths of the program include an interdisciplinary faculty and a curriculum that can be as minimal or as expansive as suits a student's needs.

The program is designed to provide students with a thorough understanding of cellular, molecular, systems, cognitive, and developmental neurobiology. Each of these areas is well represented by the neurobiology faculty, and graduate training is interdisciplinary and interactive. Students complete a core curriculum that covers the major concepts of contemporary neurobiology, but are generally free to pursue with the help and counsel of faculty advisorsa course of study tailored to their needs, backgrounds, and individual interests.

Students should be able to complete the Ph.D. degree in five or six years. Specific course requirements are the core curriculum taken during the first year. (See curriculum for details.) In the first year students do course work and laboratory rotations. Each student selects a thesis mentor at the end of the first year, begins research in the second year, and submits a thesis proposal-which serves as the exam for advancement to degree candidacy-by the end of the second year.

The program was founded in 1988-90, has reached a current enrollment of about forty-nine students, and graduates about five students a year. Eighty-six students have now completed the Ph.D. degree. Most are doing postdoctoral fellowships; five are completing medical residencies, and ninteen have accepted faculty positions.

Students interested in combining graduate work in Neurobiology with Cognitive Neuroscience should consult the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience website for more information on the Interdisciplinary Training Program in Cognitive Neuroscience.

The Graduate Program in Neurobiology is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. If you believe you may need and qualify for reasonable accommodations, please visit Duke's Disability Management System at http://www.access.duke.edu for detailed information and procedures.

The Graduate Program in Neurobiology is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals who are disabled in compliance with Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, as well as applicable state regulations and federal and state privacy laws. To that end, we will work closely with Duke’s Disability Management System (DMS), which serves both the University and Health System in support of our efforts to ensure an accessible, hospitable working and learning environment for people with disabilities. DMS provides consistent processes for requesting accommodations, evaluating needs, and determining appropriate response, and it serves as a clearinghouse for disability-related information, procedures and services available at Duke, in Durham, and in North Carolina. Knowledgeable staff within DMS serve Duke’s undergraduate, graduate and professional students, trainees, employees, and faculty, as well as the public.
DMS will work with our program to ensure that any qualified applicant or individual we bring to the program has the opportunity to explore coverage under the ADA as well as associated reasonable accommodations.