The University of Iowa has a long tradition as a leading center for study of the nervous system and behavior, and for the training of graduate students in this area. Research training in neuroscience at Iowa has received continuous federal support for over 25 years.

Building on this foundation, the Iowa Neuroscience Graduate Program, established in 1984, formalizes the long-standing, interdisciplinary commitment of a diverse faculty. The Program promotes interaction among faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and graduate students, and fosters a congenial and collaborative environment for investigating the structure and function of the nervous system and its role in determining behavior.

The Program enrolled its first graduate students in the fall of 1985 and awarded its first Neuroscience Ph.D. degree in May 1989. Nearly sixty graduate students are currently enrolled in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at various levels of training.

With a Neuroscience degree from the University of Iowa your venues for the future are wide open. Whether you decide to go into academia, a research institute, or industry, the background you will receive from our program will have you fully prepared. Most of our Ph.D. students pursue a post-doctoral training position after the completion of their studies with us. Afterwards, our graduates pursue careers that often place them in academia. Whatever you decide, when your time with us nears an end, you will find yourself in the center of a large number of options.

We place a lot of attention into helping you become an independent, successful scientist. We try to accomplish this by offering a large number of courses in our curriculum ranging from cellular and molecular biology into cognitive neuroscience, to help you obtain a very wide background. Our faculty is always very close to our students to help them with most any issue they have. Furthermore, to help you advertise your research as well as make as many contacts as possible with other scientists, we assist you with funds to attend a wide range of conferences. Our student body is always strongly organized, and we are always open to suggestions for improving our program so that you can get the most out of it. Our philosophy is that a program can be only as good as the students it prepares. Therefore, we will give you all possible options so that your journey with us can make the best out of you.