8. Requirements for the PhD Degree in Neuroscience

8.1. Objectives

The Doctor of Philosophy degree in Neuroscience shall reflect a mastery of such areas as cellular or developmental neurobiology, neuropharmacology, neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, behavioral neuroscience, and molecular neuroscience. During the course of study, the student has the option of deciding whether to specialize in one or more of the above areas. All students are strongly encouraged to complete the doctoral degree within a five (5) year time period.

8.2. Residence and Credit Hour Requirements

All doctoral students must fulfill the Graduate School’s residence and credit hour requirements.

The Doctor of Philosophy degree requires the equivalent of at least 3 academic years of work beyond the baccalaureate degree with a minimum of 135 hours of graduate credit. If a student has earned a master’s degree in a relevant area, then a minimum of 90 graduate credit hours beyond the master’s degree is required.

Students must have earned a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.0 for all graduate course work completed at this University to qualify for graduation.

Residence at the University is required to afford the student an opportunity to engage in intensive study over an extended period of time in association with faculty members and other students in an atmosphere conducive to a high level of intellectual and scholarly activity. All domestic students are required to establish Ohio residency no later than their fourth quarter of study.

The following requirements must be fulfilled after the master’s degree has been earned or after the first 45 hours of graduate credit have been completed:

• a minimum of 45 graduate credit hours must be completed at this University
• a minimum of three out of four consecutive quarters with an enrollment of at least ten graduate credit hours per quarter must be completed while in residence at this University
• a minimum of 6 graduate credit hours over a period of at least two quarters must be completed after admission to candidacy

All doctoral students must be registered for a minimum of three credit hours in the quarter they expect to receive the degree. A student who does not meet published graduation deadlines but who does complete all degree requirements by the last business day prior to the first day of classes for the following quarter may graduate the following quarter without registering or paying fees in accordance with the Graduate School Handbook.

8.3. Course Requirements

It is required that all NGSP students take the introductory core course sequence, consisting of:

NEUROSC 723 (Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience)
NEUROSC or DENT 724 (Neurophysiology)
NEUROSC or DENT 725 (Structure and Function of the Nervous System)
PSYCH 726 (Behavioral Neuroscience)
PHARMCOL 824 (Psychopharmacology)
BIOCHEMP 760 (First-year student orientation)

These courses are normally scheduled in the first year and must be completed by the end of the second year. In addition, NEUROGSP 797 (Neuroscience Seminar) should be scheduled each quarter it is offered. After satisfactorily completing the Candidacy Examination, it is normally expected that a student will not enroll in any course other than NEUROGSP 797 and the 999 course of the advisor’s home department (see section 8.4).

Students, who transfer into the Program from other graduate programs, whether at OSU or another institution, must also meet the core course requirement. They may petition to the NGSP Committee to accept courses taken in their former Program. The NGSP Committee will determine if the courses taken are equivalent to the NGSP core courses and will determine if the transfer student may be exempted from taking one or more core courses.

In certain instances, with permission of the NGSP Committee and the student’s advisor, students may be exempted from taking a core course if adequate proficiency or equivalency can be demonstrated. The NGSP committee may approve an alternative course of study.

All Neuroscience Graduate Students are encouraged to enroll in additional elective coursework. The student should consult her/his advisor for recommended additional coursework in accordance with the student’s chosen course of study.

A list of “Recommended Electives” includes, but is not limited to:

MVIMG 750 (Principles of Neuroimmunology)
NEUROGSP 760 (Neurophysiology of Motor Control)
NEUROSC 790 (Developmental Neurobiology)
NEUROSC 705 (Neurobiology of Disease)
BIOCHEM 611 (Introduction to Biological Chemistry)
BIOCHEM 612 (Biochemistry of Physiological Processes)
BIOCHEM 702 (Molecular Biology: Regulation of Gene Expression)
MOL GEN 701 (Molecular Genetics: DNA Transactions)
PHARMCOL 600 (General Pharmacology)
PHARMACY 870 (Molecular Pharmacology of Drug-Receptor Interactions)
PSYCH 806 (Survey of Behavioral Neuroscience I)
PSYCH 807 (Survey of Behavioral Neuroscience II)
PSYCH 808 (Survey of Behavioral Neuroscience III)
PSYCH 811 (Seminar in Experimental Psychobiology)
PSYCH 826 (Statistics in Psychology)
PSYCH 827 (Analysis of Variance)
PSYCH 828 (Correlational Analysis)
PSYCH 912 (Behavioral Pharmacology)
PSYCH 913 (Cognitive Neuroscience)

Other electives may be taken, at the discretion of the student and his/her advisor.

All students are also strongly encouraged to receive training in statistics and ethics. The student together with her/his advisor will determine which electives the student will take.

8.4. Laboratory Rotations and Thesis Research

Students are engaged in research during every quarter of their training. Students doing laboratory rotations should register for the 693 course of the rotation mentor’s home department, e.g. NEURO SC 693 (“Individual Studies in Neuroscience”) for mentors who are in the Department of Neuroscience. Once students have selected their thesis mentor, they should register for the 999 course of the advisor’s home department, e.g. NEURO SC 999 (“Research in Neuroscience”) for advisors who are in the Department of Neuroscience.

8.5. One-Quarter Teaching Requirement

The NGSP considers that teaching is an important part of a student’s professional development. To this end, all students, including those appointed as Graduate Research Associates, are required to teach one quarter during their training. The course director(s) in consultation with the student will determine what course the student will teach. Students may obtain a list of all teaching opportunities by contacting the Program Administrator. The student should normally have completed this requirement by the end of the second year.

8.6. Candidacy and Final Doctoral Examinations

All students are required to satisfactorily complete the Candidacy Examination in order to proceed with their thesis research. To graduate from the Program, all students must successfully complete the Final Doctoral Examination. These examinations are described in sections 11 and 12, respectively.

8.7. Deactivation

The Graduate School will automatically deactivate any pre-candidacy doctoral student who has not been registered in the Graduate School within the preceding two calendar years. To re-enroll, the student must first successfully petition the NGSP Committee for reactivation and there is no assurance of readmission.