The iDREAM post-baccalaureate program in Neuroscience is for students:

• Who are recent (within two years) graduates from undergraduate institutions that do not currently offer PhD’s in the biosciences
• Who want to pursue a PhD in neuroscience
• Who are looking to get more research experience and help strengthen their grad school applications

Students who meet the NIH criteria for underrepresented status are encouraged to apply. (see FAQ for details)

**Next application period will open in December 2024.**

Benefits of the program:

• Bootcamp introduction to research
• Near-peer mentorship from Neuroscience PhD students
• 2-year paid research experience
• Access to both undergrad and graduate level courses (tuition paid)

Our list of mentors includes faculty members who have completed the Culturally Aware Mentoring workshop as part of Dr. Angela Byars-Winston's NIH NRMN U01

History of post-baccalaureate research at Iowa

In 2012, UI launched an independent post-baccalaureate research internship to provide a “missing link” in the continuum of campus programs. Termed the “research internship program” it enables recent college graduates to work for one year in laboratories as a means to gain a better understanding of the career path on which they wished to embark and strengthen their research skills. Each year 22-24 positions are approved for the entire campus. This program has positive outcomes in terms of the percentage of students who matriculated into health profession or graduate school.  The Neuroscience PostBaccalaureate  program (which will train at least 4 students/year for 2 years each) will fill a unique niche at Iowa by providing guided high-quality research experiences in the context of didactics and community building experiences aimed at making scholars competitive for rigorous graduate programs in Neuroscience