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stanford university phd neuroscience

Ph.D. Degree Requirements

Degree requirements:.

  • A minimum of 135 units 
  • Complete all required courses with a grade of B or better
  • Pass a Qualifying Exam
  • Publish a minimum of one first author publication in a peer-reviewed journal on the topic of the dissertation
  • Pass the University Oral Exam (thesis defense)
  • Submit a Written Dissertation that is approved by the thesis committee

Please review the doctoral degree requirements in the  Stanford Bulletin . 

For additional information about minimum residency requirements for PhD students, please see the  Graduate Academic Policies and Procedures Handbook, Section 3.2 . 

Ph.D Program Overview and Degree Timeline

The Neurosciences Program teaches students how to approach and solve research problems by developing skills in modern methods of neuroscience research, the ability to appraise the scientific literature and make scientific judgements, to be self-confident and skillful in communicating research results and ultimately to function as independent creative neuroscientists. Students work closely with faculty, postdoctoral fellows and other students to achieve these goals.

  • Stanford Immersive Neuroscience: Incoming students attend the two-week Stanford Immersive Neuroscience course in early September. Comprised of lectures and labs, students learn a host of techniques in cellular and moledular aspects of neuroscience while getting to know and work with their classmates. 
  • Lab Rotations: Students complete at least 3 laboratory rotations to gain hands-on experience in a variety of approaches and methods, get to know faculty members and their laboratory groups, and gain information about the research area for their thesis.
  • Neuroscience Core Modules: These eight 3-week modules cover genetics, anatomy, development, molecular, cellular, cognitive, computational, and systems neuroscience.
  • NEPR 212: Responsible Conduct of Neuroscience
  • NEPR 209: Introduction to Mathematical Tools for Neuroscience
  • NEPR 280: Neuroscience Journal Club and Professional Development Series
  • BIOS 217: Foundations of Statistics and Reproducible Research
  • Meet the Faculty: The program hosts weekly talks with faculty as an introduction to research in program labs and explore options for rotations and thesis work. 
  • Fellowship Applications: Students may apply for extramural fellowships and grants for which they are eligible (e.g., NSF GRFP, HHMI)
  • Thesis Lab Selection: Students join a thesis lab at the end of the first year.
  • Individual Development Plan (IDP)   Meeting : After joining a lab, students meet with their mentor to complete the  Individual Development Plan (IDP) , a roadmap to complete their degree and pursue their chosen career path.
  • Courses to meet the Advanced Topic and Statistics requirement
  • Initiate Thesis Project: After settling into the thesis lab, the second year is spent developing a thesis project that will be proposed as part of the Qualifying Exam.
  • Fellowship Applications: Eligible students will apply for the NSF GRFP and other fellowships as applicable. 
  • Qualifying Examination: The Qualifying Exam is taken by the end of the second year in the program.
  • After successful completion of the Qualifying Exam, students will apply for Doctoral Candidacy and form their thesis committee . 
  • Annual Individual Development Plan (IDP)  - Students will complete the IDP with their thesis advisor annualy by August 31. 
  • Program Service: In the second year, students take on leadership roles in the program by serving as student representatives for admissions, curriculum, community activities, student speaker events, and the program retreat. Students may also begin doing work as Teaching Assistants at Stanford. 
  • Thesis Research: After passing the qualifying exam and advancing to doctoral candidacy, students will focus on their thesis research. 
  • Fellowship Applications: Eligible students will apply for the NIH NRSA by December of the third year and should also apply for other fellowships for which they are eligible.
  • Thesis Committee Meeting: Students will meet with their Thesis Committee at least once in the 3rd and 4th year to ensure progress towards successful completion thesis research.
  • Individual Development Plan (IDP) - Students will complete the IDP with their thesis advisor annually. 
  • Thesis Research:  Thesis research continues
  • Thesis Committee Meeting:  Students will meet with their Thesis Committee at least once in the 4th year to ensure progress towards successful completion thesis research. They should also map out a plan for submitting the required first author manuscript and discuss this with their committee. 
  • Individual Development Plan (IDP)  -  Students will complete the IDP with their thesis advisor annually. 
  • Thesis Committee Meetings:  Starting in the fifth year these meetings happen more frequently to ensure progress to complete the research project and final degree requirements - first author publication, thesis defense, and written dissertation. 
  • Thesis Defense - Students give a defense of their dissertation/thesis paper; this is a public seminar presenting their research findings that is followed by an Oral Examination conducted by their thesis committee. 
  • First Author Publication - Students publish a first-authored manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal. 
  • Written Dissertation - A written dissertation of their graduate research is the final requirement to complete the Ph.D. degree.
  • The Ph.D. program typically takes approximately five years to complete.