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Graduate Training

Room MSB 7.254
Director: Jack Waymire, Ph.D. | E-mail
Telephone: (713) 500-5193

For additional details see: Neuroscience Graduate Program Website

The department sponsors and conducts graduate training and education in the neurosciences. The program involves advanced graduate courses, intensive laboratory work, and the successful completion of a thesis that contributes significantly to the understanding of the nervous system. Graduate students participate in journal clubs, advanced graduate courses, laboratory training, seminar series, and attend local and national scientific meetings. Training encompasses a wide range of topics including learning; memory; nervous system plasticity; neural networks; the visual system; behavior; drug actions; and neural circuitry and transmission.

For admission to the Neuroscience Graduate Program , you can apply or obtain an application online from the website of the Office of the Registrar. For information regarding Neuroscience training opportunities available in the Neuroscience Program, contact:

Jack Waymire, Ph.D.
Director, Neuroscience Graduate Program
William M. Wheless III Professor of Biomedical Sciences
The University of Texas Medical School at Houston
P.0. Box 20708
Houston, TX 77225
Telephone: (713) 500-5619
FAX: (713) 500-0621
E-mail: jack.c.waymire@uth.tmc.edu

or

Danita Gallegos [ e-mail ]
Coordinator of Special Programs
Graduate Education Office
Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy
The University of Texas Medical School at Houston
P.O. Box 20708
Houston, Texas 77225-0708
Telephone: 713-500-5605

Graduate Program: General Information

The Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy is the largest component of the neuroscience training program. It is located in the modern nine-story The University of Texas Medical School at Houston Building and has 30,000 square feet of laboratory and office space contiguous with the Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Ophthalmology and Visual Science, thereby encouraging interdisciplinary scholarship.

Research interests of faculty in the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy lie within four major subdivisions: molecular, cellular, computational, and structural. Within these four major groups, there is a main focus on neuronal plasticity; learning and memory; and vision. Areas of emphasis outside the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy include visual science, neuroendocrinology, neural trauma, stroke, and epilepsy.

Research Facilities

Departmental resources comprise the principal training and research facilities for the neuroscience graduate training program. Each research interest group maintains common equipment and laboratories, in addition to the facilities of individual investigators. Core facilities are available which house major time-shared equipment. These facilities include a Molecular Neurobiology Core Facility; a Multiphoton Confocal Microscopy Facility; an Image Analysis Core Facility for 3-D reconstruction of neuronal structures; a Computational Core Facility with three SPARC20 workstations; an Electron Microscopy Facility containing a JEOL electron microscope with support facilities; and a Photography/Graphic Illustration Core Facility.

Other research facilities are located in the University of Texas Medical School at Houston's departments of Integrative Biology and Pharmacology; Neurology; Neurosurgery; Ophthalmology and Visual Science; and Radiology, the University of Texas Mental Science Institute at Houston's department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center's departments of Anesthesiology and Molecular Genetics; and Symptom Research; and the Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library (which contains approximately 260,000 volumes).

See also: Department Research Information.

Program of Study

The graduate program in neuroscience leads to a Ph.D. degree in biomedical sciences with a specialization in neuroscience and, by special arrangement, may be combined with an M.D. degree program. The faculty consists of physicians and scientists from the following departments: The UT Medical School at Houston's departments of Integrative Biology and Pharmacology; Neurobiology and Anatomy; Neurology; Neurosurgery; Ophthalmology and Visual Science; and Radiology; the UT Mental Science Institute at Houston's department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; and the UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center's departments of Anesthesiology and Molecular Genetics; and Symptom Research. All scientists and physicians are faculty members of the Graduate School. They represent the major areas of neuroscience research and training at both the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Emphasis is placed on the Doctor of Philosophy degree, although a Master of Science degree may be obtained. Tutorials and individual research projects are an integral part of this area of study. Advanced seminars are available on a variety of neuroscience topics.

See also: Graduate Neuroscience Course Information; and Program in Neuroscience Course Requirements (on GSBS website).

Financial Aid

Graduate School assistantships are available to first-year Ph.D. students. First-year students receive $23,000 per annum. The assistantships require no service other than degree-related academic activities. They also provide all of the students' medical insurance and the majority of their dental insurance. After the first year, students are supported by traineeships, research assistantships, a variety of special fellowships, and training grants from the National Institutes of Health.

See also: Student Financial Aid Office.

Cost of Study

The tuition and required fees of all Ph.D. students are paid for by their advisors, research fellowships or one of three NIH neuroscience training grants. The tuition and fees of M.S. students are also paid for by their advisors, unless a student is self-funded. Self-funded M.S. students are responsible for their own tuition and fees. Current rates can be found on the website of the Office of the Registrar.

See also: Neuroscience Graduate Program | UTH Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences