Academics

NGG training consists of the following components (see the Handbook for more details):

Laboratory Rotations

Starting with the class of 2026, students typically complete two 7-8 wk laboratory rotations in the first fall semester. Each rotation is chosen by the student, under the guidance of the Academic Review Committee. The primary goals of the rotations are to provide students with opportunities to learn a wide range of modern laboratory techniques and gain first-hand experiences that will aid in the selection of a thesis laboratory. Lab rotations end with a talk presented at the rotation talks in the following January.

Courses

Coursework (click here for a complete list of required and elective courses offered by the NGG) is completed during the first two years of candidacy. Each first-year student is required to complete: 1) four Core courses, in cellular and electrical properties of the nervous system, systems neuroscience, quantitative neuroscience course, and a half-semester writing course designed to help with the written portion of the Candidacy Exam; 2) a required Neuroanatomy component; and 3) a Journal Club associated with the weekly MINS Seminar Series. Second-year students choose, with guidance from the Academic Review Committee, two elective courses offered by the NGG or elsewhere at Penn or independent studies. Second-year students are required to participate in a Specialty Journal Club or Lab Group Meeting where they make a formal presentation of a paper or their own research at least once per semester. 

Candidacy Exam

In the fall of the second year, each student must successfully complete the Candidacy Exam to advance to the thesis phase. The Candidacy Exam consists of a written proposal detailing the design and plan for completion of the student’s thesis research and an oral defense of this proposal. The format of the written proposal follows the guidelines for the NIH Predoctoral NRSA Fellowship. This proposal is defended to a panel of NGG faculty selected by the NGG Chair and Director for Advising.

Teaching

Each NGG student is required to serve as a Teaching Fellow for one semester in the courses of Penn's undergraduate neuroscience program. Students typically fulfill this requirement in the year following successful completion of the Candidacy Exam. This requirement provides NGG students with important teaching experience and helps to better integrate the primary graduate and undergraduate neuroscience programs on campus. Additinoal teaching assistant opportunities are also available.

Research

The most important element of the Ph.D. is the generation of a body of original research, completed during the research phase. During these years, the student works with the thesis advisor and the student-selected thesis committee toward the execution of original research and the communication of this research with the scientific community through meeting attendance, scientific talks, and publication. 

Dissertation

The thesis dissertation demonstrates the student’s competence in the conduction and communication of scientific research. This document includes a general introduction and conclusion encapsulating the published research required to qualify the student for graduation. An oral defense of the document, to the thesis committee and an additional outside judge, completes the Ph.D. 

Neuro images courtesy of NGG graduate Greg Dunn (http://www.gregadunn.com).