Overview
West Virginia University is a comprehensive, land-grant, Carnegie-designated Doctoral/Research University?Extensive public institution. The University's academic Health Sciences Center includes the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, and Pharmacy, all of which offer graduate degree programs. There are seven Ph.D. biomedical research training programs in the Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Cancer Cell Biology, Cellular and Integrative Physiology, Exercise Physiology, Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis, Neuroscience, and Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences. Graduate faculty members in these programs are from various basic science and clinical departments throughout WVU and are members of interdisciplinary research centers in six health-related areas: cancer cell biology, cardiovascular sciences, diabetes and obesity, immunopathology and microbial pathogenesis, neuroscience, and respiratory biology and lung diseases.

Total University enrollment is approximately 25,000 students, which includes 6,500 graduate and professional students. Graduate students come from all parts of the United States and many other countries.

The Location and Community
Morgantown is a vibrant community of 80,000 residents in northern West Virginia. Located near the Pennsylvania border at the western edge of the Appalachian Mountains, abundant opportunities exist for activities such as hiking, biking, white-water rafting, and skiing. Morgantown has a cosmopolitan atmosphere with a range of activities usually found in much larger cities. It also enjoys proximity to major metropolitan centers: Pittsburgh is a 90-minute drive north, and Washington, D.C., is a 3-hour drive east.

Programs of Study and Degree Requirements
The Graduate Program in Neuroscience is one of seven graduate programs in West Virginia University Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy offering interdisciplinary biomedical research training leading to the Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. degree. Research areas include sensory neuroscience, mechanisms of brain development, neural circuits in the brain stem and cortex, environmental stress and neural disorders, neural aspects of airway disease, and blood flow changes during stroke or after brain trauma. Advanced imaging techniques are also used to study areas of the brain involved in visual signal processing and cognition.

WVU's graduate training programs emphasize close interactions between faculty and students. In addition to course work and laboratory research, students participate in seminars, journal clubs, and research conferences. Graduate trainees also have the opportunity to obtain teaching experience and attend national scientific meetings. The Ph.D. typically takes five years to complete. During Year 1, all new graduate students matriculate in a common interdisciplinary core curriculum. This integrated first year allows students to build competence in key areas of contemporary science, gain exposure to the various training program options, meet potential dissertation advisers, and network scientifically and socially. In the second semester, students customize their course work by selecting from an array of program-specific electives. At the end of Year 1, students select a research adviser and can select Neuroscience as their training program. Year 2 consists of advanced course work, research, teaching, and the candidacy examination. Years 3 to 5 are devoted to dissertation research. The Graduate Program in Neuroscience also participates in the joint M.D./Ph.D. Scholars Program. These students take the first two years of the medical curriculum, followed typically by three years of research as required for the Ph.D. degree before returning to the M.D. program.

Facilities & Resources
Institutional facilities include a computer-based learning center, a centralized animal facility, and a library housing more than 205,000 volumes and 2,400 journals. Core facilities are available for image analysis, confocal and electron microscopy, live-cell imaging, mass spectrometry, flow cytometry, proteomics, recombinant DNA technology, transgenic rodent biology, and functional neuroimaging (fMRI). Affiliated research centers include the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Center for Advanced Imaging, Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute, Sensory Neuroscience Research Center, and Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center.

Expenses and Aid
Students' tuition costs are covered.

Financial Aid:
All Ph.D. students in the biomedical sciences receive financial support during their training, provided they remain in good academic standing. Such support includes full tuition, health insurance, and an annual stipend of $20,000. Joint M.D./Ph.D. students also receive stipends, health insurance, and medical as well as graduate tuition waivers.

Housing/Living Expenses:
The cost of an efficiency apartment in University-owned housing is approximately $500 per month. A limited number of University apartments are available for married students. Privately owned apartments in Morgantown cost $400 to $600 per month. In general, the cost of living is quite low compared to larger cities.

How to Apply / Application
Applicants must have a bachelor's degree and excellent GRE scores. Three letters of recommendation and a personal statement are required. Students are invited in groups of 10/15 for a two-day visit/interview between January and March.

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