COURSEWORK

1. Applicants must hold a four-year undergraduate degree.
   • Applicants may be considered for admission before finishing their undergraduate degree, but they must complete this degree before enrolling at Northwestern.
   • An undergraduate degree in does not necessarily need to be in a 'hard  science' field such as Neuroscience, Genetics, Biology, Chemistry, etc., but all applicants will need to have completed the coursework below.
2. Strong performance (B+ or greater) in the following coursework is expected:
   • One year of Chemistry
   • One year of Biology
   • One semester of Organic Chemistry
   • One semester of Physics
   • One semester of Calculus or advanced math

RESEARCH

The admissions committee looks for substantial laboratory research experience of at least nine months. Applicants who do not have significant prior research experience have found it difficult to complete the program in one year.

We ask for students to include a description of their research experiences in their Statement of Purpose.

TEST SCORES

Standardized test scores, such as the GRE and MCAT, are not required but recommended.

For International students, the TOEFL or IELTS examination is required.

Minimum scores for admission to the MS Program in Neurobiology:

• TOEFLS - 100 on the internet version, 600 on the paper version, or 250 on the computer version
• IELTS – 7.0 or higher

The exams must not be taken more than two years before the intended quarter of entry. For example, if you are applying for Fall 2019 entry, test scores must be no older than September 2017.

All International students whose native language is not English must take the Versant English test once they arrive on campus.

The program will waive the TOEFL/IELTS requirements for students that receive bachelor degrees from certified institutions where the primary language is English. Most accredited American universities will meet this requirement.

Highlights:

• Over the past five years, 31% of applicants were admitted.
• Over the past five years, 92% of applicants completed their degree.
• We have a good record of placement in medical school, academia, and industry.

Average GRE and GPA scores over 5 years

• GRE Verbal: 74th percentile
• GRE Quantitative: 86th percentile
• GPA: 3.62

Please note that the above represents the average scores of admitted applicants. The program does not have GPA/GRE/MCAT minimums, but applicant scores are determined holistically against their application’s strength and against the current applicant pool.

TUITION

Information regarding Graduate tuition and fees can be found at TGS Tuition.

STUDENT HOUSING

On-Campus Graduate Student Housing

Engelhart Hall Apartments are open to all graduate students, their partners, and families. Recently renovated apartment units feature redesigned floor space and new kitchens with all new appliances. Staff are on-site.

For more information, visit the Graduate Housing website.

Additional Off-Campus Options

The Division of Student Affairs Off-Campus Housing Guide contains information and resources available to students living off-campus, from apartment hunting to being a good neighbor within the Chicago/Evanston and Northwestern communities.

Resources for finding an apartment in Chicago:

• HotPads
• Trulia Rentals Chicago
• Chicago Padmapper
• Domu Chicago
• Craigslist Chicago
• The Apartment People
• Zillow Apartments

FINANCIAL AID

The master's program does not provide financial aid in the form of academic scholarships, assistantships, TA opportunities, or stipends. Financial aid is offered through student loans and/or external funding. The Graduate School's financial aid website can assist with any questions regarding aid.

• TGS Student Loans
• Federal Loans
• Private Alternative Loans
• Loan FAQs

An advisor agreement form must be filled out and returned to the Neurobiology office by mid-October.

We recommend newly enrolled students work with the Program Assistant to determine which advisors would be best suited for them based on their research interests and to facilitate potential mentee/mentor connections.

For some additional advice on choosing an advisor, check out the readings below:

• Making the Most of Mentors: A Guide for Mentees
• How to Pick a Graduate Advisor
• How to be a Graduate Advisee

We encourage you to look through our list of advisors and their research interests.  Below lists advisors from recent years:

Advisor	Department	Research Interests
Ahmed, Atique	Neurological Surgery	Glioblastoma; mechanisms of therapeutic resistance in brain tumor; identification of drug targets
Beutler, Lisa	Medicine (Endocrinology)	Gut and brain communication for body weight maintenance; optogenetics and calcium imaging in mice
Bozza, Thomas	Neurobiology	Molecular genetics and physiology of olfaction
Caraveo-Piso, Gabriela	Neurology (Movement Disorders) and Pharmacology	Molecular and cellular mechanisms of memory; dementia; Lewy Body pathologies
Dombeck, Daniel	Neurobiology	Neuronal circuits underlying mammalian navigation
Fink, Andrew	Neurobiology	Cortical representation and processing of olfactory stimuli; large-scale recordings from the mouse brain; mouse behavior.
Fitzgerald, James	Neurobiology	Theoretical neuroscience; Neural basis of behavior; Learning and memory; Neural networks
Gallio, Marco	Neurobiology	Temperature sensing processes in the brain
Guemez Gamboa, Alicia Dione	Neuroscience	Circuit development; Adhesion molecules
Kath, William	Engineering Sciences & Applied Mathematics	Computational neuroscience;action potential propagation anddendritic integration in neurons
Klein, William	Neurobiology	Alzheimer’s disease; memory-linked synapse structure and signal transduction
Kozorovitskiy, Yevgenia	Neurobiology	Synaptic and circuit development in the basal ganglia
Lee, Hojoon	Neurobiology	The neurobiology of taste
MacIver, Malcom	Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering	Neuroscience and robotics
Miri, Andrew	Neurobiology	Motor system function; Behavior quantification
Paller, Ken	Psychology	Human memory, awareness, & memory disorders
Para, Alessia	Neurobiology	Molecular evolution of hot and cold receptors of species adapted to different thermal environments
Raman, Indira M.	Neurobiology	Ion channel biophysics; Neuronal excitability; Synaptic Transmission; Cerebellar physiology
Sanchez, Jason	Communication Sciences & Disorders	Glutamate clearance, synaptic transmission and potassium channel function
Schmidt, Tiffany	Neurobiology	Visual neuroscience; neurophysiology; neuroanatomy; mouse genetics, behavior
Schwartz, Gregory	Ophthalmology	Circuit mechanisms underlying sensory computation
Smith, Richard	Pharmacology	Developmental neurobiology; early life ion channel diseases; clinical pharmacology
Turek, Fred	Neurobiology	Sleep and circadian rhythms, and seasonal reproductive cycles
Vitaterna, Martha Hotz	Neurobiology	Mouse Behavioral Genetics, particularly Circadian Rhythms, Sleep, Arousal, Affect
Woolley, Catherine	Neurobiology	Steroid hormones in neural plasticity
Yamada, Tomoko	Neurobiology	Chromatin mechanisms including epigenetics and genome architecture during development of the cerebellum
Yang, Yue	Neurobiology	Developmental and Activity-Dependent Remodeling of Chromatin Architecture; Epigenetic Regulation of Neural Circuits; Cerebellar Circuits in Motor Learning

More information on choosing an advisor can be found in the Student Handbook.

• Office Location: Cook  2-129
• E-mail: marco@northwestern.edu

PROGRAM CONTACT INFORMATION

Please use the following contact information for all inquiries relating to the Neurobiology MS program

Email: neurobiology.ms@northwestern.edu
Phone: 847-491-5521