Navigating Neuroscience Graduate School Application Process

1. Going to Graduate School:How to Apply and What to Expect Once You Get There Based on a presentation by Sheila Rosenberg, former student in USC Neuroscience Graduate Program (NGP)

2. Applications require: • Official Transcripts • GRE Test Scores • Letters of Recommendation • Statement of Purpose/Personal Statement • Research Experience

3. Personal Statement • Why are you interested in grad school? • What type of research are you interested in? (including some description of your past research experience) • Why do you want to be a neuroscientist?

4. Interview Tips • Research your interviewers ahead of time • Prepare what you want to say about yourself • Talk to current students • Ask questions! • Write thank-you notes as a follow-up

5. Do your homework: check out program websites; select at least 3 faculty whose research interests align with your own

6. Look over lists of publications; select at least one paper to look over for each person you are interested in

7. Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing. ~Werner Von Braun

8. Myths • You must know what you want to study coming into grad school – not true, but you should define your specific interests and be able to articulate them clearly • You must be familiar with the techniques performed in the lab you wish to join – also not true. But you need to provide a compelling argument for why you want to work in a particular area of research.

9. What to expect once you get there: here is a typical timeline:

10. Expectations for completing a PhD • Written Qualifying Exam • Oral Qualifying Exam • Dissertation based on original research • Publishing original papers in high-quality journals (and this last is essential for advancing your career!)

11. There are many factors to consider here: • Is the lab publishing in high-quality journals? • Is the lab well funded so that it can support your research activity? • Is the head of the lab a good mentor who will be supportive and help you learn to do research and communicate your results, both oralluy and in writing? Choosing an Advisor

12. The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he's one who asks the right questions. ~Claude Lévi-Strauss, Le Cru et le cuit, 1964

13. Resources • Personal Statements: • http://education.yahoo.com/college/essentials/articles/grad/gradessaysecrets.htm • http://gradschool.about.com/od/essaywriting/All_About_the_Graduate_Admissions_Essay.html • http://www.psichi.org/pubs/articles/article_165.asp • http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/pw/p_perstate.html • http://www.petersons.com/gradchannel/file.asp?id=932&path=gr.gs.yourpersonal • Interviews: • http://gradschool.about.com/od/interviews/Graduate_Admissions_Interviews.html

14. Resources Getting What You Came For: The Smart Student’s Guide to Earning a Master’s or Ph.D., Robert L. Peters, Ph.D. A former version of this file was prepared by Sheila Rosenberg, Graduate Student in Neuroscience, University of Southern California, 2008